Work Order Time Tracking in Odoo Manufacturing#
Planned production times are estimates. Tracking actual work order times reveals the gap between plan and reality - enabling accurate cost computation, capacity planning adjustments, and process improvement.
Enabling Work Order Time Tracking#
Manufacturing → Configuration → Settings → enable Work Orders and Time Tracking.
Planned vs. Actual Time#
Each operation on a BOM has a Planned Duration (e.g., 2 hours to machine one batch).
On the work order:
- Planned Duration: from the BOM operation
- Actual Duration: recorded by the operator during production
Variance = Actual − Planned → negative is better (finished faster), positive is a concern.
Recording Time#
Method 1 - Manual Entry:
Manufacturing → Work Orders → [Work Order] → Duration: enter actual hours and minutes.
Method 2 - Timer:
Manufacturing → Work Orders → [Work Order] → Start / Pause / Stop:
- Operator clicks Start when beginning
- Pauses for breaks or interruptions
- Stops when finished
- Odoo records elapsed time automatically
Method 3 - Tablet/Shop Floor:
Using the shop floor interface on a tablet:
- Operator scans the work order QR code
- Taps Start → timer begins
- Taps Done → timer stops, work order is completed
Labor Cost Computation#
For each work center, set the labor cost per hour:
Manufacturing → Configuration → Work Centers → [Work Center] → Costs tab:
- Time Efficiency: cost per hour (e.g., $45/hour for the CNC operator)
- Employee Cost: if individual operator rates vary, link to payroll
Actual labor cost = Actual Duration × Cost per Hour
For the production cost of a finished product:
- Component cost + Actual labor cost across all work orders = Total Production Cost
- Compare to standard cost → variance analysis
Reporting#
Manufacturing → Reporting → Work Center Analysis:
- Planned vs. actual hours by work center and period
- Cost per unit (actual labor cost per finished product)
- Efficiency %: Planned / Actual (>100% = faster than planned = efficient)
Consistently below 85% efficiency at a specific work center: investigate operator skill gaps, machine condition, or unrealistic planned times.
Adjusting BOM Operation Times#
After accumulating actual time data for 3-6 months:
Manufacturing → BOM → Operations tab → [Operation] → Duration Computation:
- Update planned duration to better reflect actual performance
- This improves scheduling accuracy for future orders