Work Order materials & consumption tracking

When executing a Work Order (WO), the technician consumes parts and uses tooling. Tracking what was actually issued vs. what was planned is:

  • a Part-145 §145.A.30 requirement — traceability of materials and tooling used;
  • the foundation of workshop cost control — planned/actual variance per operation and per WO;
  • the automatic trigger for stock movements — no double entry for the storekeeper.

Automatic template snapshot

As soon as a WO is created from a PEA task (applied maintenance programme), the system automatically copies the materials declared on the operation’s BOM template (wave L5-A) into the WO materials list, with status “Planned”.

The technician starts from a pre-filled checklist. They simply confirm, adjust quantities, or add a line not covered by the template.

If the operation has no BOM template, the WO materials list starts empty. The technician can still create all necessary lines manually.

Availability indicator (read-only)

For each planned line, the WO shows a “avail. X / required Y” badge indicating whether the usable stock at the workshop’s site covers the operation’s need. This is a purely informative decision aid: no reservation, no hold, no stock write.

The workshop’s site is resolved in this order: the Work Order’s own workshop if it declares one, otherwise the Work Package’s workshop. A WO can indeed be carried out in a workshop different from the WP’s (for example a specialised operation routed to another workshop on the same site): you set it, optionally, on the WO form. The WO’s workshop must be on the same site as the WP’s.

The badge colour summarises the situation:

Colour Status Meaning
Green ok Enough usable stock for the required quantity.
Orange partial Stock present but insufficient (partial shortage).
Red unavailable No usable stock available on the site.

The usable stock count applies the same rules as consumption:

  • spares & consumables: only lines in a serviceable condition (new / repaired), with technical reception validated (or not required) and not expired, are counted;
  • tooling: scrapped tools or tools already checked out on another WO are excluded;
  • logistic interchangeability is taken into account: if availability relies on an interchangeable part, the badge carries the “via interchangeability” mention.

At the top of the panel, a shortage summary groups planned lines in orange or red by role (e.g. “2 shortages: 1 spare, 1 tooling”). It is hidden when no shortage is detected.

The badge does not appear if the line is no longer planned (already consumed, checked out…) or if neither the WO nor the Work Package declares a workshop — in that case the reference site is unknown and availability cannot be computed.

The 5 statuses of a WO material line

WO material line lifecycle

  1. Planned (planned)

    Initial state: the line was copied from the template or added manually. It is awaiting action. The planned quantity (from the BOM or entered by the technician) is visible.

  2. Checked out (checked_out)

    Applies to tooling only. The tool has been taken from stock for this WO and is currently in use. Only one WO can hold a given tool at any one time.

  3. Consumed (consumed)

    Applies to parts and consumables. The item has been permanently issued from stock. An outbound_issue stock movement has been generated automatically. Terminal status.

  4. Checked in (checked_in)

    Applies to tooling only. The tool has been returned to stock after use. It becomes available again for other WOs. Terminal status (re-checkout is possible via a new cycle).

  5. Cancelled (cancelled)

    The technician determines that the planned material is no longer needed (e.g. inspection suspended mid-way, alternative method used). The decision is preserved in the audit trail. Terminal status.

“Consume” action — parts & consumables

Consuming a part or consumable involves two steps:

  1. Select the stock line to debit:

    • Serialised item (serialized): select the specific serial number.
    • Batch-controlled item (batched): select the batch number.
    • Quantity-managed item (quantity): select an existing warehouse stock line.

  2. Enter the actual quantity used: this may differ from the planned quantity (adjustments allowed within the limits of the reference manual).

The system then automatically:

  • creates an outbound_issue stock movement with a timestamp, WO reference and technician identity;
  • decrements the stock quantity;
  • transitions the line to Consumed;
  • records a Part-145 audit event.

The technician manually selects the stock line to debit, even for quantity-managed items. This deliberate choice is consistent with Part-145 requirements — no server-side auto-allocation.

“Check out” action — tooling

Starts the tooling usage cycle for this WO:

  • The system records who takes the tool, at what time, and for which WO.
  • The tool transitions to Checked out and is linked to this WO.
  • A tool cannot be checked out by two WOs in parallel: any concurrent checkout attempt is rejected, and the system indicates which WO currently holds the tool.

“Check in” action — tooling

Closes the usage cycle:

  • The system records the return: who returns the tool and at what time.
  • The tool transitions to Checked in and becomes available for other WOs.

“Cancel” action

The technician may cancel a planned line if the material is no longer needed. An optional reason can be entered to justify the decision (e.g. “tooling already on site”, “inspection suspended”). The record remains visible in the WO history.

Planned vs. actual variance

A WO material line holds both the planned quantity (from the BOM template) and the actual quantity consumed. If the two values differ, the variance is shown on the line.

Typical cases:

Situation Planned qty Consumed qty Variance
Template-compliant 4 4 0
Overrun (extra gaskets needed) 4 5 +1
Under-consumption 4 3 −1
Line added outside template — 2 off-BOM

These variances are surfaced in the WO closure report and feed back into BOM template revision.

V1 limitations

  • No advance stock reservation: planned lines do not create any stock reservation or hold. Reservation management is planned for wave L5-F.
  • No grouped picking list: generating a pick list for the storekeeper to prepare before the WO starts is planned for wave L5-D.
  • Manual stock line selection: for quantity-managed items there is no auto-allocation — the technician explicitly selects the stock line to debit (Part-145 compliance).

See also