---
title: "Overview: track and schedule production"
description: "Production covers two halves, set up separately and answering different questions. Tracking turns a machine's signal into part counts and is available to every customer: it needs a part, an operation, a detection algorithm and an ideal cycle time, and it produces the Shift Production and Historical boards. Scheduling adds jobs, tasks, sessions, the scheduler board, the Work Queue, ERP import and cost insights, and needs the Scheduling Engine module. Parts and operations are a hard prerequisite for scheduling, because a task is one operation on one machine."
category: "Start here"
source_url: "https://www.iotflows.com/docs/production/overview/"
---
# Overview: track and schedule production

What counting parts needs, what scheduling adds, and which of the two you are entitled to.

Production covers two halves, set up separately and answering different questions. *Tracking* turns a machine's signal into part counts, and every IoTFlows customer has it. *Scheduling* puts named work on named machines with dates on it, and it is licensed as the Scheduling Engine module.

Both sit under **Production** in the top navigation, which opens on the Parts List at `/production?select=parts_list`.

## Tracking versus scheduling
Five objects carry this whole section, and the line between tracking and scheduling runs between the second and the third.

A *part* is a thing you make, named with the number your plant already uses, for example `BH-4021`. An *operation* is one step in making it, for example `OP20 Turn`. The operation carries the [detection algorithm](/docs/production/choose-an-algorithm/) and the [ideal cycle time](/docs/production/cycle-times-and-filters/) that turn a sensor's signal into counts, so it, not the part, is what tracking depends on.

A *job* is an order for a quantity of a part, for example 250 of `BH-4021` due Friday. A *task* is one operation of that job on one machine. A *session* is one run of a task: start, stop, parts made, scrap logged.

Diagram: A left-to-right chain of five boxes under two bands. The first band, headed Tracking, every customer, holds Part, described as what you make, BH-4021 housing, and Operation, described as one step in making it, OP20 Turn, with its algorithm. An arrow crosses the gap into the second band, headed Scheduling, needs the Scheduling Engine module, which holds Job, an order for 250 of BH-4021 due Friday, then Task, one operation of that job on one machine, then Session, one run of a task with start, stop and parts made.

*The five objects Production runs on, and the two halves that own them. Parts and operations count what machines make; jobs, tasks and sessions come with the Scheduling Engine module.*

### Job, task, or work order?
A *work order* is the record behind all three. In Production it is a job or a task, and in [Maintain](/docs/maintain/overview/) it is a maintenance work order raised against an asset. The two lists never mix.

The dialog that adds a task to the board is headed **Create Workorder**, and creates the same object.

## What tracking needs
Tracking is available to every customer and needs three things in place.

1. **A machine reporting.** A sensor tied to the asset and calibrated. See [Quickstart: see your first machine's data](/docs/get-started/quickstart/).
2. **A part with at least one operation.** Both are created in the Parts List, which needs Organization Owner or Organization Administrator. See [Roles and permissions](/docs/admin/roles-reference/).
3. **A detection algorithm and an ideal cycle time on the operation.** The algorithm decides what counts as one part. The cycle time decides what that count is measured against. See [Choose a production tracking algorithm](/docs/production/choose-an-algorithm/) and [Set cycle times and downtime filters](/docs/production/cycle-times-and-filters/).

What you get back is the count itself: the live shift board, the daily and monthly history, and the parts gauge on each machine card, defined at [Performance](/docs/monitoring/metrics-reference/#performance).

### You do not need the Scheduler to count parts
If your question is "how many did that press make this shift", set up parts and operations and stop there. Shift Production answers it, and nothing on that board needs a job.

Add scheduling when the question changes to who was supposed to run what, on which machine, by when. That is heavier setup: every job needs a quantity, a due date and a routing to fan out across.

## What scheduling adds
Scheduling adds the plan and the record of working to it. The scheduler board holds jobs and tasks across five views, the Work Queue is where an operator picks one up, sessions record what actually ran, and Insights prices the result.

Parts and operations are a hard prerequisite, not a recommendation. A task is one operation on one machine, so a part with no operations has nothing to schedule. **Create Job** builds one task per operation on the part's routing, which means the routing decides the shape of every job you create.

## Module entitlement
| Capability | Tracking | Scheduling Engine | Page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parts, operations and routings | Yes | Yes | [Create parts and operations](/docs/production/parts-and-operations/) |
| Detection algorithms | Yes | Yes | [Choose a production tracking algorithm](/docs/production/choose-an-algorithm/) |
| Cycle times and downtime filters | Yes | Yes | [Set cycle times and downtime filters](/docs/production/cycle-times-and-filters/) |
| Live shift counts against a goal | Yes | Yes | [Track production against shift goals](/docs/production/shift-production/) |
| Daily, weekly and monthly output | Yes | Yes | [Compare production over weeks and months](/docs/production/historical-production/) |
| Scheduler board | No | Yes | [Plan jobs on the scheduler board](/docs/production/scheduler/) |
| Jobs, tasks and work sessions | No | Yes | [Create a production work order](/docs/production/create-a-job/) |
| Work Queue | No | Yes | [Find your next job in the Work Queue](/docs/production/work-queue/) |
| ERP schedule import | No | Yes | [Import a schedule from your ERP](/docs/production/import-erp-schedule/) |
| Cost and on-time performance | No | Yes | [Analyze cost and on-time performance](/docs/production/production-insights/) |

The module is additive: everything in the Tracking column stays as it was.

> **Info:**
> **How do I tell whether we have the module?** The Production tabs render for every organization, so seeing **Scheduler** or **Insights** in the tab strip is not proof you are licensed for them. Ask IoTFlows if you are not sure, see [Contact support and report bugs](/docs/get-started/get-support/).

## Where to start
Start with one part on one machine. [Quickstart: count your first parts](/docs/production/quickstart/) takes a single part through an operation, an algorithm and a cycle time, then validates the count against ten parts made by hand.

Once one machine counts correctly, repeat it per machine type. [CNC mills and lathes](/docs/production/cnc-machines/), [injection molding](/docs/production/injection-molding/) and [stamping presses](/docs/production/stamping-presses/) are the same setup with the algorithm and the filters already chosen.

If a count is already wrong, go to [Troubleshoot inaccurate part counts](/docs/production/troubleshoot-part-counts/) before adding anything else. A wrong count is a wrong shift goal and a wrong job estimate later.

Come back to [Plan jobs on the scheduler board](/docs/production/scheduler/) when the routings are in and you want work assigned rather than counted.

## See also
- [Quickstart: count your first parts](/docs/production/quickstart/)
- [Create parts and operations](/docs/production/parts-and-operations/)
- [Plan jobs on the scheduler board](/docs/production/scheduler/)
- [Overview: monitor machines and OEE](/docs/monitoring/overview/)