Work Order Statuses
Every status in the work order lifecycle explained, including transition rules and who can change them.
The Status Lifecycle
Every work order moves through a defined sequence of statuses that reflect its journey from creation to shipment. The standard flow is: Queued → In Progress → QC Hold (optional) → Complete → Shipped. Each transition is recorded with the user who made the change, the timestamp, and any associated notes. This audit trail provides full traceability of every work order's history.
Queued
The starting status for all new work orders. A Queued order is visible in station queues and on the Kanban board but has not been picked up by an operator yet. The order appears in the queue of the first work center defined in its routing (or the assigned station if no routing is configured). Queued orders are sorted by priority and due date within each station's queue.
In Progress
An operator has begun working on this order. The transition from Queued to In Progress can happen automatically when an operator selects the order from their station panel, or manually via the status dropdown. While In Progress, the operator can update parts counts (good, scrap, rework). Only one work order can typically be "In Progress" at a station at a time, depending on station capacity settings.
QC Hold
The work order is paused pending quality review. This status can be triggered in two ways: an operator manually sets it (e.g., they notice a dimensional issue and want a supervisor to inspect), or the system automatically applies it when an NCR is filed against the order. While on QC Hold, the operator should stop producing parts until the issue is resolved. The order returns to In Progress after the hold is cleared by a Supervisor.
Complete
All required parts have been produced (good quantity meets or exceeds the order quantity) and any quality holds have been resolved. Marking an order Complete moves it out of the active queue and into the completed history. Supervisors typically confirm completion after verifying final counts. Completed orders still appear in reporting and analytics but no longer clutter the active queue views.
Shipped
The finished parts have been packaged and sent to the customer or next destination. This is the terminal status — once shipped, no further changes are expected. Only Supervisors and Admins can set this status. The Shipped status is important for accurate order-to-delivery tracking and customer-facing reports.
Who Can Change Status
Operators can transition orders between Queued, In Progress, and QC Hold for work orders at their station. Supervisors can make all transitions including Complete and Shipped for any order in their team. Admins can change status on any order in the organization. All status changes are logged in the activity log with the user's identity and timestamp.