Different companies develop and manage work in different ways. Some begin with a customer enquiry and a period of design. Others repeat an established production run or respond to a requirement that needs to move quickly. The Console gives teams a shared place to develop the work, then prepare it for production when the time is right.

A project is a workspace for the wider activity around an outcome. A work order is a defined body of work that the company needs to carry out. A project may lead to one or more work orders, while some work orders can stand on their own.

Develop a project together

A project gives the people involved one place for the conversations, files and decisions that shape the work. Teams can discuss requirements, exchange documents, consider timelines and coordinate across departments as the project develops.

This is useful when the final production requirements are not yet settled. Sales, engineering, project management and production staff may each contribute information before the work is ready to be carried out. Keeping that activity together helps the next person understand what has been agreed and why.

The project workspace can hold the broader development conversation while individual responsibilities and deadlines become clearer.

Move from development to production

When a project is ready to become production work, the relevant information can be carried forward. The conversations, files and requirements developed by the team provide context for preparing work that production can use.

The Console is designed to make that transition straightforward, with the relevant actions available in a few clicks once the details have been checked. Review the scope, documents, responsibilities and timing before making work available to the production team.

This allows a project to develop at the pace it needs without losing the knowledge gathered along the way.

Define a work order

A work order describes a body of work required to be carried out by your company. It identifies what needs to be produced or completed, who the work is for and the information needed to plan and manage it.

Work orders can be shaped to suit different kinds of production. Your business might be making a one-off item, producing in batches, carrying out a continuous run or completing work in a set sequence. The important point is that the work order gives the team a clear, shared record of what it has undertaken to do.

Choose how the work will be handled

The Console supports different destinations and commercial arrangements for completed work. A work order might result in goods sent to a customer, items placed into inventory or work carried out for another business as a subcontractor. It may be paid customer work or internal production for your own company.

The work can also follow different cadences. Some jobs are scheduled for a particular window, some are repeated in batches, and others continue as capacity and demand require. Set out the intended approach so the team can plan resources and understand the expected outcome.

Consideration	Examples
Purpose	Customer order, subcontract work or internal production.
Output	Delivery to a customer or finished items added to inventory.
Cadence	One-off, batch, repeated or continuous work.
Timing	A fixed deadline, a planned run or a sequence of connected jobs.
Financial impact	Expected income, production costs and other costs associated with the work.

Connect the operational and financial picture

A work order represents a commitment of people, time, materials and capacity. Recording those details helps the business understand what it expects to spend and, where the work is chargeable, what it expects to earn.

Depending on the information entered and the way your company uses the Console, the work order can support a bill of materials and related commercial documents, including quotes and invoices. Check generated documents before issuing them so quantities, prices, terms and customer details reflect the agreed work.

Keep the right records

Different customers and industries ask for different evidence of how work was completed. A work order provides a place to keep the documents and history relevant to that work, including records needed for first article inspection, production part approval or other customer-specific requirements.

The records your team needs will depend on the job. Decide what must be collected and reviewed before production begins, then keep it associated with the work so it can be found when required.

Follow the work through to completion

As work moves forward, the project and work order give different views of the same undertaking. The project preserves the wider development, communication and decisions. The work order gives production a defined body of work to plan, assign, carry out and review.

Together, they help your teams move from an idea or customer requirement to a completed result, while keeping the people, documents, timing and financial impact in view.