Work Orders Management in Odoo 18

Manufacturing floors running on verbal instructions and paper job cards create chaos: operators don't know which tasks to prioritize, managers can't track real-time progress, and bottlenecks become visible only when production halts. A rush order arrives but assembly can't start because cutting hasn't finished—yet no one knows cutting is delayed until someone physically walks over to check. Cost accounting becomes guesswork because actual time spent per operation isn't tracked.

Odoo 18's Work Orders system transforms shop floor management into a coordinated digital workflow. Each manufacturing order automatically generates work orders for sequential operations (cutting → assembly → packing), operators see exactly what to do next on their workstation screens, managers monitor real-time status across all work centers, and operation dependencies ensure tasks start only when prerequisites complete. Every minute spent is tracked for accurate costing and bottleneck identification.

Understanding Work Orders

Work Orders are individual tasks within a manufacturing order that define specific operations to be performed at designated work centers.

Manufacturing Order vs Work Order

Step 1: Enable Work Orders

Activation

1. Navigate to Manufacturing module
2. Go to Configuration → Settings
3. Enable "Work Orders" checkbox
4. Click Save

Step 2: Configure Operations in Bill of Materials

Operations define the sequential tasks required to manufacture a product. They're configured in the Bill of Materials (BoM).

Creating BoM with Operations

1. Navigate to BoM: Go to Manufacturing → Products → Bill of Materials
2. Create New: Click New
3. Basic Information:
   • Product: Select product to manufacture (e.g., "Table")
   • Quantity: Production quantity
   • BoM Type: "Manufacture this product"
4. Components Tab: Add raw materials needed
   • Table Top (Qty: 1)
   • Table Leg (Qty: 4)
   • Bolts (Qty: 10)
   • Screws (Qty: 10)
5. Operations Tab: Define work orders

Adding Operations

In the Operations tab, click Add a line for each manufacturing step:

Example Operations Setup

Copy Existing Operations

Instead of creating operations from scratch, reuse operations from other BoMs:

1. In Operations tab, click Copy Existing Operations
2. Popup shows list of all configured operations
3. Select operations to reuse
4. Click Copy Selected Operations

Step 3: Work Center Costing

Work centers have hourly costs that affect operation costing and final product cost calculation.

Configuring Work Center Costs

1. Go to Manufacturing → Configuration → Work Centers
2. Select work center to configure
3. Enter Cost per Hour (e.g., $20, $50, $100)
4. Save

Example Cost Calculation

Step 4: Operation Dependencies

Dependencies ensure operations execute in correct sequence—assembly can't start until cutting finishes.

Enabling Dependencies

1. Enable Feature: Go to Manufacturing → Configuration → Settings
2. Activate: Enable "Work Order Dependencies"
3. Save
4. Configure BoM: Open your BoM, go to Miscellaneous tab
5. Enable on BoM: Check "Operation Dependencies"

Setting Up Blocked By Relations

In the Operations tab of your BoM, configure which operations must complete before others can start:

Step 5: Create Manufacturing Order

Generating Work Orders

1. Navigate: Go to Manufacturing → Operations → Manufacturing Orders
2. Create Order: Click New
3. Configure:
   • Product: Select product with configured BoM
   • Quantity: Number of units to produce
   • BoM: Auto-populated from product
4. Confirm: Click Confirm
5. Plan: Click Plan button to schedule work orders

Step 6: Work Order Statuses

After planning, view work order statuses in the Work Orders tab of the manufacturing order:

Step 7: Execute Work Orders

Starting an Operation

1. Open manufacturing order
2. Go to Work Orders tab
3. Select work order in "Ready" status
4. Click green Start button
5. Timer begins tracking time

Completing an Operation

1. After finishing work, click green button again to stop
2. Status changes to "Finished"
3. Actual time is recorded for costing
4. Next dependent operation status changes to "Ready"

Planning by Production

Visual timeline showing all work orders for a manufacturing order with dependencies.

Accessing Planning View

1. Go to Manufacturing → Planning → Planning by Production
2. View Gantt chart of work orders
3. Arrows show dependencies between operations
4. Drag to reschedule if needed

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Work Orders in Odoo 18 Manufacturing transform chaotic shop floors into orchestrated production systems. By breaking manufacturing orders into sequential operations with dependencies, you ensure tasks execute in proper order, track actual time for accurate costing, and gain real-time visibility into production status without physically walking the floor. Operation dependencies prevent premature starts, work center costing calculates true manufacturing expenses, and integrated planning views help identify and resolve bottlenecks before they halt production.

Whether you're producing custom furniture, electronics assemblies, or any multi-step manufactured product, work orders provide the framework for consistent, traceable, cost-effective production. Combined with Shop Floor integration for operator simplicity and quality control points for inspection enforcement, you build a complete digital manufacturing execution system that scales from small workshops to enterprise factories.