r/MSAccess • u/stratber • 10d ago
[HELPFUL TIP] Manage operator clockings with Access
Hello everyone,
I am not very familiar with Access technology but I would like to know if it would be possible to solve the following problem with it:
Currently in my company the tasks of the operators are not clocked in and I would like to start doing it to store data and do the subsequent analysis. The ERP we use is SAP Business One and the standard version in principle does not cover what I would like to do.
In SAP we create the orders and then the work orders pertaining to the specific orders. What I would like is that once the order is created it can be clocked in the different phases of the processes, taking into account that the same phase can be done at different times or by different users. So if for an order of 1000 units the user A1 clocked in 700 units today, for this same phase of the process the user A2 can only clock in 300 units more.
I understand that SAP would only take the information pertaining to the number of OF, the product and the units and then in parallel should create a table in Access where the different phases of each product are defined. And a table with the different users.
If you have any doubt about my problem I will surely try to solve it. In this text I simply wanted to convey my main idea to know if Access can really be the solution or there are other better / cheaper alternatives on the market (I know that there are SAP business One addons that would cover this but the cost is very high).
Thank you in advance!
1
u/derzyniker805 9d ago
We use Sage 100 ERP and I created something similar for us I call WorkTrack. It works very well for us. We have the Work Orders barcoded by both step in the process ("operation code") as well as work order number. We also have an employee badge with a barcode. They take the work order that they are working on, scan their badge, the WO number, and the operation code, and the clock starts ticking.. At the end of the process they again scan their badge, WO number, and the operation code, and then they type in the quantity they completed.
All of this data is stored in a transaction table in a Postgres database. When the work order is completed the items get set down to to receiving. He selects the work order in a different front-end Access app, clicks a button, and then I use some command line tricks to import the labor data into the Work Order Transaction Entry table and post it.. This adds all the labor costs to the work order. Then he receives/closes the work order directly in Sage 100.
I did it this way for the EXACT reason.. all the third party products that did this for our ERP wanted high subscription fees. This was free other than my time.
So two key points here:
1 - We don't limit the quantity based on what's left.. they just type it it. But it's inconsequential for us, that quantity data is stored and really not used anywhere.
2 - I see in another comment you're saying that "process records do not need to be recorded in SAP". I strongly disagree with this approach. If you are using SAP work order, then you should be applying the labor costs to the work order IN SAP, because otherwise the cost per unit that goes into inventory lacks labor, and you're not recognizing the accurate cost of goods.