Mill Operators & Custom-Made Processing — User Manual

Also searched as: machine operators, mill workers, resaw run, custom-made processing, mill tasks, yield, outturn, processing run, performance history.

What is Custom-Made / Re-saw Processing?

Custom-Made (also called Re-saw) processing is when input timber — typically round logs — is converted into a different output form, most commonly sawn/square boards. It’s run from Inventory → Processing. A processing run consumes one or more input Stock Units and produces new output stock; the input Stock Units leave available stock and the output becomes a new open lot.

Each Location also has a Machines Installed field listing the equipment at that site. For the full Machine Management page — adding machines, importing them from Locations, and checking their active/needs-attention status — see the Command Center guide, which covers the dedicated Machines tab at /inventory/machines.

Starting a Custom-Made Processing Run

1. Open Inventory → Processing and click New Processing Run.
2. Select the input Stock Units — the system can auto-suggest likely inputs based on what you’re producing, learned from past runs.
3. Enter the output product and site.
4. Optionally assign a Mill Operator to the run.
5. Save. The run starts as Draft, then moves through In Progress to Completed (or Cancelled, which reverses the input Stock Unit assignments).

Linking a Processing Run’s Output to a Tally Sheet

A completed run’s output can be linked directly to a new tally sheet, so the produced volume gets measured and recorded in the same flow instead of as a rough estimate. When you return from creating that tally sheet, the processing run screen picks up where you left off and pre-fills the output details (product, CBM, pieces, site) from the tally totals.

Custom-Made Requests From a Stock Out Row

A Stock Out row whose size has no stock can ask the mill to make it (see the Inventory guide). On the mill side such a job shows an Order needs line (pieces and volume), the optional Needed by day, and a red Late chip once that day has passed (you and the requester get one reminder, sent each morning).

• The order changes before you start: the job follows the row’s new product / size / quantity and you get a message. If that size now has stock, the job is cancelled by itself and you are told. If the input volume is smaller than the order now needs, the job shows an amber line.
• Starting: a cancelled or finished job cannot be started, and a job needs a source lot before it starts. A second tap on Start does nothing.
• Finishing: the output product must stay the one that was requested, the pieces made must be entered, and the job needs its source lot. The Finish window shows Order needs N pcs and, in red, short by N while you type; you can still finish short. If the output cannot be added to stock, nothing is saved and you see why.
• While you are cutting: the requester cannot change or delete that row, nor delete or empty the Stock Unit. Cancel the mill job first if the order changed.
• Taking a request back: while the job is still Draft, the person who made the request (or a manager) can withdraw it from the row; the assigned operator is told. There is no Send to Consignment button on a mill job: stock leaves only through a Stock Out.

Mill Operators — Managing Your Roster

Open Inventory → Operators to manage who can be assigned to processing runs. Each operator has an expertise level — Trainee, Junior, Senior, or Master — plus optional specializations, hire date, and notes.

Adding an operator: click Add Operator and choose from users eligible to become one (any user not already linked to an existing operator record). Editing reuses the same dialog. Deactivating an operator blocks new task assignment but is refused while they still have active tasks — reassign or complete those first. Deactivated operators can be Reactivated later; there’s no hard delete, so task history is always preserved.

Operator Performance and Task History

Click an operator to open their Performance dialog — a summary of their stats plus currently assigned and pending tasks. For a full record with its own filters (status, date range), use View Full History instead.

Where “My Tasks” Comes From

There is no standalone “My Tasks” page. If you have active processing runs assigned to you, they appear as a “My Active Mill Tasks” card grid on your Dashboard — click a task there to jump straight to that run on the Processing page.

Common Problems

“I can’t deactivate an operator” — they still have active (in-progress or draft) tasks assigned. Reassign or complete those tasks first, then deactivate.

“A processing run has no useful output” — a run with no input Stock Units selected won’t produce meaningful output. Cancel it and start again with the correct inputs.

“The output tally totals didn’t pre-fill” — this only happens when the run’s output was linked to a tally sheet and you returned via the in-app link; a run without that linkage needs output values entered manually.