# Release a manufacturing order (/docs/production/manufacturing-orders)

A manufacturing order (MO) is the instruction to make a quantity of a product on one machine. The
default role is Planner (Priya Menon). Open **Production > Orders**.

```mermaid
%% title: Manufacturing order statuses
flowchart LR
  R[Released or Scheduled] -->|Issue to machine| I[Issued]
  I -->|Start setup| S[Setup]
  S -->|Setup done, request first piece| Q[QA Check]
  Q -->|Accept inspection| P[In Production]
  Q -->|Reject, re-setup| S
  P -->|Complete run| F[QA Final]
  F -->|OQC pass, move to FG| C[Completed]
  R -->|Cancel| X[Cancelled]
  I -->|Cancel| X
  S -->|Cancel| X
```

## What each status means [#what-each-status-means]

| Status | Meaning | Buttons |
|---|---|---|
| **Released** | Planned to start now. | **Issue to machine**, **Cancel** |
| **Scheduled** | Planned for a later start. | **Issue to machine**, **Cancel** |
| **Issued** | Handed to the machine tablet. Waiting for the technician. | **Start setup**, **Cancel** |
| **Setup** | The technician is setting up. | **Setup done · request first piece**, **Cancel** |
| **QA Check** | QC inspects the first piece or first article. | **Accept inspection · e-sign**, **Reject · re-setup** |
| **In Production** | The run is counting good and scrap parts. | **Complete run**, **Record patrol check** |
| **QA Final** | The finished lot waits for outgoing QC. | **OQC pass · move to FG**, **OQC fail · hold lot** |
| **Completed** | Done. | None |
| **Cancelled** | Withdrawn. | None |

On the floor the technician and QC take the steps from **Setup** onward on the machine tablet. See
[Set up and request the first piece](/docs/production/setup-and-first-piece).

<GuideStep
  title="Manufacturing orders on the desktop"
  description="Every order with its machine, quantity and status."
  src="/guide/manufacturing-orders/1.png"
  alt="Manufacturing orders list on desktop with status chips"
  width={1440}
  height={1000}
  callouts={[
    { x: 25, y: 16, caption: "Search and filters." },
    { x: 70, y: 40, caption: "Status chip of each order." },
    { x: 50, y: 70, caption: "Setup and first-article attempts below the list." },
  ]}
/>

## Issue an order to its machine [#issue-an-order-to-its-machine]

<Steps>
<Step>

Open an order that is **Released** or **Scheduled**, for example `MO-2026-1131`.

</Step>
<Step>

Choose **Issue to machine** and sign. The order becomes **Issued** and appears on
the machine tablet.

</Step>
<Step>

Raise the line clearance for the machine. Setup cannot start without a verified clearance. See
[Clear the line](/docs/production/line-clearance).

</Step>
</Steps>

Issue needs complete product data. If the product's device master file has gaps, the system lists them.

## Change an order after it is issued [#change-an-order-after-it-is-issued]

You can change **Machine**, **Mould**, **Method**, **Work instruction** or **Qty** freely while the
order is **Released** or **Scheduled**. After that, write **Reason for change after issue**. A new
quantity needs its own new reason. A new machine or mould also needs a new line clearance and a new
first-article inspection. On an order that is on the floor, the new machine must be free and its line
cleared before the move.

## Make the lots for a process validation [#make-the-lots-for-a-process-validation]

An order can be the run of a process validation. On **Add**, set **Process validation** to a validation
that is **Executing**, choose its **Product**, **Machine** and **Mould**, and leave **Sales order**
blank. This order may be set up on a mould that is **Pending validation**, and nothing else may. Its
finished lot is held until QA approves the validation, then it releases through the normal checks. The
validation cannot be changed or cleared once setup has started. See
[Make the PQ lots with a validation run](/docs/product-development/process-validation#make-the-pq-lots-with-a-validation-run).
The planning dialog does not create validation runs.

## Cancel an order [#cancel-an-order]

<Steps>
<Step>

Open the order and choose **Cancel**. It is offered until the first piece goes to QC.

</Step>
<Step>

Type the reason (at least 4 characters) and sign. The order becomes **Cancelled**. The technician is
told: "\{order\} was cancelled. \{product\} on \{machine\} is withdrawn. Do not start it."

</Step>
</Steps>

An order with material still issued to it, a lot, or a patrol check cannot be cancelled. Return the
material first, see [Issue material to an order](/docs/production/issue-material).

## Print the job traveller [#print-the-job-traveller]

The job traveller is the A4 paper that goes with the parts. It shows the order, and for each
operation the machine, the work instruction steps, the machine settings, the checks and boxes to
sign. You can print it when the order is **Issued** or at a later status. Production and Quality can
print it.

<Steps>
<Step>

Open the order and choose **Actions > Print traveller**.

<GuideStep
  title="Print traveller on a manufacturing order"
  description="MO-2026-1137 is Issued. The Actions menu shows Print traveller."
  src="/guide/manufacturing-orders/3.png"
  alt="Manufacturing order MO-2026-1137 on desktop with the Actions menu open at Print traveller"
  width={1440}
  height={900}
  callouts={[
    { x: 14, y: 15, caption: "Actions." },
    { x: 16, y: 20, caption: "Print traveller." },
  ]}
/>

<GuideStep
  title="Print traveller on a phone"
  description="The same menu at 375 px."
  src="/guide/manufacturing-orders/4.png"
  alt="Manufacturing order MO-2026-1137 on a phone with the Actions menu open at Print traveller"
  width={375}
  height={812}
  callouts={[
    { x: 53, y: 16, caption: "Actions." },
    { x: 60, y: 22, caption: "Print traveller." },
  ]}
/>

</Step>
<Step>

Read the traveller. If the order has an active copy, choose the reason for a new copy:
**Damaged**, **Lost**, **Additional copy for a station** or **Revision change**. **Additional copy
for a station** keeps the old copy valid. The other reasons end it.

<GuideStep
  title="The traveller before you print"
  description="The next copy ID is on the Print button."
  src="/guide/manufacturing-orders/5.png"
  alt="Job traveller of MO-2026-1137 on desktop with the active copies, the Print button and the A4 sheet"
  width={1440}
  height={900}
  callouts={[
    { x: 24, y: 5, caption: "Active copies of this order." },
    { x: 67, y: 12, caption: "Print issues the next copy." },
    { x: 70, y: 24, caption: "The order and its QR code." },
  ]}
/>

</Step>
<Step>

Choose **Print**. The app issues the next controlled copy (for example `PC-MO-2026-1137-05`), writes the
copy ID, your name and the time on the sheet, and opens the print dialog. Print on A4 or save a PDF.

</Step>
</Steps>

The printed traveller has:

1. The order number and its QR code, the product and revision, the quantity, the due date, the
   production method, the sales order, the lot, and who printed the copy and when.
2. One block for each operation of the method, in operation order: the machine, the mould and its
   cavities, the cycle time, and the work instruction number and revision.
3. The work instruction steps, the machine settings (set, min, max, unit) and the checks
   (characteristic, limits, gauge, frequency, sample). These are the settings and checks that the
   work instruction steps show on the tablet.
4. Boxes for the operator, the start and end time, the good and reject quantity and the signature.
   An operation with a QC check at handover also has a box for the QC check.
5. At the bottom of each page: the order, the copy ID and the page number.

<GuideStep
  title="The printed traveller"
  description="Page 1 of MO-2026-1137 at A4, copy PC-MO-2026-1137-05."
  src="/guide/manufacturing-orders/6.png"
  alt="Printed A4 job traveller of MO-2026-1137 with the header, the QR code and operation 10 with steps, settings, checks and sign-off boxes"
  width={876}
  height={1240}
  callouts={[
    { x: 20, y: 15, caption: "Order number and QR code." },
    { x: 34, y: 31, caption: "Printed at, printed by and the copy ID." },
    { x: 50, y: 60, caption: "Settings and checks of the operation." },
    { x: 50, y: 80, caption: "Sign-off boxes." },
    { x: 20, y: 97, caption: "Order, copy ID and page number on each page." },
  ]}
/>

Each print is a controlled copy. It shows the work instruction revisions in force on the print date.
When a new revision releases, stop using the copy and print a new one. Each print also writes a
**Traveller printed** event on the order. A print does not change the order.

<Callout type="note">

Use the **Print** button on the traveller page. A print from the browser menu has no copy ID and no
print time, and the app does not record it.

</Callout>

To revoke a copy, choose **Copy register** on the traveller page. Scan the QR at each checkpoint to
record the step in the app. When you work on paper, enter the paper events later with the copy ID,
see [Enter a paper event](/docs/production/in-process-checks#enter-a-paper-event).

## Order costing and the traveller [#order-costing-and-the-traveller]

**Production > Order costing** compares the planned baseline, frozen at release, with the actual cost
from linked evidence. Missing costs stay open and block closure. Scrap material is not counted twice.

The traveller card follows the parts station by station. Open **Home > Traveller**. See
[Work from your phone](/docs/production/run-on-phone#follow-the-traveller) and
[Record scrap and rejects](/docs/production/scrap-and-rejects).

<GuideStep
  title="One manufacturing order in production"
  description="Record MO-2026-1127 with its buttons, status and events."
  src="/guide/manufacturing-orders/2.png"
  alt="Manufacturing order MO-2026-1127 record page on desktop with status In Production"
  width={1440}
  height={1000}
  callouts={[
    { x: 85, y: 12, caption: "Workflow buttons for the current status." },
    { x: 20, y: 25, caption: "Status chevrons from Issued to Completed." },
    { x: 50, y: 60, caption: "Details and events of the order." },
  ]}
/>

## If the system refuses [#if-the-system-refuses]

Messages shared by every flow are in
[Signatures and refusals](/docs/get-started/signatures-and-refusals). Order messages are in
[Planning refusals](/docs/production/planning-refusals#release-a-manufacturing-order). Examples:

- `{product} is {status}. Only released products can be ordered for production.`
- `{order} still has material issued to it ({lots}). Return it to stock before cancelling the order.`
- `This order is {status}. Changing {fields} needs a reason; a new machine or mould also needs line clearance and first-article inspection again.`

<NextSteps>

<NextStep href="/docs/production/issue-material" title="Issue material to an order" description="Pull the lots and book them to the machine." />

<NextStep href="/docs/production/line-clearance" title="Clear the line" description="Sign and verify before setup." />

<NextStep href="/docs/production/setup-and-first-piece" title="Set up and request the first piece" description="What happens on the tablet." />

<NextStep href="/docs/production/planning-refusals" title="Planning refusals" description="Every message and what to do." />

</NextSteps>