Our supervisors already track labor on paper. What does Shop-Trak actually change?

Paper tracking means data entry happens hours after the event — supervisors are estimating, not recording. Shop-Trak captures the transaction at the machine in real time, tied to the operator and the work order. The data in SyteLine matches what actually happened on the floor, so your next quote uses real history instead of optimistic assumptions.

We're a job shop — every job is different. Does Shop-Trak handle that variability?

Job shop variability is exactly what Shop-Trak was designed for. Each work order is tracked independently through whatever routing it requires — different operations, different work centers, different outside operations. Most metal fab shops run mixed-mode (job shop, repetitive, and project work in the same building), and Shop-Trak treats all three as first-class modes without separate systems.

We already have SyteLine. Is Shop-Trak difficult to add?

Shop-Trak is added as a module within your existing SyteLine environment — no separate database or parallel system. Implementation typically runs 8–12 weeks for a metal fab shop of 50–200 employees. Most operator training is under an hour because the punch-in/punch-out flow is designed to feel like the time clock they already use.

Manager overlooking large industrial manufacturing floor from elevated position

Industrial Machinery & Equipment · SyteLine ERP

Job Shop Margins Are Made or Lost on the Shop Floor. Most ERP Systems Find Out Three Weeks Later.

Metal fabrication is a high-mix, variable-margin business. Your job costing is only as good as your shop floor data — and right now, your supervisors are still transcribing it by hand, three weeks after you could have done something about it.

Run the Shop Floor Efficiency Loss Calculator

The Problem

Where Job Shop Margin Goes — And Why ERP Doesn't See It

Labor hours on the floor don't match what's in SyteLine.

Supervisors estimate. End-of-day batch entries don't reflect what actually happened at each operation — how long that setup really ran, who was on that job, what was direct versus indirect. The data in SyteLine and the data on your floor are two different realities. And the gap between them is where your margin went.

Rework happens. SyteLine doesn't always know.

When a part comes back from inspection, the time and material spent on rework often disappears into a general overhead bucket — not the specific job where it occurred. Your scrap rates by part number, by operator, by machine should be visible by Tuesday morning. In most shops, they're not visible until the quality manager reconstructs the picture from inspection records weeks later.

Outside operations create blind spots.

When material leaves for finishing, coating, or specialized machining, you lose visibility until it comes back — or doesn't come back on time. The PO closed. The customer is calling about delivery. Your CSR has nothing to tell them.

Shop-Trak + Fact-Trak — Built for Metal Fabrication

Shop-Trak

Operators punch in and out at terminals or kiosks at the work center. Every minute of labor is captured against the right job, the right operation, and the right direct-vs.-indirect categorization — setup time, run time, and rework time tracked separately because they cost differently. Supervisors see live status of every active job. Your next quote uses real data instead of optimistic data.

See Shop-Trak

Fact-Trak

Job costing analytics during production — not at month-end. Live P&L dashboards incorporate posted and unposted entries so the picture is current, not last-period. Margin variance by job, by operation, by customer is visible while the job is still open, with drill-down from KPI to the source transaction. Quote-to-actual variance feeds the next estimate.

See Fact-Trak

Doc-Trak

The right revision of the work instruction is in front of the operator at the work center, with no paper to chase. Quality and rework records get captured against the job in real time. Outbound spec packages for outside operations are version-controlled and audit-ready — so the part that leaves for coating or finishing goes with the right documentation, and comes back with a complete record.

See Doc-Trak

APS-ME

Scheduling for high-mix job shop environments — sequences jobs by machine capability, setup time, and material availability. Outside operations are factored into the production plan with their actual lead times, so the part doesn't go invisible while it's at your contractor's shop. APS-ME is the Lake program for getting SyteLine's existing APS module set up correctly for your specific floor.

See APS-ME