Small and medium business | Business Central, N...

How to manage the labor cost when one labor operate 3 machines

(4) Share

Report

Posted on by MahGah

15,529

Hi experts

We have 3 machines that all run at the same time with one operator. If we setup operator as a work center then operator starts 3 work orders on all 3 machines anytime operator put for each work order is not accurate since operator time needed to divided between 3 machines and based on work order QTY. of course we can ask operator to divide the time spent between 3 work orders but that will be a manual process

Any idea on how we can setup D365 BC that operator enter his time but system divide the time based on those 3 WO running at the same?

if above is not possible what other work around we have?

Thanks

Categories:

Dynamics 365 Business Central

I have the same question (0)

All responses (4)

Answers (0)

Suggested answer

OussamaSabbouh 5,055 on at

Like (3)

Report
How to manage the labor cost when one labor operate 3 machines

Hello,
What you can do with standard BC (no heavy customizations)

Split machine vs. labor in the routing

Keep the 3 machines as Machine Centers.

Create one Work Center called e.g. OP-LABOR (the operator).

In each routing operation, use two lines with the same Routing Link Code:

Line A: Machine Center (machine time).

Line B: OP-LABOR (labor time, Run Time “per item”).

Set Flushing Method = Backward for the OP-LABOR line.

Operator just posts Output on each Production Order (no manual time split).→ BC will backflush labor proportional to the good output on each order. Result: the operator’s time is effectively divided across the 3 orders based on actual quantities produced.

If you need a simple dampener

When you know the operator is running 3 jobs in parallel, temporarily lower Efficiency % on OP-LABOR (e.g., ~33%).

That reduces the labor posted per order so totals remain realistic when multiple jobs run at once. (It’s a blunt instrument but quick.)

If you want closer control (light customization)

Add a tiny extension (or Power Automate + API) where the operator logs one total duration per shift to OP-LABOR, selects the 3 active orders, and the system auto-allocates minutes by:

each order’s remaining qty, or

each order’s standard labor need (qty × routing run time).

The job then posts Capacity Ledger Entries per order. Operator inputs once; system splits.

If you prefer an off-the-shelf MES

Use a shop-floor add-on (e.g., Insight Works Shop Floor Insight, Tasklet, etc.). They support multi-job clock-in and auto time-splitting by qty or standards out of the box.

Regards,
Oussama

1 people found this reply helpful.

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
Suggested answer

Rishabh Kanaskar 6,147 on at

Like (1)

Report

How to manage the labor cost when one labor operate 3 machines

Hi,

Business Central doesn’t have a standard feature to automatically split one operator’s time across multiple machine operations. The system assumes one resource per operation.

You can try using Concurrent Capacities on the work center/machine center to reflect shared labor, but this still won’t auto-split time.

A custom extension might be needed to distribute labor cost proportionally across active operations.

Is your main goal accurate cost allocation or time tracking for reporting?

Thanks

Rishabh

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
Suggested answer

Gregory Mavrogeorgis 763 on at

Like (2)

Report
How to manage the labor cost when one labor operate 3 machines

Hi,

this is a classic “one operator, multiple machines” problem.
Can BC auto-split one time entry across several production orders?
No, not in base BC. Capacity (labor/machine) is posted per order/operation. There’s no built-in “book once, auto-allocate across all running ops” feature.
Two solid ways to handle it (no custom code)
Option A — Push the operator cost into the machines (recommended)
Treat the operator as overhead on the machine centers so costs follow machine run time automatically.

On each Machine Center: set Unit cost calculation = Time.

Put the operator cost share in Overhead Rate.

If operator = $30/h and he minds 3 machines, set Overhead Rate = 30/3 = $10/h on each machine (adjust if the share isn’t equal).

Keep only the machine operation in the routing.

Post output as usual (set capacity flushing to Backward if you want auto posting).
Result: capacity cost per order = (machine direct cost + operator share) × runtime. No manual splitting.

Pros: automatic, accurate by runtime, simple for operators.
Cons: you don’t get separate “labor minutes per order” unless you report overhead separately.
Option B — Let routings backflush the time
If you prefer to keep a labor operation in the routing, set it up with the per-piece run time you expect and use Backward capacity flushing. Operators only report output; BC posts expected labor time per order.
Pros: no manual splitting at the shop floor.
Cons: you’re using standard times, not the actual single time the operator typed; variances show up only if you compare to actuals elsewhere.
If you must capture one real time entry and split it
You’ll need either:

a small customization (e.g., a page to pick active ops and split minutes by qty or expected time), or

an MES/Shop Floor add-on that supports multi-order time allocation (e.g., Insight Works SFI, Clever MES, etc.).

Extra tips

If machine utilization varies (sometimes 2 machines, sometimes 3), make the Overhead Rate reflect your average mix, review monthly, or maintain two machine-center versions (with/without operator share) and switch via work shifts.

For KPI-only labor tracking, you can post the operator’s total hours to an “Operator Pool” Work Center via Capacity Journal and analyze in BI—while costing still flows via Option A.

If you find this helpful please mark it as verified

Was this reply helpful? Yes No
Suggested answer

YUN ZHU 95,307 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

Like (2)

Report

How to manage the labor cost when one labor operate 3 machines

Maybe you can contact your partner to customize it.

Thanks.

ZHU

Was this reply helpful? Yes No