Wasting $205K on Equipment Chaos? Use Equipment for Production in Odoo 18

Manufacturing plant has 23 CNC machines. Production order: "Make 500 units." Production manager manually assigns: "Machine #7 for cutting, Machine #12 for drilling." Writes on whiteboard. Operator forgets which machine. Uses wrong machine (Machine #9 has worn drill bit). 127 units defective. Scrap: $8,470. Machine #7 sits idle (wasn't told to use it). Capacity wasted. Machine #12 breaks mid-production. Operator doesn't know (no maintenance tracking). Keeps running. Machine catastrophic failure. Repair: $47,000. Downtime: 3 days. Lost production: $127,000. No equipment history (can't prove warranty claim). Vendor refuses. Maintenance team: "When was Machine #12 last serviced?" No record. Production planner: "Which machines are available for next order?" Walks around factory checking. Takes 2 hours. OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness)? Unknown (no usage tracking). Annual cost: $127K lost production + $47K repairs + $8,470 scrap + $23K manual tracking = $205,470 equipment chaos.

Odoo 18 Manufacturing + Maintenance fixes this: Define equipment (CNC Machine #7, Drill Press #12). Link to work centers (Assembly 1, Cutting Station). Assign work centers to production routing (Cutting → Drilling → Assembly). Production order created → Equipment auto-assigned (based on routing). Operator sees: "Use Machine #7." No confusion. Equipment usage logged (hours, load, performance). Maintenance scheduled automatically (preventive maintenance after 200 hrs). Machine breaks → Production blocked (realistic lead times). Equipment history tracked (warranty claims, service records). OEE reports: Availability, Performance, Quality. Bottleneck analysis: Machine #12 utilization = 97% (add capacity). Here's how to use equipment for production in Odoo 18 so you stop losing $205K annually to manual equipment chaos.

What Equipment-Based Production Does

Integrated manufacturing: Define equipment → Link to work centers → Assign to production routing → Auto-assign on production orders → Track usage/performance → Schedule maintenance → Analyze OEE → Optimize capacity.

Step 1: Install Required Modules

1. Go to Apps
2. Search and install:
   • Manufacturing (MRP): Production orders, routings, BOMs
   • Maintenance: Equipment tracking, maintenance requests, preventive maintenance
3. These modules integrate automatically:
   • Equipment from Maintenance appears in MRP work centers
   • Production usage triggers maintenance scheduling
   • Equipment breakdowns block production

Step 2: Define Equipment

1. Go to Maintenance → Equipment
2. Click New
3. Configure equipment:
   • Equipment Name: "CNC Machine #7"
   • Category: Group similar equipment
     • Create categories: CNC Machines, Drill Presses, Assembly Lines, Conveyors
     • Used for reporting and maintenance planning
   • Used By: Select "Equipment" (production equipment) vs "Employee" (personal tools)
   • Work Center: **CRITICAL** - Link to specific work center
     • This connects Maintenance equipment to Manufacturing work centers
     • Enables automatic equipment assignment in production
   • Maintenance Team: Assign responsible maintenance team
   • Technician: Specific person responsible for this equipment
   • Serial Number: For tracking and warranty
   • Vendor: Supplier for parts/service
   • Warranty Date: Track warranty expiration
4. Save equipment

Example Equipment Setup

Step 3: Set Up Work Centers

1. Go to Manufacturing → Configuration → Work Centers
2. Click New
3. Configure work center:
   • Work Center Name: "Cutting Station 1"
   • Equipment: Link equipment defined in Step 2
     • Select "CNC Machine #7"
     • Multiple equipment can be linked to one work center
   • OEE Target: Set efficiency target (e.g., 85%)
     • Used to measure actual performance vs target
     • OEE = Availability × Performance × Quality
   • Working Hours: Define shift schedules
     • Mon-Fri, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM (1 hr lunch)
     • Or 24/7 operations with shift rotations
     • Realistic capacity planning based on actual availability
   • Time Efficiency: Expected speed (default 100%)
   • Capacity: Number of parallel operations
   • Costs: Hourly cost for production costing
4. Save work center

Work Center Example

Step 4: Configure Bill of Materials (BOM) with Routing

1. Go to Manufacturing → Products → Products
2. Select product or create new
3. Go to Bill of Materials tab
4. Create BOM or edit existing
5. Under Operations tab, add production steps:
   • Click Add a line
   • Operation: "Cutting"
   • Work Center: Select "Cutting Station 1"
   • Duration: 30 minutes
6. Add more operations:
   • Operation: "Drilling" → Work Center: "Drill Press Station" → 20 min
   • Operation: "Assembly" → Work Center: "Assembly Line 1" → 15 min
   • Operation: "Quality Check" → Work Center: "QC Station" → 10 min
7. Each operation automatically linked to equipment (via work center)

Example BOM Routing

Step 5: Create Manufacturing Order

1. Go to Manufacturing → Operations → Manufacturing Orders
2. Click New
3. Select product with BOM configured in Step 4
4. Set quantity to produce
5. Click Confirm
6. Routing operations automatically populated with equipment assignments
7. Operator sees:
   • Operation: "Cutting"
   • Work Center: "Cutting Station 1"
   • Equipment: "CNC Machine #7"
   • Duration: 30 min

Step 6: Start Production (Equipment Tracking Begins)

1. Open manufacturing order
2. Go to Work Orders tab
3. Select first operation (Cutting)
4. Click Start
5. Equipment usage tracking begins:
   • Start time logged
   • Equipment status: "In Use"
   • Operator assigned
6. Operator performs work
7. Click Done when finished
8. Equipment usage logged:
   • Actual duration (vs planned 30 min)
   • Efficiency calculated (planned vs actual)
   • Equipment available for next operation

Step 7: Monitor Equipment Usage & Performance

Real-time Equipment Status

1. Go to Maintenance → Equipment
2. Select equipment (CNC Machine #7)
3. View current status:
   • Available / In Use / Under Maintenance / Broken
   • Current work order using equipment
   • Next scheduled maintenance

OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) Analysis

1. Go to Manufacturing → Reporting → OEE
2. Select time period and equipment
3. View OEE metrics:
   • Availability: Uptime ÷ Planned production time
     • Planned: 8 hrs/day × 5 days = 40 hrs/week
     • Downtime: 3 hrs maintenance + 2 hrs breakdowns = 5 hrs
     • Availability: (40 - 5) ÷ 40 = 87.5%
   • Performance: Actual output ÷ Theoretical max output
     • Theoretical: 2 units/hr × 35 hrs = 70 units
     • Actual: 63 units
     • Performance: 63 ÷ 70 = 90%
   • Quality: Good units ÷ Total units
     • Total: 63 units
     • Defective: 3 units
     • Quality: (63 - 3) ÷ 63 = 95.2%
   • OEE: Availability × Performance × Quality
     • OEE: 87.5% × 90% × 95.2% = 75%
     • Target: 85% (need improvement)

Equipment Utilization Report

1. Go to Manufacturing → Reporting → Equipment
2. View:
   • Hours used per equipment
   • Utilization rate (% of available time used)
   • Bottleneck identification (equipment at 95%+ utilization)
   • Idle equipment (underutilized assets)

Step 8: Preventive Maintenance Integration

1. Go to Maintenance → Equipment → Select equipment
2. Configure Maintenance tab:
   • Preventive Maintenance: Enable
   • Frequency: Every 200 hours or Every 30 days
   • Maintenance Type: Service, Inspection, Calibration
3. When equipment usage reaches threshold:
   • Maintenance request auto-created
   • Assigned to maintenance team
   • Production planner notified (schedule downtime)
4. Equipment status changes to "Under Maintenance"
5. Production orders using this equipment:
   • Blocked (can't start)
   • Lead time adjusted automatically
   • Alternative work center suggested (if available)

Equipment Breakdown Handling

1. Equipment breaks during production
2. Operator clicks Request Maintenance on work order
3. Maintenance request created instantly
4. Equipment status: "Broken"
5. Production automatically paused
6. Maintenance team notified
7. Work order shows realistic delay
8. Customer delivery dates auto-adjusted

Real-World Impact

FAQs