Machine Departments – Print Reach Help Center

The Machine Departments list is available within the Administration module and is used to define the production departments utilized throughout Midnight.

Machine Departments help you group machines logically for scheduling and production planning, as each machine in the Machine List must be assigned to a Machine Department. While departments are often associated with specific equipment, they can also represent production areas or processes that do not have dedicated machines, such as Handwork, Kitting, Fulfillment, or Quality Control.

When creating Machine Departments, use names that reflect your actual production areas and workflows. Department names should be simple, recognizable, and easy for users to identify when scheduling jobs, tracking production, and reviewing reports.

Machine Departments play an important role in scheduling and capacity planning because each department can have its own staffing schedule, availability, and workflow requirements.

This list should be configured before setting up the Standard Services List and Shop Floor Data Capture modules. Machine Departments are also used when defining service properties, routing work through production, and generating production schedules.

After entering the Machine Department name along with the shift start and stop times, you can add one or more machines to the department.

It is recommended that you create your machines before creating the Machine Department. Once the machines have been created, you can select and assign them to the appropriate Machine Department during department setup, allowing Midnight to properly schedule and track production resources within that department.

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