What is Shop Floor Control?
The functions that manage, track, and report production activity on the factory floor in real time, from order release to completion.
Definition
Shop floor control (SFC) covers the execution layer of manufacturing: releasing and prioritizing orders, dispatching work to resources, and collecting data on labor, machine time, quantities, scrap, and progress as jobs run. It turns the production plan into action and feeds actuals back to planning and costing so the system reflects what is really happening on the floor. Data is captured through terminals, barcodes, tablets, or machine connections, giving supervisors live visibility into job status, work-center load, and bottlenecks. Shop floor control overlaps with manufacturing execution system (MES) functionality, though MES typically goes deeper into equipment integration, quality, and detailed process enforcement.
How Shop Floor Control Works in ERP
ERP shop floor control releases work orders to the floor, presents dispatch lists by work center, and collects operation confirmations, labor and machine hours, completed and scrapped quantities, and material consumption. These actuals update work-in-process, inventory, schedule status, and cost in real time, closing the loop with planning. Dashboards expose job progress and resource load so supervisors can react to delays, while captured data feeds efficiency, OEE, and variance reporting.
ERP Vendors with Strong Shop Floor Control
Global Shop Solutions
All-in-one ERP for small to midsize manufacturers
Plex Manufacturing Cloud
Cloud-native ERP purpose-built for manufacturing with real-time shop floor control
Epicor Kinetic
ERP built for manufacturers — from job shop to enterprise
E2 Shop System
Shop management software for small to midsize job shops
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between shop floor control and MES?
Shop floor control is the ERP layer that releases orders, dispatches work, and collects labor and production data to update planning and costing. A manufacturing execution system (MES) goes further, with deep machine integration, real-time process enforcement, detailed quality capture, and equipment monitoring. Many manufacturers use ERP shop floor control for order tracking and add an MES when they need granular, machine-level process control.
How is shop floor data collected?
Data is captured through shop floor terminals, barcode scanners, tablets, touchscreens, or direct machine connections that record operation start and stop, quantities, scrap, and material use. This feeds the ERP in real time so WIP, schedules, and costs stay current. The richer and more automated the data collection, the more accurate the resulting efficiency, OEE, and cost reporting.