Resources
How shops actually run these numbers
Working notes on scheduling, capacity, WIP, inventory, maintenance, and vehicle recon. Written from what the ReadyOps workbooks do — no case studies, no performance claims, no theory you cannot use on Monday.
Production
Scheduling, capacity, and WIP
7 min read
How to schedule a machine shop week in Excel without MRP
A weekly routine that turns one job list into a schedule the floor will actually follow, without buying an MRP system.
Read it6 min read
What a work center load view actually tells you
Planned hours against available hours, read one work center at a time — and the four decisions it actually supports.
Read it6 min read
Tracking WIP when jobs move between operations
One current-stage field beats an operation-level tracking system nobody keeps current. How to get an honest WIP number.
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Inventory
Material and consumables
6 min read
A reorder point that survives a real parts bin
Usage times lead time plus a buffer you chose on purpose — and the counting discipline that keeps the number true.
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Maintenance
PM and downtime
7 min read
Building a PM schedule that gets followed
Rank assets by criticality, pick intervals you can defend, log completion, and let the downtime log tell you what to change.
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Dealer
Used vehicle inventory
7 min read
What to track on a used vehicle from auction to front line
The fields that decide whether a unit makes money: purchase ceiling, recon actual, title and keys, listing readiness, days in stock, gross.
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Start with the free board.
The Free Shop Priority Board is one Excel file that puts today's jobs, risk flags, and this week's shipments on a single page.