Shop Floor Barcode Scanning — How It Works

Where to Start: Opening the Scan Barcodes Page

Barcode scanning in Standard Time® begins on the Home page. When you open Standard Time®, the Home dashboard displays a set of large icon shortcuts for common tasks. Click the Scan Barcodes icon — it opens the shop floor scan screen, a full-screen interface designed to be operated entirely by scanner.

The Scan Barcodes page stays on screen, waiting for the next scan. It is designed to run on a shared workstation, tablet, or kiosk at the scanner station — one screen can serve an entire shift of employees, each scanning in and out individually.

Starting a Timer: The Three Required Scans

Every time-tracking session begins with three scans. These three scans identify who is working, what job they are working on, and what task or process step they are performing. Together they give Standard Time® everything it needs to create a complete, accurate time record.

Scan 1 — Your Username

Every scan sequence begins with identity. Each employee has a printed badge or label with a barcode encoding their Standard Time® username. Scan your badge and the system knows exactly who is about to start working — no typing, no PIN, and no shared logins. If you do not have a printed badge yet, see Creating Users and Employee Barcodes for setup instructions.

Scan 2 — Work Order or Job Number

The second scan identifies the job being performed. Scan the barcode printed on the work order, traveler, or job ticket. Standard Time® links the incoming time record to that specific work order — so every minute tracked is attributed to the right job, the right customer, and the right cost center. See Creating Projects and Job Barcodes for how to generate and print work order labels.

Scan 3 — Task or Process Step

The third scan identifies the process step being performed: welding, assembly, inspection, painting, packaging, or whatever process steps your operation uses. Task barcodes are printed on labels and posted at each workstation or printed on the job traveler itself. The moment this barcode is scanned, the timer starts. The employee can set down the scanner and begin work immediately — there is nothing else to do.

Optional Required Scans Before the Timer Starts

After the third scan, a timer will start immediately in the default configuration. However, managers can configure required scan fields that must be answered before the timer will start. If these are set up, one or more prompts will appear on the screen after Scan 3, asking for additional information.

Common examples of required scan fields include:

• Quantity — how many units are being produced or processed
• Part number — which specific part is being worked on (scan the part's own label)
• Formula or recipe — which production formula or revision is being used

Scan or type the requested value for each prompt. When all required fields are filled, the timer starts automatically. These fields are configured by a manager in the Barcode Rules settings and can be tailored to specific tasks, work orders, or process steps.

Timer Is Running — Using CLEAR for the Next Operator

Once the timer is running, the Scan Barcodes screen shows the active state — the employee's name, the work order, the task, and the elapsed time. The operator can put down the scanner and focus entirely on the work. No further interaction with the screen is needed until the work is finished.

On a shared station where multiple employees use the same scanner, a second operator may need to scan in while the first person's timer is still running. This is where the CLEAR label is used.

Scanning the CLEAR label does two things:

1. It returns the screen to the neutral "ready to scan" state.
2. It leaves every running timer completely untouched.

The next operator can then scan in immediately — their own username, work order, and task — starting their own independent timer. Multiple employees can have timers running simultaneously, each tracked separately.

Checking Your Active Timer

If the screen has been cleared by another operator or the screen has timed out, your timer is still running in the background. To confirm the status of your timer, simply scan your username badge again.

Standard Time® recognizes the scan as a status check — not a new start sequence — and displays your currently active timer: which work order it is linked to, which task is running, and how much time has elapsed. This is a fast way to confirm everything is being tracked correctly before returning to work.

If the system shows no active timer for your username, that means either the timer was never started or it has already been stopped. Start the sequence again from Scan 1 if needed.

Stopping the Timer

When the work is complete, stop the timer with the following scan sequence:

Viewing Your Time Logs

Every completed scan sequence produces a record in the Time Logs page. Navigate to Time Logs from the main menu to see a full history of all scan activity.

Each row in Time Logs includes:

• Employee — who performed the work
• Work order — which job the time was charged to
• Task — the process step that was performed
• Start time — the exact moment the timer started (when Scan 3 completed)
• Stop time — when the STOP scan completed
• Duration — calculated elapsed time in hours and minutes
• Custom field values — any quantity, part number, or other data collected via required scan prompts

Time Logs can be filtered by employee, date range, and work order. Use them for:

• Payroll — total hours per employee per pay period
• Job costing — labor hours per work order, compared against the estimate
• Process time analysis — average time per task to identify bottlenecks and set standards
• Audit trail — a complete timestamped history of every operation on the shop floor