Production
Watching your plant floor live from the dashboard
Reading the plant floor card on your dashboard: where in-progress batches appear on your floor plan, the production list beside it, and how to place a batch on the floor.
Your dashboard includes a Plant floor card: a live picture of the batches in production, drawn on your facility floor plan at the equipment they're running on, with a production list beside it. It's the fastest way to see what's running, where each batch sits, and which holds are due for a check-in, without opening a single batch.
What the card shows
The card has two halves. On the left is your facility floor plan with a marker on each piece of equipment that has a batch running on it. Every marker carries the product name and glows in a colour that reflects the batch's hold check-in status; a legend above the plan names the colours. On the right is the production list, covered in the next section.
The floor plan itself appears once you've built a facility layout: a drawing of your space with your zones, tanks, kettles, and other equipment positioned where they physically sit. Until you've placed anything on that canvas, the card shows the production list with a prompt to set up your facility layout and an Open layout link. Every batch still appears in the list, it just doesn't get a marker on a plan. With a layout but no batches running, the card says so and waits for your next batch.
The production list
Beside the floor plan, and filling the card on smaller screens, is the production list. It shows the batches in production, including those waiting on internal QC or a lab result, with:
- Product and batch number: which batch it is.
- Current stage: the stage the batch is working through right now.
- Progress: a bar and percentage for how far through the recipe the batch is.
- Check-in status: for each active hold, whether its check-ins are on schedule or overdue.
Select a row to open that batch.
A batch with a placed vessel also shows its location, for example · on Kettle 2, with (per recipe) when the spot came from the recipe rather than a vessel you recorded. Batches without a placed vessel still appear here; they simply don't get a marker on the plan, so no batch drops out of view just because it couldn't be placed. The card shows your 30 most recently started batches.
How a batch finds its spot
Crown decides where to draw a batch by checking a short list and using the first option that points at equipment on your floor plan:
- The hold's own vessel: the tank or container you recorded on the batch's wait or hold step, once that hold has started.
- The stage's equipment: the specific unit captured for the stage the batch is on now.
- The recipe's preset: the specific unit linked to that stage or hold in the recipe.
If none of those point at a piece of equipment on your layout, the batch stays in the production list only. A batch placed from its recipe carries a small ~ beside its name on the plan, and (per recipe) in the list.
Placing a batch on the floor
You have two ways to make sure a batch lands where it belongs:
- Record it on the production floor. On a wait or hold step, use the Vessel / location picker to choose the tank, kettle, or container the batch is actually in. The default is Not recorded; pick a vessel and, once the hold has started, the batch appears at that spot on the plan. This lives on the batch's stages, covered in Recording production steps.
- Preset it in the recipe. In the recipe editor, link a stage or hold to the specific unit it runs on, the actual vessel or machine you've placed on your floor plan. Every batch started from that recipe then begins on the floor at that spot; batches already running keep the equipment they started with. On an approved recipe, add this in your next version.
Reading check-in colours
Each marker and each list row is coloured by the batch's most urgent hold:
- Running (gold): the batch is on schedule, or has no timed check-in due.
- Check-in overdue (amber): a check-in window has slipped on one of its holds.
- Critically overdue (red): a full extra check-in window has passed with no activity on one of the batch's holds, or a holding stage has run past the maximum duration its recipe states. The batch's row then shows how far over the limit it is.
Logging the due check-in from the batch clears an overdue colour right away. A holding stage past its maximum duration stays red until the stage ends or the batch leaves production. See Keeping up with hold check-ins for how the amber and red thresholds are worked out.
Working with the floor
Hover a marker to preview a batch's details in a tooltip: product, batch number, current stage, progress, and each hold's status. Click the marker to pin the tooltip so it stays open, and select Open production floor inside it to jump straight to that batch. When more than one batch is running on the same piece of equipment, they cluster into a single marker with a count, and the tooltip lists them all.
Hovering a row in the production list highlights its marker on the plan, and the reverse works too, so it's easy to match a name to a spot.
The floor keeps itself current within about a second of activity on a batch, such as a step being completed, a check-in logged, or a vessel recorded. A change to a batch's status alone, or a colour that turns because time has passed, shows within a minute. You don't need to refresh. On a phone the drawn floor plan gives way to the production list, which carries the whole feature so a live view still fits in your pocket.
What's next
From here, open a batch to work through its stages and log check-ins in Recording production steps, or scan the rest of your dashboard with Compliance health on your dashboard.
Frequently asked questions
Why isn't my batch showing on the floor plan?
A batch gets a marker only when the equipment it runs on is placed on your facility floor plan. If no vessel is recorded on a hold that has started, the batch's stage isn't linked to a specific unit, or that equipment isn't on the canvas yet, the batch still appears in the production list beside the map, just without a marker. Record a vessel on the wait or hold step once it's started, or place that equipment on your layout, to pin it.
Do I need a floor plan to use this card?
No. The production list shows your active batches with their stage, progress, and check-in status even without a layout, along with a prompt to set one up. The drawn floor plan appears once you've placed zones or equipment on your facility canvas.
How quickly does the floor update?
Usually within about a second of activity on a batch, such as a step completed, a check-in logged, or a vessel recorded. A change to a batch's status alone, or a colour that changes because time has passed, can take up to a minute. You don't need to refresh. On a phone the drawn floor plan gives way to the production list, which carries the same information.