Manufacturing
Make the Work on the Floor Visible Across the Business.
Production, quality, maintenance and leadership all depend on the same information, but it rarely lives in one place. We help manufacturing teams connect planning, issues, inspections and follow-up so the right people see what is happening and what needs action.
The Challenge
The Handoff Is Often Where the Trouble Starts.
Manufacturing teams usually have systems for production and inventory. The gaps tend to show up in the handoffs between people, shifts and departments, where updates move through conversations, whiteboards, email and spreadsheets.
Plans that change after they are shared. The schedule is updated in one place while the floor is still working from the last version.
Issues reported verbally. Problems raised at the line or in a shift huddle are not always captured, assigned or followed up.
Inspection results on paper or in separate files. Findings are recorded, but the follow-up work is hard to track.
Maintenance requests without clear status. Teams submit requests and then have to ask whether anyone is working on them.
Shift handoffs that depend on memory. Open items and context can get lost between shifts and departments.
Reports built by hand. Supervisors and managers spend time collecting updates instead of acting on them.
We work alongside the systems you already run. Tools like Smartsheet are not a replacement for your ERP, MES, PLC or other plant-floor control systems. They work best for tracking the work that happens around those systems: requests, issues, follow-up, approvals and reporting.
Where We Focus
Where Better Workflows Help
We look for the recurring processes where information changes hands. These are common starting points, and we scope each one to how your operation actually runs.
Production Planning & Coordination
A shared view of planned work, priorities and changes so production, scheduling and supervisors are on the same page.
Quality & Inspections
Structured inspection records with findings routed to the right owner and tracked through to close.
Issue & Corrective Action Tracking
A consistent way to log problems, assign owners, set due dates and see what is still open.
Maintenance Requests & Follow-Up
Simple request intake with visible status, so the people who reported a problem know where it stands.
Operations Reporting
Dashboards and summaries that pull from current records instead of manually assembled spreadsheets.
Illustrative Workflow
From Plan to Action
This example shows how a single piece of planned work can move from the schedule to the floor and back to management, with a clear owner at each step.
Your process will look different. We map how work and information actually move today before recommending changes.
01
Planned Work
Work is scheduled and shared with the teams responsible for it.
02
Floor Update
Operators or supervisors record progress, completions and changes as work happens.
03
Exception or Inspection Finding
A problem, delay or inspection finding is logged with the details needed to act on it.
04
Assigned Owner
The item is routed to the right person or team with a due date and priority.
05
Follow-Up
Actions are tracked, reminders go out, and the item stays visible until it is resolved.
06
Management Reporting
Status, open items and trends show up in views leadership can review.
Integrations
Systems That Work Together
We start with the systems you already rely on and decide what should connect, what should stay separate and what data actually needs to move.
ERP & Planning Systems
Keep your main system where it is and share the right data with the teams coordinating the work.
Quality & Maintenance Tools
Connect existing tools where it makes sense, or give teams a simpler way to capture and track what those tools do not cover.
Microsoft 365 & Collaboration
Work with the email, files and messaging tools your teams already use every day.
Smartsheet for the Work Around Them
Use Smartsheet for intake, tracking, approvals and reporting where it is the right fit for the work.
How often data syncs, and whether any view can be close to real time, depends on the systems involved. We confirm that during scoping and validate it in testing rather than assuming it up front.
The Goal
What Better Tracking Can Bring
Results depend on where you start and what you change. A clearer process can bring improvements like these.
Clearer ownership of issues, findings and follow-up work.
Fewer items lost between shifts, departments and handoffs.
Earlier awareness of problems that need attention.
More consistent records for inspections, requests and corrective actions.
Less time spent assembling status updates and reports by hand.
A shared view of open work that production, quality and maintenance can all use.
Related Services
Services that support this work.
Implementation & Solution Design
Design and build Smartsheet solutions tailored to your processes, people and goals.
Integrations & Automation
Connect Smartsheet with NetSuite, Jira, Microsoft and other business systems.
Control Center & Portfolio Management
Standardize projects, automate provisioning and gain portfolio visibility at scale.
Training & Enablement
Help your team work with confidence through practical, role-based training.
Managed Services & Support
Get ongoing help, enhancements and advisory support as your needs evolve.
Next Step
Let’s Look at How the Work Really Moves.
Walk us through a process that depends on too many follow-ups. We’ll help you see where the handoffs break down and what would make the biggest difference first.