Assign, track, and manage production tasks by linking your Resources and Operators — all from the Make screen.

Katana’s task management system helps streamline production by assigning Production operations to Resources (like machines or workstations) and Operators (people responsible for completing tasks).

Key concepts

Resource: A workstation, machine, or role (e.g. Assembly Station, Paint Booth).
Operator: A team member who can complete production tasks.
Production operation: A step in the production process, like cutting, sewing, or packaging.

Read about how Production operations, Resources, and Operators are related.

Setup: How to manage tasks

To manage tasks in the Tasks tab, first define Production operations and assign Resources.

Step 1: Define operations

Go to a Product card → Production operations section.
Add each operation step (e.g., Cutting, Welding).
Assign a Resource to each step (optional, see use cases below).

Step 2: Create MOs

When you create a manufacturing order (MO), Katana:

Automatically assigns the Resources linked to each Production operation.
Groups these operations in the Tasks tab by Resource.

You can edit the Resource or assign specific Operators directly from:

The MO card, or
Settings → Resources (set default Operators per Resource).

Default Operators are assigned to Resources — not individual operations.

The Tasks tab (Make → Tasks)

The Tasks tab is your central task board.

Here’s what you’ll see:

Resource column: All operation steps grouped by Resource.
Assigned to column: Shows which Operator is responsible for each task.
Filters: Easily filter tasks by Operator to manage workload.
Done tab: Completed operations are moved here and can be exported for reporting.

Note: If Units of Measure differ across products, total quantities in the Tasks tab may not sum up.

Task priority

Task order reflects the priority of the associated MO.
You can change MO priority from the Schedule tab.
Task priority cannot be changed directly in the Tasks tab.

Status tracking

Statuses for production operations can be updated manually or via the Shop Floor App. Status changes sync across the system and impact overall MO progress.

Examples

Case 1: Workstation-based production

You have dedicated workstations for each operation step.

Setup

Product X:
- Cutting → Workstation 1
- Sewing → Workstation 2
- Packaging → Workstation 3
Product Y:
- Cutting → Workstation 1
- Gluing → Workstation 4
- QC → Workstation 5
- Packaging → Workstation 3

Benefits

Tasks automatically route to specific workstations.
The Tasks tab becomes your workstation job board.

Case 2: Operator-based full MO ownership

You want individual Operators to handle an MO from start to finish.

Setup

No default Resources set in the Product card.
After MO creation, assign one Resource (i.e., Operator) to all steps on the MO.

Benefits

Flexible task distribution between workers.
Best for teams where staff rotate across all stations.

Summary

Feature	Description
Tasks tab	Central view to manage and assign tasks by Resource and Operator.
Resources	Workstations or people assigned to specific operations.
Operators	Team members assigned manually or via default mapping.
MO link	Production operations defined on the product level are linked to MOs.
Flexibility	Supports both fixed workstation models and rotating staff workflows.