A shop's backlog is its near-term future, but it usually lives only in the scheduler's head. How many dollars of work are open on the floor? How many hours are queued at each work center, and is that center overloaded or starved? This dashboard turns open routing operations into a live load picture - backlog hours and dollars by work center, against capacity, so scheduling becomes visible instead of intuitive.
What this dashboard answers
It answers "what's on the floor, and can we handle it?" Open WIP $ is the remaining value still in the shop; Backlog Hours is the queued work across open operations; and Load vs Capacity % is backlog hours over available capacity - over 100% means a work center is overloaded. Weeks of Backlog expresses the whole queue in weeks of capacity, the number owners actually quote lead times from. Overdue Backlog $ flags the work already past its need-by date.
The metrics that matter
Load vs Capacity % by work center is the bottleneck finder - one center red while others sit idle is the classic job-shop imbalance, and it's a scheduling fix, not a capacity-purchase decision. Overdue Backlog $ is the OTD report's early warning: dollars already past need-by are tomorrow's late shipments. The priority split (Hot / Standard / Stock) and the need-by aging buckets show whether the hot work is actually getting sequenced first or just adding to the pile.
Why this data is trapped
Open operations, remaining hours, remaining value, and need-by dates all live in the scheduling and WIP screens of JobBOSS (E2 Shoptech), ProShop ERP, Global Shop Solutions, or ECI M1 / Epicor. The ERP can show the dispatch list for one work center, but rolling remaining hours against capacity across every center - the load balance - is the view it rarely produces. So owners quote lead times and rebalance the floor from feel, and the overload only becomes visible when something ships late.
How to read it
Read Load vs Capacity % across work centers first: anything over 100% is a confirmed bottleneck, and the gap between your most- and least-loaded center is the rebalancing opportunity. Weeks of Backlog is your honest lead-time number for the next quote. Then read Overdue Backlog $ - those are the orders to expedite today before they become past-due shipments - and use the priority split to check that hot jobs are actually being sequenced ahead of stock work.
The sample uses realistic synthetic WIP and routing data - no real jobs, customers, or schedules.
Metrics it tracks
| Metric | What it means |
|---|---|
| Open WIP $ | Remaining dollar value still in the shop across all open operations. |
| Backlog Hours | Remaining hours across all open routing operations. |
| Open Operations | Number of open routing-operation rows in the queue. |
| Load vs Capacity % | Backlog hours divided by available capacity hours; over 100% means the work center is overloaded. |
| Overdue Backlog $ | Remaining dollars on operations whose need-by date has already passed. |
| Weeks of Backlog | Backlog hours divided by weekly capacity - the queue expressed in weeks of capacity. |
Used by: Owners and schedulers managing shop load and capacity
Frequently asked questions
What is load vs. capacity in a job shop?
It's the backlog hours queued at a work center divided by that center's available capacity hours. Over 100% means the center is overloaded - it has more queued work than it can run in the period. Comparing it across work centers reveals the bottleneck and the imbalance to rebalance around.
What does 'weeks of backlog' tell me?
It expresses the total open queue in weeks of capacity - backlog hours divided by weekly capacity. It's the most honest basis for the lead time you quote a customer, because it reflects everything already in front of their job rather than an optimistic guess.
Can I build this on my own WIP data?
Yes. Export your open routing operations with remaining hours, remaining value, work center, priority, and need-by date, then use this as a template. We model it into a Power BI report. The sample is fully synthetic, so there's no real job or schedule data in it.
Build this report on your own data
Clone this Machine / job shops template — describe it and we’ll generate sample data so you can try it free, or upload your own export. You get a fully modeled, branded Power BI project that opens in Power BI Desktop.
Use this as a template →