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Understand report terms and columns

Look up Metabase controls, report columns, units and calculation limits.

Written by Alex Merkin

Question numbers match their folders: folder 01 contains 01-01, 01-02 and so on. The starter dashboard uses 01-05, 01-08 and 01-02; process filter values come from 01-20. OBP identities and SQL filenames remain stable.

Find a control name or a column you do not recognize. Read the definition for the relevant question: similar labels can mean different things in stock, orders and runs.

Controls and basic concepts

Question

A saved answer shown as a table, chart or single number. Open it from the collection, then add it as a dashboard card.

Collection

A folder-like location for questions and dashboards. The source subcollection is for maintenance; use the main collection in the exercises.

Dashboard and card

A dashboard groups saved questions. A card is one appearance of a question inside it; several dashboards can reuse one question.

Filter and Label

A filter narrows results. Label changes its displayed name, not the data column or source calculation.

Column to filter on

The existing output column selected on each card while connecting a dashboard filter.

Dropdown list and its value source

The list of selectable values. Under Edit, From another model or question selects the source and Column to supply the values selects its output column. Supplying values does not map the filter to cards.

Is

Matches the chosen value. Use a value actually present in your data.

A single value, Multiple values and No default

Control selection and initial state in filter settings. Test the intended selection after saving.

Done and Save

Done closes the current panel or dialog. Save on the dashboard stores the dashboard changes; you still need both in the filter workflow.

Refresh and Auto Refresh

Rerun results once or repeatedly. Neither proves source synchronization has already completed.

Summarize

Aggregates the current question result further. Counting summarized rows is not counting raw source records.

Work order, run and stock record

An order is an instruction to perform work; a run/session is an execution on a unit, batch or quantity; a stock record can represent a unit, batch or material quantity. A run is not a user sign-in session.

Dimension and measure

A dimension groups or filters, such as process, SKU or month. A measure is a calculated value such as a count or median hours.

Median and P90

The median is the middle of a distribution; approximate P90 indicates a value around which 90% of observations are at or below it. Read sample size and the eligible population.

Blank and zero

Blank can mean missing information. Zero is a numeric value and can be a default. Neither by itself certifies complete reporting.

Report columns

Each entry gives the English output label, meaning and applicable question numbers. If a saved question uses different localized labels, compare its source and number; this glossary describes the English SQL variants.

Identifiers and assignment

Work order

The recorded work-order number. Identifies the order, not the individual unit's serial number.

Questions: 01-02.

SKU

The part identifier recorded on the order, run or stock record, according to the question. It is not an individual-unit identifier.

Questions: 01-02, 01-06, 01-08, 01-09, 02-04, 02-06, 02-09, 02-11, 01-13, 03-02, 03-03, 03-04, 03-08, 04-03, 03-09, 01-16, 02-14, 01-18, 01-19.

Process

The workflow name associated with the result row. Filtering a name does not select a particular workflow version.

Questions: 01-02, 01-05, 01-08, 01-09, 01-11, 02-02, 02-03, 02-04, 02-07, 02-08, 02-09, 06-01, 06-02, 06-03, 02-12, 05-03, 05-04, 02-13, 06-05, 01-16, 02-14, 01-18, 01-19, 01-20.

Order

The same kind of identifier as the work-order-number column; different questions use different localized headings.

Questions: 01-08, 01-09, 03-03, 03-04, 04-03, 01-16, 01-18, 01-19.

Source

Recorded source of an order or stock record. Questions 01-12 and 03-06 display missing source as local;03-04 shows the stored value.

Questions: 01-12, 03-04, 03-06.

Run ID

The internal production-run/session identifier, not the work-order number. Displayed as a value rather than a built-in report link.

Questions: 02-04, 02-09, 03-03, 02-14.

Item revision

Product/item revision stored on stock in 03-02–03-03, not the workflow version.

Questions: 03-02, 03-03.

Serial

The serial number stored on a stock record. Search together with SKU; the same serial can occur under different SKUs.

Questions: 03-03, 03-04.

Observed description

An item description obtained from stock records for the SKU. Descriptions can differ and this is not necessarily the latest catalog description.

Questions: 03-09.

Dates and periods

Due date

The planned order-completion timestamp in the due-date field. Not measured shipment or actual completion.

Questions: 01-02, 01-08, 01-16, 01-18, 01-19.

Opening month

The month when orders were created. A displayed first-of-month date represents the month, not a claim that every order was created that day.

Questions: 01-03.

Completion month

The month used to summarize completed work orders.

Questions: 01-04, 01-10.

Created date

Record creation: work order in 01-09, run in 02-04 and stock record in 03-04. This is not the work-start timestamp.

Questions: 01-09, 02-04, 03-04.

Completion week

The whole week summarized for completed production runs. A filter selects the timestamp representing that week.

Questions: 02-05.

Run start

Recorded production-run start timestamp; it may be missing in 02-09.

Questions: 02-09, 02-14.

Creation month

Creation month of runs in 02-10 or stock records in 03-05. These questions count different record types.

Questions: 02-10, 03-05.

Report-start week

The week when time reporting started, not the week when the report closed.

Questions: 04-01.

Order completion date

Actual completion timestamp recorded on a closed work order, not the end of one particular run.

Questions: 01-16.

Run end

Recorded end timestamp for the run, not for the whole work order.

Questions: 02-14.

Due month

The month containing the order's due timestamp. Question 01-17 excludes orders without a due date.

Questions: 01-17.

Order work start

Recorded order work-start timestamp. May be blank even when a due date exists; not order creation.

Questions: 01-18.

Frozen order creation

Order creation timestamp, not when the order was frozen. Cannot be used to calculate freeze duration.

Questions: 01-19.

Statuses and process position

Work-order status

The current status name recorded on the order. Question 01-01 includes closed statuses too.

Questions: 01-01.

Status

Current work-order status name. Status meanings and permissions to change them depend on the organization's process.

Questions: 01-02, 01-09, 01-14, 01-17, 01-18, 01-19.

Recorded progress

The stored numeric order/run progress value: order in 01-02 and 01-08, run in 02-09. Shown without converting its scale to percentages.

Questions: 01-02, 01-08, 02-09.

Order age

Elapsed time since creation of an open order, grouped using 7,03-02 and 90-day boundaries. Not days overdue. Missing creation dates currently fall into 01-07's oldest bucket; that is a classification limitation, not a known age.

Questions: 01-07.

Days overdue

Whole-day difference between a passed due date and query execution. Applies to NEW and IN_PROGRESS orders with a past due timestamp.

Questions: 01-08.

Run status

Run classification as waiting, in progress or finished. A single order can contain runs with different statuses.

Questions: 02-01.

Reported next step

Next action reported on the grouped runs. Question 02-03 groups process, next step and next chapter together.

Questions: 02-03.

Next chapter

The next chapter recorded on the run. A chapter groups workflow steps; it is distinct from the chapter on a time report.

Questions: 02-03.

Next step

Next reported run action. A process position, not a measurement of physical location or waiting duration.

Questions: 02-09.

Stock status

Status stored on the stock record, separate from that record's production status.

Questions: 03-01, 03-03, 03-04.

Production status

Production status stored on a stock record. Do not substitute stock, run or order status for it.

Questions: 03-01, 03-03.

Inventory management

Classification by isserial: serial-managed or other. Other also includes a missing flag and does not prove batch management.

Questions: 03-07.

Chapter

Chapter name stored on a time report. Same-named chapters in different workflows can merge in 04-02.

Questions: 04-02.

Serial-managed

The work order's recorded serial-management flag: true, false or missing. Separate from the serial value itself.

Questions: 01-14.

Bulk production

The order's recorded bulk/batch-production flag: true, false or missing. Not a batch count.

Questions: 01-14.

Progress groups

Missing progress, zero progress or another recorded value. Text categories, not percentage bands.

Questions: 01-15.

On-time classification

Comparison of order completion with the due date: on time, late or missing information. Not proof of delivery or shipment.

Questions: 01-16.

Quantities

Planned quantity

Planned quantity stored on the order.01-02 shows individual orders;01-13 sums by SKU. Do not add unlike units of measure.

Questions: 01-02, 01-13, 01-18, 01-19.

Run quantity

Quantity recorded on the production run. Units depend on the item; one run can cover multiple units or material quantity.

Questions: 02-04.

Recorded quantity

Sum of recorded quantities in finished runs of the SKU. Quantity is different from run count and is not necessarily good quantity.

Questions: 02-06.

Reported good quantity

Good quantity reported on work orders, summed by SKU. Not a test-pass percentage.

Questions: 01-13.

Reported rejected quantity

Rejected quantity reported on orders, summed by SKU. Zero or blank does not prove no rejects occurred; reporting can be incomplete.

Questions: 01-13.

Recorded available quantity

The stock availablequantity field summed by SKU and revision. Does not guarantee allocation or availability for a particular work order.

Questions: 03-02.

Stock quantity

Quantity stored on the stock record. Not necessarily available quantity; can represent batch or material quantity.

Questions: 03-03.

Counts and percentages

Order count

Number of orders in the row's status group, not planned unit quantity.

Questions: 01-01.

Orders

Order count within the question's month, source, SKU or other group.01-11 includes only closed orders with usable, correctly ordered dates.

Questions: 01-03, 01-04, 01-07, 01-11, 01-12, 01-13, 01-14, 01-15, 01-17.

Open orders

NEW and IN_PROGRESS order count. This measure excludes frozen and closed orders;01-02 also includes frozen orders.

Questions: 01-05, 01-06, 06-02.

Orders with dates

Closed orders with both due and completion timestamps. The denominator of 01-10's on-time percentage.

Questions: 01-10.

Completed on time

Measurable closed orders finished by their due timestamp, including an exact match. The numerator of the on-time percentage.

Questions: 01-10.

On-time percentage

On-time orders divided by orders with due and completion dates, multiplied by 100. Weight by order counts when combining months; a simple average of monthly percentages can mislead.

Questions: 01-10.

Runs

Run count in the question's defined population.02-06–02-08, for example, concern finished runs; populations differ between questions.

Questions: 02-01, 02-03, 02-06, 02-07, 02-08.

Runs in progress

Run count with status other than waiting or finished. Not a unit count or employee-attendance measure.

Questions: 02-02, 02-11.

Runs completed

Finished runs with an end timestamp in the weekly summary. Count of runs, not sum of output quantity.

Questions: 02-05.

Runs created

Runs created in the displayed month, across all current statuses.

Questions: 02-10.

Finished runs

Runs marked finished.06-01 and 06-05 include cases with missing information;02-13 groups finished-run counts by process.

Questions: 06-01, 02-13, 06-05.

Closed orders

Orders classified as closed.06-03 includes missing-date cases; its other columns show coverage.

Questions: 06-03.

Orders measured

Orders with usable correctly ordered dates included in waiting-time-to-start calculations, even if still open.

Questions: 02-12.

Stock records

Count of stock records, not summed stock quantity. One record can represent a unit, batch or material quantity.

Questions: 03-01, 03-02, 03-05, 03-06, 03-07, 03-08, 03-09, 06-04.

Reports

Time-report record count.04-03 counts eligible closed reports up to 12 hours;04-04–04-06,04-10 and 06-06 count their defined populations. Compare source conditions first.

Questions: 04-03, 04-04, 04-05, 04-06, 04-10, 06-06.

Records

Count of saved form records, not fields, answers or inspections within them.

Questions: 05-01, 05-02.

Durations and hours

Median days

Approximate median days from order release to completion. Creation substitutes for missing release, with fallback cases counted separately.

Questions: 01-11.

Median hours

Approximate median elapsed start-to-end hours for finished runs with usable, correctly ordered dates.

Questions: 02-07.

P90 hours

Approximate elapsed duration at or below which about 90% of measured runs finished. Complements the median by showing the longer-duration tail.

Questions: 02-07.

Median net hours

Median recorded run net time in hours. NULL is excluded; zero and negative values can currently enter the calculation. Not employee attendance time.

Questions: 02-08.

Median elapsed hours

Median elapsed time from run start to end. The difference from net time does not measure a cause of waiting.

Questions: 02-08.

Median waiting days

Approximate median days from release to work start. Missing release falls back to creation.

Questions: 02-12.

Reported hours

Decimal hours summed from closed reports with duration greater than zero and up to 12 hours each. Overlap is counted in every parallel timer; this is not attendance time.

Questions: 04-01, 04-02, 04-03.

Valid hours up to12 hours

Eligible closed reported hours with duration greater than zero and up to 12 hours. In 04-04–04-05, the report count includes all reports while the hours use only this subset.

Questions: 04-04, 04-05.

Elapsed hours

Individual-run elapsed hours when start and end exist and end is not before start. Blank when no valid duration can be computed.

Questions: 02-14.

Net hours

Recorded net time for an individual run, expressed in hours. Zero or missing values require review of reporting practices.

Questions: 02-14.

Time reporting and approvals

Record type

Stored time-report record type, such as manual or automatic where present in the data. Describes how the report was created, not the business activity.

Questions: 04-04.

Recorded work type

Work classification recorded in the report. Names depend on the organization; the package does not automatically determine productive work.

Questions: 04-05.

Report check category

Open timer, missing duration, non-positive duration, over 12 hours or closed up to 12 hours. Missing end takes precedence as open. Describes a report, not a worker's status.

Questions: 04-06.

Open timers

Overall count of reports without an end timestamp. Does not prove current work. This scalar question has no worker breakdown.

Questions: 04-07.

Reports over12 hours

Closed reports whose stored duration exceeds 12 hours. A fixed question threshold, not an organizational shift definition.

Questions: 04-08.

Reports changed after closing

Reports whose current end timestamp differs from the first stored end. Does not give the reason or editor identity.

Questions: 04-09.

Approval status

Stored manager-approval status. Missing is displayed as NOT_NEEDED, which does not establish an approval process is in use.

Questions: 04-10.

Report run assignment

Time reports grouped by zero, one or multiple stored run links. Does not allocate report duration between linked runs.

Questions: 06-06.

Data completeness and kits

Calculated from creation

Count of observations using creation instead of missing release: lead time in 01-11 and waiting time in 02-12. This is a count, not a duration.

Questions: 01-11, 02-12.

Measurable runs

Finished runs with start and end and end not before start. Count eligible for elapsed-duration calculation.

Questions: 06-01.

Dates to review

Finished runs missing start or end, or with end before start. Excluded from valid elapsed-duration calculations.

Questions: 06-01.

With due date

NEW and IN_PROGRESS orders with a non-NULL due timestamp. Does not check plausibility or approval of the plan.

Questions: 06-02.

Without due date

NEW and IN_PROGRESS orders missing a due timestamp. Different from overdue orders: lateness cannot be assessed without a deadline.

Questions: 06-02.

Measurable orders

Closed orders with due and completion timestamps. Count eligible for the on-time measure.

Questions: 06-03.

Missing data

Closed orders missing due or completion date, preventing on-time classification.

Questions: 06-03.

Marked kit complete

Stock records whose saved kit-complete flag is true. Components and quantities are not recalculated.

Questions: 03-08.

Not marked kit complete

Stock records with a false or missing kit-complete flag. Do not assume every one has a component shortage without checking.

Questions: 03-08.

Production-run link

Whether a run ID is stored on the stock record. Does not validate existence of the linked run or completeness of traceability.

Questions: 06-04.

With positive net time

Finished runs with stored net time greater than zero. Checks positivity, not reporting accuracy.

Questions: 06-05.

Without positive net time

Finished runs with missing, zero or negative net time. Does not prove no work was performed.

Questions: 06-05.

Forms and workflow versions

Form

The form-definition name for the saved records.05-01–05-02 concern records, not the answers within form fields.

Questions: 05-01, 05-02.

Original status

Raw status saved on the form record. Meaning depends on the form process. A blank is not automatically open.

Questions: 05-02.

Workflow version

Workflow-definition version in 05-03, not the product revision.

Questions: 05-03.

Version status

Workflow version classified as current released, latest or historical. Latest need not be released. Current released takes precedence if both flags are set.

Questions: 05-03.

Versions

Non-deleted workflow-definition count per workflow name, not production-run count.

Questions: 05-04.

Current released versions

Count of versions marked currently released. Do not assume exactly one per name without checking the data.

Questions: 05-04.


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