Redline Job Costing in Steelhead's Manufacturing ERP
Discover how Steelhead's Redline Job Costing tool streamlines automatic line production costs, allocates resources, and identifies gaps for optimized job shop operations.
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Product
Redline Job Costing in Steelhead's Manufacturing ERP
Identity & metadata
Video title
Redline Job Costing in Steelhead's Manufacturing ERP
Date published
April 8, 2025
Duration
9:08
Video type
Product tip / Short demo
Audience
Owners; operations leaders; finance; production; admin
Video summary
In one sentence
Redline job costing solves the specific problem of tracking cost on automatic (carousel, rack, barrel,
or conveyor) production lines, where load time can exceed process time and multiple part numbers
run together, by letting operators start a timer at a designated checkpoint and split production
capacity cost across whatever parts are actually being loaded at any moment.
or conveyor) production lines, where load time can exceed process time and multiple part numbers
run together, by letting operators start a timer at a designated checkpoint and split production
capacity cost across whatever parts are actually being loaded at any moment.
What this video covers
Steelhead's Jeff Holland frames the problem: of the four production modes with job costing (single-part
tasks, batch processing, manual dip/scanner lines, and automatic lines), automatic lines are the hardest to
cost accurately, because the line runs at a continuous rate while parts are loaded and
unloaded independently.
He explains when to use redline: when load time for a single part exceeds the
station's total process time, when multiple parts load at the same time, or when the
line isn't 100% full and has gaps between parts — all situations where simply marking
parts "on the line" vs. "off the line" produces inaccurate costs. He walks through a
visual model: a redline (often a physical line on the floor) marks where parts are
tracked, and a tablet or computer at that point runs the redline interface, recording how
production capacity is consumed as parts load in different combinations and durations. A line overhead
rate is established and operators clock into the line, capturing variable labor plus overhead like
natural gas and electricity, with the redline tool distributing that cost in real time (and
retroactively) while flagging gaps in production.
He then demonstrates the tool on an automatic powder line: stepping parts for Boeing into
the auto line, then loading John Deere parts alongside them, and opening the redline job
costing interface, which lists parts in FIFO load order. Starting the redline timer for the
Boeing parts shows 100% of cost allocated to them; adding a third customer's parts and
starting their timer redistributes cost automatically by part count, and the split can be manually
adjusted (e.g., 80/20) and saved. Stepping one customer's parts off the line instantly returns the
remaining parts to 100% cost allocation. He shows editing recent timers with click-and-drag tools to
redistribute historical cost, plus advanced features like splitting, and closes by opening a work order's
margin report to show the redline cost captured down to the second.
tasks, batch processing, manual dip/scanner lines, and automatic lines), automatic lines are the hardest to
cost accurately, because the line runs at a continuous rate while parts are loaded and
unloaded independently.
He explains when to use redline: when load time for a single part exceeds the
station's total process time, when multiple parts load at the same time, or when the
line isn't 100% full and has gaps between parts — all situations where simply marking
parts "on the line" vs. "off the line" produces inaccurate costs. He walks through a
visual model: a redline (often a physical line on the floor) marks where parts are
tracked, and a tablet or computer at that point runs the redline interface, recording how
production capacity is consumed as parts load in different combinations and durations. A line overhead
rate is established and operators clock into the line, capturing variable labor plus overhead like
natural gas and electricity, with the redline tool distributing that cost in real time (and
retroactively) while flagging gaps in production.
He then demonstrates the tool on an automatic powder line: stepping parts for Boeing into
the auto line, then loading John Deere parts alongside them, and opening the redline job
costing interface, which lists parts in FIFO load order. Starting the redline timer for the
Boeing parts shows 100% of cost allocated to them; adding a third customer's parts and
starting their timer redistributes cost automatically by part count, and the split can be manually
adjusted (e.g., 80/20) and saved. Stepping one customer's parts off the line instantly returns the
remaining parts to 100% cost allocation. He shows editing recent timers with click-and-drag tools to
redistribute historical cost, plus advanced features like splitting, and closes by opening a work order's
margin report to show the redline cost captured down to the second.
Problem it solves
On automatic lines, simply charging a part for however long it's "on the line" produces
wildly inaccurate costs whenever load time exceeds process time, multiple part numbers load together, or
the line runs with gaps. Redline job costing tracks actual production-capacity consumption at a designated
checkpoint and splits cost fairly across whatever mix of parts is really being loaded at
any given moment, in real time and retroactively.
wildly inaccurate costs whenever load time exceeds process time, multiple part numbers load together, or
the line runs with gaps. Redline job costing tracks actual production-capacity consumption at a designated
checkpoint and splits cost fairly across whatever mix of parts is really being loaded at
any given moment, in real time and retroactively.
Key capabilities shown
• Four production modes for job costing: single-part tasks, batch processing, manual dip/scanner lines, and automatic
lines
• Redline concept: a designated checkpoint (often a physical line on the floor) with a tablet
or computer running the redline interface
• Line overhead rate plus operator clock-in capturing variable labor, natural gas, and electricity
• Redline job costing interface listing parts in FIFO load order with normal work instructions and
photos
• Redline timer that allocates 100% of cost to a single customer's parts while running alone
• Automatic cost redistribution by part count when multiple part numbers load together
• Manually adjustable cost split percentages (e.g., 80/20) between simultaneously loaded parts
• Instant cost reallocation to 100% when one part number steps off the line
• Editable recent timers with click-and-drag tools to redistribute historical cost
• Advanced splitting features for modeling cost across any period of time
• Margin report showing redline cost down to the second at the work order level
lines
• Redline concept: a designated checkpoint (often a physical line on the floor) with a tablet
or computer running the redline interface
• Line overhead rate plus operator clock-in capturing variable labor, natural gas, and electricity
• Redline job costing interface listing parts in FIFO load order with normal work instructions and
photos
• Redline timer that allocates 100% of cost to a single customer's parts while running alone
• Automatic cost redistribution by part count when multiple part numbers load together
• Manually adjustable cost split percentages (e.g., 80/20) between simultaneously loaded parts
• Instant cost reallocation to 100% when one part number steps off the line
• Editable recent timers with click-and-drag tools to redistribute historical cost
• Advanced splitting features for modeling cost across any period of time
• Margin report showing redline cost down to the second at the work order level
How the demo flows
• Opens an automatic line work board for a powder line
• Steps parts into the auto line for Boeing, then loads John Deere parts into the
same line
• Opens the redline job costing interface and starts the redline timer for the Boeing parts
(100% allocation)
• Adds ABC Inc parts to the line and starts the timer for the John Deere
parts, splitting the cost
• Adjusts the cost split percentage between part numbers and saves the new split
• Steps the John Deere parts, returning the line to 100% Boeing allocation
• Edits recent redline timers using click-and-drag tools
• Opens a work order to review the margin report and redline cost
• Steps parts into the auto line for Boeing, then loads John Deere parts into the
same line
• Opens the redline job costing interface and starts the redline timer for the Boeing parts
(100% allocation)
• Adds ABC Inc parts to the line and starts the timer for the John Deere
parts, splitting the cost
• Adjusts the cost split percentage between part numbers and saves the new split
• Steps the John Deere parts, returning the line to 100% Boeing allocation
• Edits recent redline timers using click-and-drag tools
• Opens a work order to review the margin report and redline cost
Full transcript
Speaker
Jeff Holland, Steelhead Technologies
Transcript
[00:00] Good morning.
[00:00] My name is Jeff Holland and with Steelhead Technologies, and in this short video, we
are going to review redline job costing in the Steelhead platform.
[00:11] So first, just a quick overview of what the problem is, and that's with automatic
lines tracking job costs.
[00:17] So in a typical job shop environment, we have four basic, production modes with job
costing for each of 'em.
[00:27] One is single part tasks.
[00:28] So we recording, labor and, typically no capital.
[00:32] So this be masking or inspections.
[00:33] So this is typically labor timers and inventory.
[00:35] So very basic stepping parts and building time against that task.
[00:39] Batch processing is, is more of parts are in a batch, so heat treating or
powder coating, many different parts or part numbers or work orders at one time, but
we're moving them together as a batch.
[00:51] So there's, a number of Steelhead tools to accommodate, batch processing.
[00:55] And then manual dip lines as well.
[00:57] This is going to be the scanner lines where we're scanning parts through the tanks
and we can set up our job costing to be, customized even down to the
tank level, down to the second tracking the locations of those parts.
[01:06] However, there's a fourth method called, automatic line production mode.
[01:10] So this is a carousel or rack or barrel or conveyor line, where the line
is moving at a continuous rate and we're look just loading parts in and then
taking parts out.
[01:21] So, job costing gets very complex and chaotic in, in this type of space.
[01:26] And this is where the redline job costing tool really shines and is purpose built
for, job, job shop, automatic line, job costing.
[01:34] And that's what the rest of this video is going to, to cover is, is
how we do redline job costing.
[01:40] So real quick on when to use the redline method, on most automatic line systems,
and when the time to load apart a single part takes, exceeds the total process
time of the station.
[01:51] So, for example, if your, your line, a part goes in, it comes out that
takes one hour, but you have three hours worth of parts to load, that gets
really confusing because now if you just say, well, the parts are on the line,
the parts are off the line, you are now counting, the, it'll now say four
hours instead of, instead of three hours worth.
[02:09] So it's, it's really not accurate.
[02:12] And then if multiple parts are being load at, at the same time, so very
common, whether it's ergonomics or capacity or equipment to load multiple part numbers, at the
same time into a line.
[02:21] And then also if these lines are not a hundred percent full and we have
gaps in between parts that we're processing, we need to capture this information to make
sure that we are, running our lines as efficiently as we can.
[02:33] So a real quick visual demonstration of, of what's actually happening here in the physics.
[02:38] And obviously many automatic lines go in circles and, and are all different shapes, u
shapes, but I just modeled it as a single continuous line just for simplicity here.
[02:47] So we load parts into the line, there's the automatic processing of the parts, and
there may be humans in the loop here if we have people pot coating and
doing other activities.
[02:55] And there's unloading of parts.
[02:57] So the redline here represents a, typically a physical redline on the ground to represent.
[03:05] This is where we are going to track, where parts are at in this process.
[03:09] And then this, red box here represents either a tablet or a computer to, to
run the, the redline interface.
[03:19] So the idea is really to record how we're using our capacity.
[03:23] So if we have an eight hour capacity for the day, we want to allocate
our costs accordingly to parts as they consume that capacity.
[03:30] So just as a very, simple representation here, you can see part A, maybe the
first two hours is loaded by itself, and then part B and part A are
being loaded for a while, and then there's a gap.
[03:40] And then part C is being loaded.
[03:42] So like, how do we record and measure all that information?
[03:45] That's really where the redline job costing tool shines.
[03:50] So a line overhead rate is established and then operators clock into the line.
[03:54] So that way our variable labor and things like natural gas and electricity are all
captured.
[03:58] And as our parts essentially consume our production capacity to the line, we are, associating
that cost accordingly.
[04:07] And, of course the redline job costing tool is distributing this cost in real time
also retroactively.
[04:11] And then any gaps in production are also, identified.
[04:16] So show real quick a demonstration of the tool, here in Steelhead.
[04:21] [opens an automatic line work board for a powder line] So here we have an automatic line, for a a Potter line.
[04:25] So we have staging. This is a typical work board.
[04:27] So staging parts, if you're familiar with Steelhead, you know all about, about the work
boards.
[04:33] So you have parts that are staging, then you have parts that are on the
auto line.
[04:36] The parts that are perhaps inspected back as as a simple example.
[04:40] [steps parts into the auto line for Boeing] So for example, if we have these parts for, for Boeing here, we're go ahead
and step these parts, into the auto line.
[04:45] So it's like, Hey, we're starting to load these thousand parts.
[04:47] We might be loading these for eight hours, maybe loading 'em for three hours.
[04:50] [loads John Deere parts into the same auto line] And then also we're loading in these, John Deere parts as well.
[04:55] So now we have our parts, both the Boeing parts and John Deere parts in
the, auto line.
[05:01] [opens the redline job costing interface] And now to jump over to what the redline job costing interface looks like.
[05:06] So it'll show the parts in FIFO order as they've been loaded in, and we
have the ability to, essentially start, well, we can first see all the instructions that
we normally see with photos and, things of that nature.
[05:20] [starts the redline timer for the Boeing parts] But what we can essentially do is at that, at that interface, that redline interface,
we can start that redline timer.
[05:26] So we can say, Hey, we're working on these Boeing parts and just the Boeing
parts, not the John Deere parts.
[05:30] So now we're loading the parts and maybe for an hour or a half hour,
whatever it is, it's, it's capturing, capturing that, that information.
[05:38] But you can see it's, it's calling it out as 100%, of the parts are,
are being loaded.
[05:45] However, if after a period of time, and, and I can come in and add
in some other parts just to get a better visual here.
[05:50] [adds ABC Inc parts to the line] So if I add in some of these, ABC Inc parts, let's put in 200
parts into the line as well.
[06:06] I think these parts are, are on hold there.
[06:09] [starts the timer for the John Deere parts, splitting the cost] But if we start the, the John Deere parts as well, you can see it's
now distributing that cost, across these, across these parts here.
[06:19] [adjusts the cost split percentage between part numbers] And then if we hit this little scale here, because it might actually be 50
50, it is taking a gas based on part count, but we can actually modify
this, as we, as we desire.
[06:30] And then, change, we can say, well, it's actually, you know, 80% one and, and
20% the other.
[06:37] We can go ahead and save that.
[06:43] [saves the new cost split] So now in real time, it'll distribute that job cost for both John Deere parts,
and the Boeing parts.
[06:49] But as we showed in the example, let's say, you know, part B or this,
this, this John Deere part, if we want to, And we can go back and
forth between, the part number instructions as well, but if we wanna step the, the
John Deere parts or part B, we can just go ahead and click step here.
[07:07] [steps the John Deere parts, returning the line to 100% Boeing] And you can see that the job costing immediately goes back to 100% Boeing parts.
[07:11] So this is how we are able to, to track, in real time and, and
also historically.
[07:18] So if I actually step this last part, I can either pause a timer, you
know, if we have a gap or we're not loading it for whatever reason, or
if I want to, restart it and step the parts, I can do that.
[07:29] [edits recent redline timers] But I can also actually, edit these recent timers.
[07:32] So now I can see for this equipment, the last 30 minutes, week hour, whatever
it is, if I do the last hour, I can see the, you can see
it's many short segments here, so it's a little bit messy, but, we're actually able
to, to modify this and, use some pretty intuitive, click and click and drag tools
to, to redistribute the cost, based on on what actually.
[07:57] So, there's a bunch of advanced features in here, like, splitting as well.
[08:01] So this allows us to look at our production line and accurately, model, the cost
for any, any, period of time.
[08:16] [opens a work order to review the margin report and redline cost] And then just, really briefly here, if I jump over to, one of these work
orders and the stat's not gonna look, that great, but you can see we have
a margin report here and we have a redline cost, so we can actually see
that, you know, the timer started and stopped for 29 seconds, 25 seconds, and it
has a, has all the costs associated with it, as we discussed previously.
[08:45] So, that again is the redline job costing tool, which allows for, mixed production on
automatic lines and also real time job costing as well as those tricky situations where
we run a part much longer than full processing time.
[09:00] So essentially modeling all of our automated equipment and getting that accurate job costing, we're
always looking for.
[09:06] Thank you. Have a great day.
[00:00] My name is Jeff Holland and with Steelhead Technologies, and in this short video, we
are going to review redline job costing in the Steelhead platform.
[00:11] So first, just a quick overview of what the problem is, and that's with automatic
lines tracking job costs.
[00:17] So in a typical job shop environment, we have four basic, production modes with job
costing for each of 'em.
[00:27] One is single part tasks.
[00:28] So we recording, labor and, typically no capital.
[00:32] So this be masking or inspections.
[00:33] So this is typically labor timers and inventory.
[00:35] So very basic stepping parts and building time against that task.
[00:39] Batch processing is, is more of parts are in a batch, so heat treating or
powder coating, many different parts or part numbers or work orders at one time, but
we're moving them together as a batch.
[00:51] So there's, a number of Steelhead tools to accommodate, batch processing.
[00:55] And then manual dip lines as well.
[00:57] This is going to be the scanner lines where we're scanning parts through the tanks
and we can set up our job costing to be, customized even down to the
tank level, down to the second tracking the locations of those parts.
[01:06] However, there's a fourth method called, automatic line production mode.
[01:10] So this is a carousel or rack or barrel or conveyor line, where the line
is moving at a continuous rate and we're look just loading parts in and then
taking parts out.
[01:21] So, job costing gets very complex and chaotic in, in this type of space.
[01:26] And this is where the redline job costing tool really shines and is purpose built
for, job, job shop, automatic line, job costing.
[01:34] And that's what the rest of this video is going to, to cover is, is
how we do redline job costing.
[01:40] So real quick on when to use the redline method, on most automatic line systems,
and when the time to load apart a single part takes, exceeds the total process
time of the station.
[01:51] So, for example, if your, your line, a part goes in, it comes out that
takes one hour, but you have three hours worth of parts to load, that gets
really confusing because now if you just say, well, the parts are on the line,
the parts are off the line, you are now counting, the, it'll now say four
hours instead of, instead of three hours worth.
[02:09] So it's, it's really not accurate.
[02:12] And then if multiple parts are being load at, at the same time, so very
common, whether it's ergonomics or capacity or equipment to load multiple part numbers, at the
same time into a line.
[02:21] And then also if these lines are not a hundred percent full and we have
gaps in between parts that we're processing, we need to capture this information to make
sure that we are, running our lines as efficiently as we can.
[02:33] So a real quick visual demonstration of, of what's actually happening here in the physics.
[02:38] And obviously many automatic lines go in circles and, and are all different shapes, u
shapes, but I just modeled it as a single continuous line just for simplicity here.
[02:47] So we load parts into the line, there's the automatic processing of the parts, and
there may be humans in the loop here if we have people pot coating and
doing other activities.
[02:55] And there's unloading of parts.
[02:57] So the redline here represents a, typically a physical redline on the ground to represent.
[03:05] This is where we are going to track, where parts are at in this process.
[03:09] And then this, red box here represents either a tablet or a computer to, to
run the, the redline interface.
[03:19] So the idea is really to record how we're using our capacity.
[03:23] So if we have an eight hour capacity for the day, we want to allocate
our costs accordingly to parts as they consume that capacity.
[03:30] So just as a very, simple representation here, you can see part A, maybe the
first two hours is loaded by itself, and then part B and part A are
being loaded for a while, and then there's a gap.
[03:40] And then part C is being loaded.
[03:42] So like, how do we record and measure all that information?
[03:45] That's really where the redline job costing tool shines.
[03:50] So a line overhead rate is established and then operators clock into the line.
[03:54] So that way our variable labor and things like natural gas and electricity are all
captured.
[03:58] And as our parts essentially consume our production capacity to the line, we are, associating
that cost accordingly.
[04:07] And, of course the redline job costing tool is distributing this cost in real time
also retroactively.
[04:11] And then any gaps in production are also, identified.
[04:16] So show real quick a demonstration of the tool, here in Steelhead.
[04:21] [opens an automatic line work board for a powder line] So here we have an automatic line, for a a Potter line.
[04:25] So we have staging. This is a typical work board.
[04:27] So staging parts, if you're familiar with Steelhead, you know all about, about the work
boards.
[04:33] So you have parts that are staging, then you have parts that are on the
auto line.
[04:36] The parts that are perhaps inspected back as as a simple example.
[04:40] [steps parts into the auto line for Boeing] So for example, if we have these parts for, for Boeing here, we're go ahead
and step these parts, into the auto line.
[04:45] So it's like, Hey, we're starting to load these thousand parts.
[04:47] We might be loading these for eight hours, maybe loading 'em for three hours.
[04:50] [loads John Deere parts into the same auto line] And then also we're loading in these, John Deere parts as well.
[04:55] So now we have our parts, both the Boeing parts and John Deere parts in
the, auto line.
[05:01] [opens the redline job costing interface] And now to jump over to what the redline job costing interface looks like.
[05:06] So it'll show the parts in FIFO order as they've been loaded in, and we
have the ability to, essentially start, well, we can first see all the instructions that
we normally see with photos and, things of that nature.
[05:20] [starts the redline timer for the Boeing parts] But what we can essentially do is at that, at that interface, that redline interface,
we can start that redline timer.
[05:26] So we can say, Hey, we're working on these Boeing parts and just the Boeing
parts, not the John Deere parts.
[05:30] So now we're loading the parts and maybe for an hour or a half hour,
whatever it is, it's, it's capturing, capturing that, that information.
[05:38] But you can see it's, it's calling it out as 100%, of the parts are,
are being loaded.
[05:45] However, if after a period of time, and, and I can come in and add
in some other parts just to get a better visual here.
[05:50] [adds ABC Inc parts to the line] So if I add in some of these, ABC Inc parts, let's put in 200
parts into the line as well.
[06:06] I think these parts are, are on hold there.
[06:09] [starts the timer for the John Deere parts, splitting the cost] But if we start the, the John Deere parts as well, you can see it's
now distributing that cost, across these, across these parts here.
[06:19] [adjusts the cost split percentage between part numbers] And then if we hit this little scale here, because it might actually be 50
50, it is taking a gas based on part count, but we can actually modify
this, as we, as we desire.
[06:30] And then, change, we can say, well, it's actually, you know, 80% one and, and
20% the other.
[06:37] We can go ahead and save that.
[06:43] [saves the new cost split] So now in real time, it'll distribute that job cost for both John Deere parts,
and the Boeing parts.
[06:49] But as we showed in the example, let's say, you know, part B or this,
this, this John Deere part, if we want to, And we can go back and
forth between, the part number instructions as well, but if we wanna step the, the
John Deere parts or part B, we can just go ahead and click step here.
[07:07] [steps the John Deere parts, returning the line to 100% Boeing] And you can see that the job costing immediately goes back to 100% Boeing parts.
[07:11] So this is how we are able to, to track, in real time and, and
also historically.
[07:18] So if I actually step this last part, I can either pause a timer, you
know, if we have a gap or we're not loading it for whatever reason, or
if I want to, restart it and step the parts, I can do that.
[07:29] [edits recent redline timers] But I can also actually, edit these recent timers.
[07:32] So now I can see for this equipment, the last 30 minutes, week hour, whatever
it is, if I do the last hour, I can see the, you can see
it's many short segments here, so it's a little bit messy, but, we're actually able
to, to modify this and, use some pretty intuitive, click and click and drag tools
to, to redistribute the cost, based on on what actually.
[07:57] So, there's a bunch of advanced features in here, like, splitting as well.
[08:01] So this allows us to look at our production line and accurately, model, the cost
for any, any, period of time.
[08:16] [opens a work order to review the margin report and redline cost] And then just, really briefly here, if I jump over to, one of these work
orders and the stat's not gonna look, that great, but you can see we have
a margin report here and we have a redline cost, so we can actually see
that, you know, the timer started and stopped for 29 seconds, 25 seconds, and it
has a, has all the costs associated with it, as we discussed previously.
[08:45] So, that again is the redline job costing tool, which allows for, mixed production on
automatic lines and also real time job costing as well as those tricky situations where
we run a part much longer than full processing time.
[09:00] So essentially modeling all of our automated equipment and getting that accurate job costing, we're
always looking for.
[09:06] Thank you. Have a great day.
Taxonomy tags
Steelhead product area
Job costing; Production; Automatic lines
Feature / module
Redline job costing interface; redline timers; cost split adjustment; margin report
Workflow category
Job costing and margin tracking; automatic line production management
Topics covered
Why automatic lines are hard to job cost; when to use redline; redline timers and
cost splitting; editing historical timers; margin reports and redline cost
cost splitting; editing historical timers; margin reports and redline cost