Question 1

What is outstanding work?

Accepted Answer

Outstanding work refers to all jobs and tasks within an organisation that still need to be scheduled, carried out or completed. This could include production orders, service jobs, work orders, projects or administrative cases. By keeping track of your outstanding work, you know which jobs still need to be completed and how much time is required to finish them. This helps you set priorities, make better use of available capacity and prevent jobs from being left waiting unnecessarily.

Question 2

What is the difference between outstanding work and a backlog?

Accepted Answer

Outstanding work and backlog are often used interchangeably, but they don't mean exactly the same thing. Outstanding work includes all jobs that haven't yet been completed, including those that are already scheduled or currently in progress. A backog, on the other hand, consists of work that hasn't yet been assigned a specific place in the schedule. For example, new jobs waiting for an available employee or production orders that cannot be scheduled until next month.  The backlog is therefore part of your total outstanding work. Once a job is moved from the backlog into the schedule, it becomes scheduled work. However, it remains part of your outstanding work until it has been fully completed.

Question 3

How do you prioritise outstanding work?

Accepted Answer

You can prioritise outstanding work by assessing jobs based on urgency, deadlines, customer commitments and dependencies. Tasks that are particularly urgent or are holding up other processes should generally take priority. A practical approach is to divide jobs into three categories: high, normal and low priority. This makes it clear to everyone which tasks need to be completed first. It's also important to consider whether a job is ready to be carried out. Even if a task is urgent, it may not be possible to start if materials are missing or the right employee isn't available. By reviewing priorities regularly, you can ensure that your schedule reflects the current situation.

Question 4

How do you calculate the amount of outstanding work?

Accepted Answer

To calculate your outstanding workload, add up the estimated hours required to complete all open jobs. You can then compare this total with the available capacity of your employees or machines. For example, imagine you have 400 hours of outstanding work and your team has 200 hours of capacity available each week. This means you have approximately two weeks' worth of outstanding work, assuming capacity remains the same and no new jobs are added. Keep in mind that not every employee or machine can carry out every task. That's why it's important to look at how work is distributed across your team. Capacity planning gives you a clearer picture of how much work you can realistically complete and when you'll have room for new jobs.

Question 5

Can you manage outstanding work in Excel?

Accepted Answer

Yes, Excel can be a perfectly suitable tool for managing outstanding work, especially for smaller teams with a manageable number of jobs. You can use a spreadsheet to record tasks, deadlines, priorities and progress. However, as your business grows, keeping everything up to date often becomes more challenging. Multiple employees may be working from the same schedule, priorities change and available capacity needs to be recalculated regularly. This is where dedicated work backlog management software, such as vPlan, can be useful. It brings outstanding jobs and available capacity together in one overview, reducing the time spent manually updating schedules and spreadsheets.

Question 6

What software is best for planning outstanding work?

Accepted Answer

Good work backlog management software helps you organise outstanding jobs, set priorities and schedule work based on available capacity. When comparing different tools, look for features such as backlog management, capacity planning, deadlines, different planning views and progress tracking. With vPlan, for example, you can collect outstanding jobs in a backlog and then schedule them on a visual planning board. Thanks to its capacity and workload insights, you can see which employees or machines are available. This makes it easier to create realistic schedules and respond quickly when plans change. The best solution ultimately depends on your organisation's needs, the type of work you manage and how your team operates.

Question 7

How do you schedule outstanding work orders efficiently?

Accepted Answer

Efficient work order scheduling starts with a clear overview of all outstanding jobs. For each work order, record what needs to be done, how long the work is expected to take and when it needs to be completed.  Next, determine which jobs take priority and check which service engineers are available. Consider their skills, location and any materials or equipment required to complete the work.  By matching work orders to available capacity, you can avoid assigning too much work to individual engineers. It's also important to leave some flexibility for urgent requests and unexpected delays. With an up-to-date schedule, you can make adjustments more easily when circumstances change throughout the day.

Question 8

What does WIP mean in work backlog management?

Accepted Answer

WIP stands for Work in Progress. It refers to jobs that have already started but haven't yet been completed.  For example, a production order currently being processed or an installation project that's still underway would both be considered work in progress. These jobs remain part of your total outstanding work until they are finished.  When too many jobs are started at the same time, the amount of work in progress can increase significantly. Employees may need to switch between tasks more frequently, and jobs can take longer to complete.  By limiting the number of jobs being worked on simultaneously and focusing on completing ongoing tasks before starting new ones, you can improve workflow and prevent outstanding work from building up unnecessarily.