After working as a production controller for a while, I discovered that there are actually three indispensable things for a production controller. Missing even one would make everything feel off, and even create a sense of anxiety that things might be getting out of control.

The first is a "calendar." I think this is fundamentally the most important thing for a production controller. Every day, production controllers are scheduling, estimating delivery dates, confirming which day something needs to go online, and which day it needs to ship. Sometimes an order needs to be pushed back a few days, and sometimes it's suddenly required to pull in. Dates are what production controllers deal with every single day. Whether it's an electronic calendar on the computer, a monthly calendar in Excel, a paper monthly calendar on the desk, or even the calendar function on a phone, the key is to always have dates to keep track of. Without this, everything feels wrong, because if a production controller doesn't have a good grasp on dates, all the subsequent scheduling and delivery timelines will fall into chaos.

The second is a "calculator." This one might be more confusing to people—why would a production controller need a calculator? But once you've actually done the job, you know we constantly need to calculate production quantities, completed amounts, shortages, and even how much was done today or how much remains for tomorrow. Some work orders can't be finished in a single day and are spread across multiple days or even batched into inventory, so quantities need to be constantly rechecked. Of course, the calculator on your phone or the one on your computer works fine, but I still prefer keeping a physical calculator nearby, especially when someone is sending me Excel files or other data. Having to keep switching screens to use a calculator gets really annoying—it's much faster to just pick up the physical one and calculate directly.

The last one is a "phone," or a notebook for jotting things down works too, but I think a phone is much more convenient. Production controllers don't just sit at their desks looking at spreadsheets all day—often they have to go out to the production floor. On the line, someone might point at a machine and ask, "Which batch is this?" "Are there any more orders after this?" or "When does this need to be done?" If a product shows any abnormalities, you also need to take photos and record it immediately. The human brain really can't remember everything, especially when handling so many work orders and information at once. You might think you've got it all in your head at the moment, but by the time you get back to your desk, you've probably forgotten half of it. So the phone becomes a very handy portable tool—take photos when needed, record when needed—at least so the information doesn't stay only in your head.

So for me, the three treasures of a production controller are "calendar, calculator, phone"—one for mastering time, one for confirming quantities, and one for recording on-site information. None of the three can be missing.

In the past, I might have thought these things were ordinary, or even wondered what era we're living in—don't phones and computers have everything already? But only after actually working as a production controller did I realize that these seemingly insignificant little tools are what help me capture the chaotic information bit by bit every day.

Without any one of them, I'd probably start feeling anxious: "Where are my things?" "How much is this order still short?" "What day next week does it need to go online?" All I can say is that being a production controller isn't something you can do with just a schedule sheet. At least these three things, I can't go a single day without.

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【Workplace Life】The Three Treasures of a Production Controller's Office