Direct Answer
Track fabrication production by piece mark, with each piece moving through defined stages: material received, layout, CNC, assembly, welding, inspection, blast/paint, and shipping. A simple spreadsheet or production management software allows you to see the status of every piece at a glance, identify bottlenecks, and update your delivery forecast weekly.
Full Explanation
A production tracking system can be as simple as a shared Google Sheet with piece marks in rows and production stages in columns, updated daily by the shop floor supervisor. More sophisticated shops use purpose-built fabrication management software (Strumis, FabSuite, ProSteel) that integrates with the Tekla BOM. The critical requirement is that the system is updated daily — a tracking system that is updated weekly is too stale to prevent surprises. Key metrics to track: pieces per day through each stage, actual vs. planned completion by week, and the percentage of pieces ready to ship by each scheduled delivery date.
What This Means for Your Shop
Production tracking prevents the 'surprise' discovery that you're three weeks behind. With a tracking system, you know you're falling behind two weeks before it becomes a crisis — time enough to add a second shift, bring in added capacity, or negotiate a delivery adjustment with the GC.
Common Mistakes
Tracking only major milestones (first delivery, final delivery) rather than weekly production. Major milestones are too far apart to catch developing problems before they become emergencies.
Recommended Process
Implement a simple piece mark tracking spreadsheet immediately at project kickoff. Train your shop floor supervisor to update it at the end of each day. Review with the project manager each Monday morning. The 10 minutes of daily data entry prevents much larger problems.