# Infor XA Factory Track: What It Does and How to Plan Shop Floor Data Collection

> Source: https://netray.co/erp-help/infor-xa-factory-track-shop-floor-data-collection
> Publisher: Netray (netray.co), AI and integration engineering for ERP and manufacturing systems.
> Section: ERP Help

## Short answer

Factory Track is the shop floor data collection offering associated with Infor XA. It captures labor, job and material transactions at the work centre, often with bar code terminals, and posts them to XA production control so that job status, costs and inventory stay current without re-keying. Details differ by release, so check your documentation before configuring anything.

## Kind

how-to

## System

infor-xa

## Erp

Infor XA (IBM i)

## Module

Shop Floor Data Collection

## Query

infor xa factory track

## Alternate Queries

- infor factory track xa
- xa shop floor data collection
- mapics factory track

## Applies To

Infor XA (formerly MAPICS XA) on IBM i with the Production Control and Inventory modules. Capabilities and versions depend on what you are licensed for.

## Steps

### Plan a shop floor data collection setup for XA

**Items:**

- Define which transactions you want from the floor: job start and stop, labor time, quantity complete, scrap, material issues, inventory moves.
- Confirm the installed Factory Track version, its prerequisites and supported terminal hardware from your release documentation.
- Clean the master data first: work centres, operations, employee numbers, job and routing integrity. Data collection exposes every master data error.
- Set up terminals and bar codes for employees, jobs and operations, and decide who corrects bad scans.
- Test each transaction type against a non-production environment, then check that job status, costs and inventory in XA match the expected values.
- Define a daily exception routine: open labor, jobs without scans, quantity mismatches.
- Train supervisors first, then operators, and run in parallel with paper for a short period before cutover.

## Sections

### What data collection really changes

**Body:**

Without floor data, costs and job status depend on someone typing at the end of a shift, so WIP value, schedule adherence and labor variances lag by days. With scanning, the system reflects reality within minutes, which is what makes MRP, scheduling and cost analysis trustworthy.

The benefit appears only if the routing steps are meaningful and the operators agree with the operation definitions. A generic 'run' operation yields generic data.

### Common failure points

**Body:**

Failures usually come from master data (an operator not set up, an operation not on the routing, a closed job), from terminal connectivity, and from transactions the host rejects. Decide how rejects are surfaced: a queue someone owns, not a log nobody reads.

Also plan the IBM i side: batch jobs that process collected transactions, their schedule and monitoring. A stalled batch job quietly stops cost updates.

### Aging platform and alternatives

**Body:**

If your terminals, operating systems or Factory Track version are out of support, you have three options: keep it running with a documented support plan, replace the collection layer with a current MES or data collection tool that writes through supported interfaces, or modernize the ERP. See the related page on the M3 version of Factory Track for a comparable pattern and on XA integration options.

## Pitfalls

- Going live without cleaning routings and employee setup.
- No owner for rejected transactions.
- Not monitoring the batch jobs that post collected data.
- Running unsupported terminals or clients with no replacement plan.

## Ai Angle

A grounded assistant cannot replace scanning, but it can make the exception routine cheap. A private deployment of ERPray or DataRay can answer which jobs have labor open for more than a shift or which operators are missing from routings, based on read-only queries over XA data, and show the query. Write-backs such as correcting a transaction should stay with a human approval step.

## Faq

### What is Factory Track in Infor XA?

**Answer:** It is Infor's shop floor data collection offering associated with XA, used to capture labor, job and material transactions at the floor and post them to XA production control.

### Does Factory Track need bar code terminals?

**Answer:** Bar code terminals are the common approach, but the exact hardware and supported devices depend on your version. Check release documentation before buying hardware.

### Why are my floor transactions not updating jobs?

**Answer:** Typical causes are rejected transactions from master data errors, a stopped batch job that posts collected data, or connectivity from the terminals. Check the reject queue and the IBM i job status first.

### What replaces Factory Track if it is unsupported?

**Answer:** A current MES or data collection tool that posts through supported interfaces, or a broader ERP migration. Decide based on the number of users, the transaction types and your support position.

## Search terms

infor xa factory track, factory track xa, mapics factory track, xa shop floor data collection, infor xa labor reporting, infor xa bar code terminals, xa production control data collection

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