# Scheduling DPAS Rated Orders in a Machine Shop > Source: https://netray.co/resources/dpas-rated-orders-scheduling-machine-shop > Publisher: Netray (netray.co), AI and integration engineering for ERP and manufacturing systems. > Section: Knowledge Base ## Short answer How machine shops schedule DPAS rated orders: DO vs DX priority, acceptance deadlines, capacity conflicts with commercial work, and how to flag them in your ERP. ## Category ai-automation ## Content **Intro:** A DPAS rated order, marked DO or DX with a program identification symbol such as A1, obliges a shop to accept and fill it ahead of unrated commercial work when it can be done. Under the Defense Priorities and Allocations System regulation (15 CFR Part 700), you must accept or reject a DO order within 15 working days and a DX order within 10, and you must schedule to meet delivery dates, which can mean bumping other jobs. The practical challenge is seeing the conflict before it hits the floor. **Sections:** #### What DO and DX Mean at the Machine **Body:** A rated order carries a priority rating on the purchase order: DO for high-priority national defense programs, DX for the highest priority. Both outrank unrated orders. DX outranks DO. Where two rated orders conflict, the rating alone does not decide. The delivery date does, along with the program involved, and the regulation expects you to schedule rated orders in a way that meets their dates while giving preference by rating level. In a machine shop, that translates into dispatch rules: rated jobs jump the queue at constraint operations, they get material and outside processing priority, and expediting must not be bounded by unrated customers' convenience. You also must place rated orders with your own suppliers to support delivery. **Bullets:** - Acceptance or rejection deadline: 15 working days for DO, 10 working days for DX - Rejection is allowed only for narrow reasons set by the regulation, such as an unrated order accepted earlier that cannot be rescheduled to meet the date, or inability to meet the delivery date - Rated orders must be extended to your own suppliers with the same rating - Keep records for at least three years #### Why Capacity Collisions Happen **Body:** Shops commonly run at high utilization on a handful of constraint resources: five-axis machines, a particular CMM, a heat-treat slot, or a NADCAP-approved special process vendor. A rated order arrives with a ship date that falls on the same machine week as a commercial customer's expedite. Without visibility, the planner discovers the collision when an operator asks which job to run. The result is late rated work or unplanned bumping of a good commercial customer. Spreadsheets and static MRP dates make it worse, because they ignore finite capacity and outside-process lead times. Visibility needs to be early, at order entry, not at dispatch. #### Flagging and Scheduling Rated Orders in Your ERP **Body:** Capture the rating at order entry in a dedicated field or user-defined attribute so it follows the order to jobs, pegging and reports. In SyteLine, JobBOSS, E2 or ProShop-style systems this is typically a customer order or job user field, then a dispatch priority rule that sorts rated jobs first. Run finite scheduling on constraint work centers so you can see the collisions, not just the loads. Create a standing report listing open rated orders with promise date, current queue position, outstanding outside processing and material status, reviewed daily. For commercial jobs that must move, give the account owner the information to call the customer early with a new date. #### Using AI for the What-If Without Losing Control **Body:** A useful assistant answers questions like: which unrated jobs are displaced if this DO order is accepted, what is the earliest ship date given current queues and heat-treat lead time, and which constraints are at risk next month. It can read your ERP's job, routing and schedule data and show the query behind each answer. A private, on-prem model avoids sending program and customer data outside, which matters when the PO and drawings are CUI. The scheduler keeps the decision, and any change to dates or priorities in the ERP still requires human approval. This is decision support, not an autonomous scheduler. #### When Simple Rules Are Enough **Body:** If you receive rated orders only occasionally, a clear dispatch rule, a rated-orders board and a daily planner review may be enough. If you run low utilization, rated work rarely displaces anything. Complexity grows when most of your capacity is rated or when constraint resources are shared with long-lead commercial customers. Before buying software, get the process right: define who accepts orders within the deadline, who flags the rating, and who tells commercial customers about slips. Check the regulation and your contract language with counsel, since this article is general guidance. **Cta:** Netray can add a read-only question layer over your ERP schedule so planners see rated-order conflicts in seconds, with on-prem deployment for CUI-sensitive shops. **Faq:** #### How long do I have to accept a DPAS rated order? **Answer:** You must accept or reject a DO-rated order within 15 working days of receipt and a DX-rated order within 10 working days. Acceptance obliges you to meet the delivery date. The regulation limits the reasons for rejection, so review it with your contracts lead before declining. #### Does a DPAS rating mean I can ignore my other customers? **Answer:** Not entirely. A rating gives the order preference over unrated orders, but you are expected to schedule sensibly, and rated orders can still conflict with one another. Communicate with commercial customers early about date changes. Document your scheduling decisions so you can show you followed the rating rules. #### How do I show a DPAS rating in my ERP? **Answer:** Add the DO or DX rating and program identification symbol to the customer order or job header as a field or user-defined attribute, carry it to related jobs and purchase orders, and report on it. Most ERPs used by job shops support user-defined fields that are enough for this. ## Related Slugs - finite-capacity-scheduling-guide - ai-production-scheduling-optimization - syteline-capacity-requirements-planning - how-to-configure-syteline-finite-scheduling - defense-manufacturing-compliance ## Search terms DPAS rated orders machine shop, DO DX rated order scheduling, DPAS 15 CFR 700 manufacturer, rated order priority scheduling ERP, defense subcontractor capacity planning, DPAS acceptance 15 working days --- Talk to an engineer: https://netray.co/contact?intent=erp_ai | Machine catalog: https://netray.co/agent/catalog.json