Work Areas, Equipment and Operator Permissions

This page lists every setting that decides who may take a pick task, where, and with what equipment. It also lists the rules the task manager applies when an operator asks for work.

Paths in the "Affects" lines are relative to crates/libs/ unless they start with another crate name.

Roles: Admin and Manager can create and change all rows on this page. Operator and Viewer can read them (app-server/src/web/rpcs/work_area_rpc.rs:6-16, equipment_profile_rpc.rs:6-18, operator_rpc.rs:20-31). Supervisor can also read equipment profiles because the RF screen Pick by Area lists them. The policy assignment commands are Admin and Manager only (picking_policy_rpc.rs:17).

Nothing on this page is seeded in a production database. The dev seed (wms-lib-sql/sql/dev_only/install-db/900-dev-seed.sql:601-631) creates one area MAIN_AREA with zones DOCK and RACK, and gives the demo users 1000, 1001 and 1002 every task type in that area. The seed does not switch on Pick Execution. Without rows, no operator is handed any task (see section 6).

1. Work area

Menu path: Sidebar > Topology > Work Areas. Table work_area.

A work area is a group of putaway zones. An operator's rights are a grid of task type and work area. A task reaches its area through task.from_location -> location.putawayzone -> work_area_zone.

Code (code)

• UI label: Code (required).
• Column: varchar(10), unique, not null. Note: 10 characters at most, not 20.
• Default: none.
• What it does: the key. The RF operator types or scans it at Pick by Area (screen PKAA, title Pick by Area). Spaces around it are cut.
• Affects: wms-lib-core/src/model/work_area.rs (find_by_code); wms-outbound/src/picking/commands/dispatch_next.rs:259 and start.rs.
• Message for an unknown code: no work area has this code: <code>.
• Example: area PICK-A. The lookup is exact, so the operator must type PICK-A as it is stored (case counts).
• Open work: do not rename. Policies point at the area id; the code is only what people type.

Description (description)

• UI label: Description.
• Column: varchar(200), not null, default empty text.
• Stored only. It has no effect today (shown in lists).

Max Concurrent Tasks (max_concurrent_tasks)

• UI label: Max Concurrent Tasks (required).
• Column: smallint, not null, default 1. Check: 1 or more (ck_work_area_max_concurrent_tasks_positive).
• What it does: how many tasks one operator may hold at once inside this area, when the terminal names the area.
• Affects: for task types other than Pick, wms-lib-core/src/model/tasks/task.rs:1287 (claim_next: a new task is handed out only while the operator holds fewer than this number).
• For Pick it has no effect beyond "greater than 0". A Pick dispatch first returns the operator's own held task (wms-tasks/src/service/candidate.rs:295-310) and only checks max_concurrent > 0 before searching the pool (candidate.rs:335-348). A cart start refuses when the operator already holds a task (OperatorHasOtherWork). So one operator holds either one single Pick task or one cart set, whatever this number says.
• Example: area limit 3. A putaway operator can hold 3 putaway tasks. A picker still holds 1.
• When no area is named (old RF entry Discrete Pick): the system setting TASK_MAX_CONCURRENT_DEFAULT is used and area limits are not applied (wms-tasks/src/service/work_area_rules.rs).
• Open work: lowering it does not take tasks away from operators who hold more.

Allow Task Release (allow_task_release)

• UI label: Allow Task Release. Checkbox.
• Column: boolean, not null, default true.
• What it does: may an operator hand a task back or refuse it in this area. It gates both ways out: "hand back" and "refuse" (the RF screen Reject Pick, PICK11, and Skip/Reject in a cart).
• Affects: wms-tasks/src/service/release.rs (skip_task_in_area, gate after the "is it yours" and status checks), work_area_rules.rs:80-103.
• Message when off: returning a task is not allowed in work area <code> — ask a supervisor to move it. Without an area: returning a task is not allowed in this warehouse — ask a supervisor to move it.
• Example: a picker is stuck on task 812 in area PICK-A with the flag off. A supervisor opens Sidebar > Task Manager > Task Board and uses Return to Pool or Reassign.
• Interaction: TASK_ALLOW_RELEASE_DEFAULT rules when no area is named.
• Open work: takes effect on the next press.

Picking Policy (picking_policy_code)

• UI label: Picking Policy. Read-only on the card and in the list. Changed only by the list button Assign Policy.
• Column: work_area.picking_policy_code, varchar(20), null. NULL means DISCRETE.
• What it does: the default policy code of the area (see 21-picking-policy-settings.md, section 1.3).
• Steps: tick one area in the list, press Assign Policy, choose a code in the window Assign Picking Policy, press Assign. The list of codes shows <code> — <description> for each published code except DISCRETE. Leave it empty to go back to DISCRETE. Helper text: Leave empty: the area works by the default policy DISCRETE.
• Command: work_area_assign_picking_policy (stateless). The code must have a Published revision, checked under a share lock so a retire cannot slip in.
• Messages: success Work area {code}: picking policy assigned. Failure The policy was not assigned to work area {code}: {error}. Errors: Policy {code} has no published revision: it cannot be assigned to a work area, Work area {id} not found. Selection: Tick exactly one work area; The work-area list has moved on — tick the area again and retry.
• Affects: wms-lib-core/src/model/outbound/picking_policy.rs:582-650.
• Open work: a live cart assignment keeps its own frozen policy copy. The new code is used at the next start or dispatch.
• Interaction: a per-equipment row wins over this default (section 3).

Pack station (pack_station_location)

• UI label: Pack station. Dropdown of locations of type Pack. Empty is allowed.
• Column: varchar(20), null, foreign key to location(code). A database trigger demands the location type Pack (work_area_pack_station_is_a_pack_location, wms-app 079).
• What it does: names the place where this area's picked goods go to be packed.
• Affects (wms-outbound/src/flow/route.rs, picking/commands/start.rs:205-218, deposit/onto_pallet.rs:97-106):
  • Cart: only with Completion = Confirm at the drop location. The carrier delivery location becomes the station.
  • Pallet: only if the pallet's policy list Pallet Drop Cell Types holds Pack. The pallet's policy is the policy of the area (for the shift's equipment) when the pallet is opened through Pick by Area for a pick in a zone of the area; otherwise DISCRETE. The system finds the putaway zone of the pick's destination, then the areas that list that zone, then their stations. It routes only if exactly one distinct station answers. If areas disagree, the pallet is not routed.
  • With no station, nothing changes: picking delivers as before.
• Messages: the area's pack station is not a location of this warehouse, the area's pack station must be a Pack location.
• Example: area PICK-A has station PACK-01. The policy of the area (or DISCRETE, for a pallet that is not opened through the area) has Stage, Door, Pack in the list. A pallet whose destination STAGE-1 stands in a zone of PICK-A is frozen to go to PACK-01, and a packing unit waits there.
• Open work: a pallet or cart that already froze its destination keeps it.
• The type of the location is not checked again after it became a station.

2. Work area zone

Table work_area_zone. In the area card the list Work Area Zones, button New.

Putaway Zone (putawayzone)

• UI label: Putaway Zone (required, popup picker).
• Column: varchar(20), foreign key to putawayzone(code). Unique with the area (uq_work_area_putawayzone). A zone may belong to more than one area.
• What it does: puts every location of that zone into the area.
• Affects: the pool filter (section 8), the operator's reachable zones (wms-lib-core/src/model/tasks/operator_task_permission.rs:155-182), the pack station search.
• Example: area PICK-A has zones RACK, DOCK. A task from location A-01-01 (zone RACK) belongs to PICK-A.
• Open work: removing a zone hides its tasks from operators who relied on it. Tasks they already hold stay with them.
• Delete of an area is refused while zones or permissions refer to it.

3. Policy by equipment kind

Card of the work area, list Policy by Equipment Kind, buttons Add, Edit, Remove. Table work_area_picking_policy. Commands: work_area_equipment_policy_create, _update, _delete, list work_area_equipment_policy_list.

Equipment Profile (equipment_profile_id) and Picking Policy (picking_policy_code)

• UI labels: Equipment Profile (chosen when you add; cannot be edited later), Picking Policy.
• Columns: equipment_profile_id bigint (foreign key, restrict), picking_policy_code varchar(20) (upper case, not empty). Unique key (work_area_id, equipment_profile_id).
• What it does: the area uses a different policy when the operator drives this equipment. It wins over the area default.
• Affects: picking_policy.rs:614-635 (a COALESCE of this row, then the area default).
• Example: area PICK-A has default DISCRETE. Row: equipment CART -> CART6. An operator who chooses CART at Pick by Area gets the cart policy. An operator On foot gets DISCRETE.
• Messages (said in the reader's language from the narration catalogue; English shown): no equipment kind has this id: <id>; the work area already names a policy for this equipment kind: change that row instead: <code>; the work area's policy for this equipment kind is gone: refresh the list; and Policy {code} has no published revision: it cannot be assigned to a work area.
• Interaction: Retire of a policy code is refused while any area uses it, as default or in a row.
• Open work: same as the area default.

4. Equipment profile

Menu path: Sidebar > Topology > Equipment Profiles. Table equipment_profile.

Code (code)

• UI label: Code (required). varchar(20), unique. Chosen by the operator by code at Pick by Area.
• Messages: no equipment kind has this code: <code>.

Description (description)

• UI label: Description. varchar(200), default empty. Stored only; shown in lists.

Max Weight (max_weight)

• UI label: Max Weight (required). Column double precision, not null, default 0, check 0 or more.
• What it does: the heaviest load the machine lifts at ground level, in the weight unit of the warehouse. 0 means no limit.
• Affects: wms-lib-core/src/model/tasks/task.rs:1025 (LIFTABLE_SQL). A task is liftable when task weight <= Max Weight - Weight Reduction per Level x location level.
• Two cases always pass: Max Weight is 0 (or the operator has no profile), and the task weight is unknown (no weight on the pack or the SKU).
• Example: Max Weight 1000, reduction 100. A task at a location of level 3 can weigh up to 700. A task of 800 there is not offered to this operator. A task of 800 at level 0 is offered.
• Message when only too-heavy tasks remain: there are Pick tasks in your work areas, but every one is heavier than your equipment lifts (up to 1000 at ground level) — they wait for other equipment.
• Open work: takes effect at the next dispatch. A task already held stays.

Weight Reduction per Level (weight_reduction_per_level)

• UI label: Weight Reduction per Level (required). Column double precision, not null, default 0, check 0 or more.
• What it does: how much lifting power is lost for each level of height. The level is the Level field of the location.
• Affects: same SQL as above. With Max Weight 0 it is ignored.

Active (is_active)

• UI label: Active. Checkbox. Column boolean, not null, default true.
• What it does: an inactive profile cannot be chosen at Pick by Area. An operator who already drives it is refused at the next Pick by Area that keeps the same equipment, and chooses another kind or On foot.
• Message: this equipment kind is switched off: <code>.
• Affects: wms-outbound/src/picking/commands/dispatch_next.rs (shift_equipment). A carrier assignment already started, or a carrier still to deliver, is continued first; the refusal comes only when new work is asked for. Until the operator chooses again, the profile stays on the operator, and its lift limit and zone exclusions still apply (wms-tasks/src/service/claim.rs, lift_capacity). Switching a kind off never loosens a limit by itself.

Excluded Zone (table equipment_profile_zone_exclusion)

• UI: list Excluded Zones on the profile card; field Putaway Zone (required).
• Columns: equipment_profile_id, putawayzone varchar(20), unique together.
• What it does: removes that zone from the zones the operator can reach. A reach truck that cannot enter the FLOOR zone excludes FLOOR.
• Affects: operator_task_permission.rs:155-182 (NOT EXISTS on the exclusion table).
• If every zone of the permitted areas is excluded: you have no right to take Pick tasks in any work area — ask a supervisor.
• Open work: next dispatch.

5. Operator and its equipment

Menu path: Sidebar > Task Manager > Operators. Table operator.

An operator row is a copy of a user. A user becomes an active operator when RF device login is on, the status is Active, and the user is assigned to the warehouse. The sync runs every 5 minutes. The Sync button runs it at once. You cannot create or delete operators.

Equipment Profile (equipment_profile_id)

• UI label: Equipment Profile. Popup picker, can be empty. The only field you can edit.
• Column: bigint, null, foreign key restrict. NULL means on foot: no lift limit, no excluded zone.
• Written by: the operator card, and by the RF at Pick by Area (screen PKAE Equipment: 1 = on foot, 2 = from the list PKAEL).
• What it does: the filters of section 8 and the policy choice of section 3.
• Affects: wms-tasks/src/service/claim.rs:172-187, candidate.rs:376, dispatch_next.rs:332-361.
• Example: the picker chooses On foot for the shift. The profile is cleared. Excluded zones and lift limits no longer apply to them. The area default policy applies.
• Open work: a choice made at Pick by Area replaces the card value for the next shift.

Login, Name and Active are read-only. An inactive operator gets operator <id> is not an active assignee from the task manager, or at the RF your operator record is not active in this warehouse: ask a supervisor.

6. Operator task permission

On the operator card, list Task Permissions. Table operator_task_permission. One row is one right. No row means no right. Unique key (operator_id, task_type, work_area_id).

Task Type (task_type)

• UI label: Task Type (required). Dropdown: Pick, Putaway, Replenish, Move, Count.
• Column: enum task_type.
• What it does: the kind of task the right covers. Count is the inventory count (24-inventory-count-policy.md).
• Replenish: there is no replenishment engine in this version, so a Replenish right hands out nothing.

Work Area (work_area_id)

• UI label: Work Area (required, popup picker). Foreign key, restrict.
• What it does: the area where the right applies. Zones of the area are the zones the operator can reach.

Pick Execution (pick_execution_enabled)

• UI label: Pick Execution. Checkbox, required.
• Column: boolean, not null, default false.
• What it does: the rollout switch for new Pick work. A row with Task Type = Pick and this box off lets the operator see the area but hands out no new Pick tasks.
• Affects: wms-outbound/src/picking/infrastructure/dispatch.rs:225-247 (pick_execution_enabled_for_location: there must be a Pick row with the switch on, in an area that contains the zone of the task's source location; with a named area, that area). It gates only new issue. A task already held, and the reconnect and commit of it, never stop.
• What the operator sees: the dispatch answers No eligible Pick work (RF PICK01). The reason code is PICK_EXECUTION_ROLLOUT_DISABLED in the answer's diagnostics. It is not shown on the RF screen.
• Example: operator op1 has a Pick right in PICK-A with the box off. They get no pick. Tick the box. The next press hands out a task.
• Not used for task types other than Pick.
• Interaction: both are needed. Without the right row: you have no right to take Pick tasks in any work area — ask a supervisor. With the row but without the box: no work, no message.
• Open work: switching it off does not take tasks away.

7. Task manager system settings

Menu path: Sidebar > System Settings. Table system_settings. All five are numbers. A value that is empty, zero or negative falls back to the built-in value for the first four. Seeds are in wms-lib-sql/sql/wms-app/migrations/001_baseline.sql:9957-9961.

Key	Seed	Built-in fallback	What it does	Read at
TASK_LEASE_TTL_MIN	15	15	Minutes a claimed task is held. Each confirmation, commit or dispatch renews it. When it runs out the reaper returns the task to the pool.	wms-tasks/src/service/claim.rs:189-219
TASK_SKIP_COOLDOWN_MIN	10	10	Minutes a refused task is hidden from everyone. A hand-back is not hidden.	claim.rs:222-244
TASK_SKIP_ESCALATE_AFTER	3	3	Number of refusals after which the task leaves the pool and waits for a supervisor.	claim.rs:247-264
TASK_MAX_CONCURRENT_DEFAULT	1	1	Tasks one operator may hold when the terminal names no area.	work_area_rules.rs:56-70
TASK_ALLOW_RELEASE_DEFAULT	1	1 (allowed)	Hand-back and refusal allowed when no area is named. Here 0 means "not allowed".	work_area_rules.rs:80-103

Why a zero lease falls back to 15: a zero or negative lease would expire at once and give the task to a second operator while the first still carries the goods.

• Lease and carts: a cart assignment's lease is the lease of its tasks. They are renewed together. When none reaches "now", the lease sweeper dissolves the whole assignment and returns its tasks (wms-outbound/src/picking/lease.rs). An assignment with every member committed is not dissolved. It goes to delivery.
• The reaper and the sweeper run every 60 seconds (app-server/src/services/cleanup_tasks.rs:142, 908). The sweeper runs before the reaper. So a task can sit up to about TASK_LEASE_TTL_MIN + 1 minute before another operator gets it.
• A lease that already ran out cannot be renewed: task <id> lease has expired; claim the work again.
• Example: TASK_SKIP_ESCALATE_AFTER = 3. Three operators refuse task 812 with a reason. After the third refusal the task has escalated_at. Nobody is offered it. A supervisor uses Reassign on the task board. The first two refusals each hide it for 10 minutes.
• Open work: the new value applies to the next claim or renewal. Existing deadlines do not move.

Pick Episode Reassignment (SKU setting that decides who may take a task away)

• UI label: Pick Episode Reassignment. Dropdown on the serial-tracking tab of the SKU (sku_serial_config_form). Column sku_serial_config.pick_episode_reassignment_mode, varchar(32), not null, default Block.
• Values: Block (Block movement), Handover (Hand over open episode), CancelAndRestart (Cancel and restart capture). (The old value Transfer was renamed Handover in wms-app 040 and wms-meta-ui 079.)
• What it does: a pick with an open serial capture episode has units the holder already scanned. This value says what happens when the task would change hands (supervisor Reassign or Return to Pool, an operator's reject, lease expiry).

Value	Reassign to another operator	Return to pool, reject, lease expiry
Block	refused	refused: the task stays with its holder
Handover	the open episode goes to the new holder, items kept	allowed; the next holder takes the episode over at the first scan
CancelAndRestart	the episode is cancelled, items kept for audit	allowed; the next holder starts a new one

• Any mode: an Abandoned episode keeps the task with its holder until a supervisor closes it (RF Force-Close Episode (supervisor), RCSN_FORCE). A pick in a live cart assignment is never moved alone: dissolve the assignment.
• Affects: wms-outbound/src/picking/infrastructure/holder_change.rs:1-60 (rule), used by wms-tasks/src/service/reap.rs, release.rs.
• Message: task 812 cannot change hands: SERIAL_EPISODE_OPEN (other codes: SERIAL_EPISODE_ABANDONED, PICK_ASSIGNMENT_LIVE).
• Example: SKU with Block. Anna scanned 3 of 5 serials, then her terminal died. The lease expires after 15 minutes. The reaper cannot return the task. Nobody else gets it until Anna comes back, or a supervisor closes the episode.
• Open work: the value is read at the moment of the change.

8. The claim rules, in the order the system applies them

For the Pick type the RF calls pick_dispatch_next (wms-outbound/src/picking/commands/dispatch_next.rs). The generic task_claim refuses Pick: dispatch for Pick tasks is source-owned; use the source capability command.

1. One request at a time per operator. A lock on the operator queues double presses.
2. A live cart assignment is continued first. Then a carrier dissolved with goods and never delivered (deliver your carrier with picked goods first).
3. The operator must be active. See section 5.
4. The named area and equipment (only on Pick by Area): the area must exist; the equipment kind must exist and be active; "equipment and on foot" together, "equipment without area", and "area by code and by id" are refused: choose an equipment kind or on foot, not both, the equipment kind is chosen together with a work area, name the work area once: by code or by id.
5. The policy of (area, equipment) is read (section 3). If Carrier Required is Yes: only a held task is handed out; otherwise the answer is Scan Carrier and no task is claimed.
6. A held task comes first. The oldest claimed task of the operator. If it is another task type: operator already has Putaway task 41; resume it before requesting Pick work. If it is no longer executable: assigned Pick task 812 is no longer executable: <code>.
7. The limit. Section 1: only > 0 matters for Pick.
8. Reachable zones. Zones of the areas where the operator has a Task Type right, minus the excluded zones. If none: you have no right to take Pick tasks in work area PICK-A — ask a supervisor (or in any work area).
9. The pool. A task is in the pool when all hold (task.rs:999):
   • status Created, no assignee, right task type;
   • its from_location is in a reachable zone;
   • not escalated;
   • not refused within the last TASK_SKIP_COOLDOWN_MIN minutes;
   • not excluded earlier in this search;
   • liftable by the operator's equipment (section 4).
10. The order. task.priority ascending (it is the order priority; smaller is sooner; default 50), then the location Route Sequence ascending (empty last), then oldest created_at, then id (task.rs:630-641).
11. The source says yes or no for the first candidate that is locked (skip-locked, so two operators never wait on one task). The source rules (picking/infrastructure/dispatch.rs) and their codes:

Code	Meaning
PICK_EXECUTION_ROLLOUT_DISABLED	No Pick Execution box for this operator and area.
PICK_NOT_RELEASED	The pick is not Released.
ORDER_NOT_RELEASED, ORDER_TERMINAL	The order is not released, or is closed or cancelled.
LOCATION_MISSING, LOCATION_BLOCKED	The source location does not exist, or is not Ok, or carries an operation flag (for example CycleCountActive after a short).
INVENTORY_HOLD	An inventory hold covers the position.
CARTONIZATION_PENDING, CARTONIZATION_BLOCKED, CARTONIZATION_INVALID	The cartonization plan is not ready, is blocked, or contradicts itself.
IN_CONTINUATION	The pick is the rest of a box that was closed full. Only a cart start takes it.
WRONG_TASK_TYPE, UNSUPPORTED_SOURCE, SOURCE_MISSING, SOURCE_TASK_MISMATCH, TASK_SNAPSHOT_MISMATCH	The task and the pick no longer agree. Report to support.

A refused candidate stays Created. It is skipped only in this search. The codes go to diagnostics in the answer. The RF shows only No eligible Pick work. 12. Nothing found. If zones were reachable but every task is too heavy, the too-heavy message of section 4. Otherwise an empty answer: wait and press again.

In a named area the search uses only that area's zones (one phase CurrentArea). On the old entry the area is not named: the search covers every area the operator may pick in.

9. Reject, skip and the cooldown

• Reject (RF PICK11 Reject Pick, field Reason): legal only before anything is picked. It returns the task to the pool, hides it for TASK_SKIP_COOLDOWN_MIN and counts one refusal. The reservation stays. In a cart the pick first leaves the assignment, and the cooldown uses the assignment's area.
• Skip in a cart (PKA25 Skip): the stop goes to the end of the route. The task is not touched.
• Reason length: the server accepts at most 80 characters (skip_reason is too long: 95 chars, max 80). The RF field Reason also stops at 80 (rf-screens 113, P-07).

10. What happens to open work when you change these settings

Change	Effect on open work
Remove a Task Permissions row	The operator keeps the tasks they hold. They cannot be handed a new one. A zone they no longer reach still lets them finish a held task.
Untick Pick Execution	Same: new issue stops, held work continues.
Remove a zone from an area	Tasks in that zone leave the pool of that area's operators. Held tasks stay.
Change Max Weight or add an exclusion	Next dispatch only.
Change the area policy (Assign Policy, equipment row)	Next dispatch or cart start. A live assignment is continued first.
Turn Allow Task Release off	Next hand-back or refusal is refused.
Change a TASK_* setting	Next claim or renewal.
Delete an area	Refused while zones, permissions or policy rows refer to it.

11. Messages seen by operators and supervisors (summary)

Message	When
you have no right to take Pick tasks in any work area — ask a supervisor	No permission row, or all zones excluded.
you have no right to take Pick tasks in work area PICK-A — ask a supervisor	Same, area named.
there are Pick tasks in your work areas, but every one is heavier than your equipment lifts (up to N at ground level) — they wait for other equipment	Section 4.
returning a task is not allowed in work area PICK-A — ask a supervisor to move it	Allow Task Release off.
operator already has Putaway task 41; resume it before requesting Pick work	A held task of another type.
task 812 is not assigned to you (currently: Some(1002))	Someone else holds it.
task 812 is in status Completed, this action does not apply	Wrong status.
task 812 lease has expired; claim the work again	Lease ran out.
version conflict on task 812 (current version 9)	The task changed. Code 40. Reload.
No eligible Pick work	RF text when the dispatch has nothing.

12. Inconsistencies found while reading the code

1. Max Concurrent Tasks has no effect on Pick (section 1), although the model comment says it is read by claim since step 6.
2. Fixed (P-07, commit 356109c80). The RF field Reason on Reject Pick (PICK11 revision 2, PKA27 revision 3) used to allow 250 characters while the server allows 80 (wms-tasks/src/service/release.rs:64). The terminal now stops at 80 (wms-lib-sql/sql/rf-screens/113_rf_inputs_fit_the_server_limits.sql).
3. Fixed (P-21). An operator who already drives a switched-off kind is refused at the next Pick by Area and chooses again; the limits stay until then (section 4).
4. The existing guide 06-outbound-setup.md says SUPERVISOR can write pick short reasons. The code allows only Admin and Manager (app-server/src/web/rpcs/pick_short_reason_rpc.rs:21).