Work Orders — Cowork Plugin (v1.1)

Turn customer POs into ready-to-print work orders, job travelers, quality reports, and cost estimates in minutes — with expert-level manufacturing domain knowledge.

Installation

1. Download the pf-work-orders.plugin file
2. Open Claude Desktop and navigate to Settings > Plugins
3. Click Install Plugin and select the downloaded .plugin file
4. The plugin will be installed and available immediately

Note: All data stays local on your machine. No external API calls or cloud storage required.

Why This Exists

Job shops spend 30–60 minutes per job manually creating work orders, job travelers, and material pull lists in ERP tools that cost $3,000–$18,000 per year. The Work Orders plugin is an alternative to that paper-and-ERP workflow using AI to parse customer POs and generate all documents automatically — with built-in compliance for DFARS, ITAR, AS9100D, IATF 16949, and ISO 9001:2015.

Quick Start

1. Install the plugin in Claude Desktop / Cowork mode
2. Run /work:work-setup to configure your shop name, operations library, material grades, and compliance settings
3. Drop your customer PO into the inbound/ folder (or type details conversationally)
4. Run /work:work-pipeline — get three ready-to-print documents in outbound/
5. Run /work:work-quality — generate FAIR (AS9102) or PPAP (AIAG) documentation
6. Run /work:work-costing — estimate job costs with material, labor, and overhead breakdown

Commands

Command	Description
/work:work-setup	Initialize workspace, install dependencies, configure shop profile, material grades (14 alloys with ASTM/AMS specs), tolerance classes (ASME Y14.5-2018), and compliance flags
/work:work-intake	Parse customer PO (PDF/DOCX/CSV) with DFARS/ITAR detection, CAGE code extraction, and GD&T recognition
/work:work-generate	Generate work order DOCX with ISO 9001:2015 traceability, ITAR/DFARS markings, and NCR fields
/work:work-traveler	Generate job traveler with SPC data collection (AIAG SPC), AS9102 FAI requirements, and ANSI/ASQ Z1.4 inspection sampling
/work:work-materials	Generate material pull list with ASTM/AMS specifications, MTR tracking (EN 10204), and RoHS/REACH/conflict minerals compliance
/work:work-quality	Generate FAIR (AS9102 Rev C), PPAP (AIAG 4th Ed), or basic inspection report (ISO 9001:2015 §8.6)
/work:work-costing	Estimate job costs with material, labor, overhead, and profit calculations (AACE RP 18R-97 classification)
/work:work-pipeline	Run full pipeline in sequence (intake → generate → traveler → materials)
/work:work-status	Show pipeline progress and files ready in outbound/

How It Works

Customer PO (inbound/)
    ↓ /work:work-intake  [+ DFARS/ITAR detection, GD&T recognition]
processing/work-intake.json  (structured order data with compliance flags)
    ↓ /work:work-generate  [+ ISO 9001 traceability, export control markings]
processing/work-order-data.json + outbound/WO-*.docx  (work order)
    ↓ /work:work-traveler  [+ SPC, AS9102 FAI, ANSI/ASQ Z1.4 sampling]
outbound/JT-*.docx  (job traveler)
    ↓ /work:work-materials  [+ ASTM/AMS specs, MTR tracking, RoHS/REACH]
outbound/MAT-*.docx  (material pull list)
    ↓ /work:work-quality  [AS9102 FAIR / AIAG PPAP / ISO 9001 inspection]
outbound/FAIR-*.docx or PPAP-*.docx or QC-*.docx  (quality documentation)
    ↓ /work:work-costing  [material + labor + overhead + profit]
outbound/COST-*.docx  (job cost estimate)

What It's an Alternative To

SaaS Tool	Annual Cost	Key Overlap
JobBOSS²	$3,600–$12,000/yr	Work orders, job travelers, routing
E2 Shop System	$6,000+/yr	Work orders, shop floor control
ProShop ERP	$6,000–$18,000/yr	Work orders, BOM, AS9100 compliance
MRPEasy	$588–$3,588/yr	Work orders, materials planning

Key Differentiators

• Included with your subscription — no subscription, no per-user fees, no per-document charges
• AI-powered PO parsing — extracts structured data from any PDF, DOCX, or CSV format with DFARS/ITAR compliance detection
• Operations library — 25+ shop operations including NADCAP special processes (AMS 2700, ASTM E1444/E2375, AMS 2404/2460)
• Material grade database — 14 alloys with ASTM/AMS/SAE specifications, density, and machinability ratings
• Tolerance standards — Built-in ASME Y14.5-2018 and ISO 2768-1:1989 tolerance class defaults
• Quality documentation — AS9102 Rev C FAIR (3 forms), AIAG PPAP 4th Edition, ISO 9001:2015 inspection reports
• Job cost estimation — Material + labor + overhead calculations with AACE estimate classification
• Regulatory compliance — DFARS 252.225-7001/7002 (specialty metals), ITAR 22 CFR §120-130 (export control), RoHS 2011/65/EU, REACH EC 1907/2006, conflict minerals (Dodd-Frank §1502)
• Material traceability — MTR tracking per EN 10204 Type 3.1/3.2, lot/heat number fields per ISO 9001:2015 §8.5.2
• Print-ready output — DOCX documents formatted to print and hand to the shop floor immediately
• Customizable templates — edit the DOCX templates in Word to match your company branding
• Privacy — data is processed within the Cowork environment; local processing

Feature Comparison

Feature	This Plugin	JobBOSS²	E2 Shop	ProShop ERP
Work order generation	✅ Full	✅ Full	✅ Full	✅ Full
Job traveler / routing	✅ Full	✅ Full	✅ Full	✅ Full
Material pull list	✅ Full	✅ Full	✅ Full	✅ Full
AI PO parsing	✅ Full	❌ None	❌ None	❌ None
DFARS/ITAR detection	✅ Full	⚠️ Manual	⚠️ Manual	✅ Full
FAIR (AS9102) generation	✅ Full	⚠️ Partial	❌ None	✅ Full
PPAP (AIAG) generation	✅ Full	⚠️ Partial	⚠️ Partial	✅ Full
Job cost estimation	✅ Full	✅ Full	✅ Full	✅ Full
SPC data collection	✅ Full	⚠️ Partial	⚠️ Partial	✅ Full
Material traceability (MTR)	✅ Full	✅ Full	✅ Full	✅ Full
RoHS/REACH compliance	✅ Full	⚠️ Partial	❌ None	⚠️ Partial
ASTM/AMS material specs	✅ Full	✅ Full	⚠️ Partial	✅ Full
Batch CSV import	✅ Full	⚠️ Manual entry	⚠️ Manual entry	⚠️ Manual entry
Operations library	✅ Full	✅ Full	✅ Full	✅ Full
Real-time scheduling	❌ None	✅ Full	✅ Full	✅ Full
Inventory tracking	❌ None	✅ Full	✅ Full	✅ Full
Shop floor dashboard	❌ None	✅ Full	✅ Full	✅ Full
Multi-user access	❌ None	✅ Full	✅ Full	✅ Full
Customer portal	❌ None	✅ Full	⚠️ Partial	✅ Full
Customizable templates	✅ Full	⚠️ Limited	⚠️ Limited	⚠️ Limited
Included with your subscription	✅ Full	❌ None	❌ None	❌ None

Estimated Cost per Use

Disclaimer: Token estimates are approximate and based on typical usage patterns measured from skill prompt sizes. Actual costs vary with input data size, conversation length, and complexity. Estimates use Claude Sonnet 4.6 pricing ($3/1M input, $15/1M output). Cowork and Claude Desktop subscription users (Pro/Max/Team) are not charged per-token — these estimates apply only to direct Anthropic API usage. Running stages individually in fresh sessions uses fewer input tokens than running the full pipeline sequentially, because pipeline mode accumulates conversation history across stages.

Per skill (run individually in a fresh session):

Stage	Skill Prompt	User Input	Total Input	Output	Est. Cost
work-intake	~4.1K	~800	~7.7K	~4.1K	~$0.08
work-traveler	~6.0K	~800	~9.7K	~6.0K	~$0.12
work-quality	~6.5K	~800	~10.1K	~6.0K	~$0.12
work-costing	~5.2K	~800	~8.7K	~5.2K	~$0.10
work-generate	~6.6K	~800	~10.3K	~6.0K	~$0.12
work-materials	~6.5K	~800	~10.2K	~6.0K	~$0.12
Standalone total			~56.7K	~33.2K	~$0.67

Full pipeline (all stages in one session — context accumulates):

Stage	Base Input	+ History	Total Input	Output	Est. Cost
work-intake	~8.4K	0	~8.4K	~4.1K	~$0.09
work-traveler	~10.3K	~4.9K	~15.1K	~6.0K	~$0.13
work-quality	~10.8K	~11.6K	~22.4K	~6.0K	~$0.16
work-costing	~9.5K	~18.4K	~27.9K	~5.2K	~$0.16
work-generate	~10.9K	~24.4K	~35.3K	~6.0K	~$0.20
work-materials	~10.8K	~31.2K	~42.0K	~6.0K	~$0.22
Pipeline total			~151.1K	~33.2K	~$0.95

Running the full pipeline once typically costs $0.67–$1.24 in API tokens (Claude Sonnet 4.6).

AI-Powered Features

• PO Intelligence: Automatically parses customer purchase orders (PDF, DOCX, CSV) with DFARS/ITAR compliance detection, CAGE code extraction, and GD&T tolerance recognition per ASME Y14.5-2018
• Material Inference: Infers likely raw materials from part descriptions with ASTM/AMS specification references (e.g., "aluminum bracket" → 6061-T6 per ASTM B209/AMS 4027) and 10% scrap allowance
• Operations Routing: Matches work to shop's 25+ standardized operations including NADCAP special processes with realistic time estimates
• Quality Documentation: Generates AS9102 Rev C FAIR (3 forms), AIAG PPAP 4th Edition packages, and ISO 9001:2015 inspection reports with dimensional tables and characteristic numbering
• SPC Integration: Adds statistical process control data collection points per AIAG SPC Reference Manual 2nd Edition with control chart type selection (X-bar/R, X-bar/S)
• Inspection Sampling: Calculates sample sizes per ANSI/ASQ Z1.4-2003 General Inspection Level II with AQL lookup tables
• Compliance Detection: Automatically flags DFARS specialty metals (252.225-7001/7002), ITAR export control (22 CFR §120-130), RoHS (2011/65/EU), REACH (EC 1907/2006), and conflict minerals (Dodd-Frank §1502)
• Material Traceability: Tracks MTRs per EN 10204 Type 3.1/3.2, lot/heat numbers per ISO 9001:2015 §8.5.2, and shelf-life for time-sensitive materials
• Job Cost Estimation: Calculates material, labor, overhead, and profit with AACE RP 18R-97 estimate classification and support for shop rate, fixed overhead, and activity-based costing methods
• Work Order Generation: Creates shop-floor-ready DOCX with ISO 9001:2015 traceability, ITAR/DFARS warning banners, NCR/CAPA fields, and quality standard footer
• Job Traveler Creation: Generates routing cards with AS9102 first article inspection requirements, QC checkpoints, NADCAP special process flags, and dynamic SPC measurement columns
• Material Planning: Calculates required raw materials with ASTM/AMS specifications, MTR tracking requirements, environmental compliance flags, and domestic sourcing requirements for defense contracts

Known Limitations & Workarounds

This is a Claude Cowork plugin, not a traditional SaaS application. It has architectural constraints you should know about before adopting it.

Limitation	Impact	Workaround
No persistent database	Work orders exist only as files; no searchable history	Save completed jobs to archive/ folder; organize by date
No real-time scheduling	Cannot calculate available capacity or schedule jobs against machine queues	Use estimated hours on WO as planning input to a separate schedule spreadsheet
No multi-user access	One person runs Claude at a time; no concurrent users	Share the outbound/ folder via network drive or cloud sync for team access to finished documents
Session-based operation	State is lost if the session crashes mid-pipeline	Checkpoint files in .work/ allow resume; re-run the interrupted skill
No ERP integration	Cannot push WOs to existing ERP/MES systems	Export DOCX files and manually enter key data into ERP
Material estimates only	Material quantities are AI-estimated; not calculated from CAD/drawings	Always review quantities against engineering drawings before ordering
PDF parsing may miss complex tables	Complex PO layouts (merged cells, rotated text) may not extract perfectly	Flag fields appear in review notes; fill in gaps conversationally
No barcode / QR scanning	Job travelers cannot be scanned for digital tracking	Print and use as paper travelers; add digital tracking via a separate system
Cost estimates are Class 4	±30% accuracy per AACE RP 18R-97 — not suitable for firm-fixed-price bids without refinement	Refine with actual supplier quotes to reach Class 3 (±20%) or better

Context & Performance Guide

Session Management

Claude's context window (200K tokens) is shared across the entire session. For a full pipeline with quality and costing stages, expect to use 30,000–60,000 tokens per run. Recommendation: start a fresh session before running /work:work-pipeline on a complex job for the highest quality output.

Data Volume Guidance

Tested with batches of up to 25 orders in a single CSV import. For batches larger than 25, run intake in two passes and use /work:work-pipeline separately for each batch. Each pipeline run produces its own set of documents in outbound/.

Tips for Best Results

• Upload PO files rather than pasting content — file reading is more context-efficient than pasting long documents
• Keep your messages concise during pipeline runs — every message stays in the context window
• For the highest quality output, run each stage in a separate session — the plugin saves state between stages, so you lose nothing
• Review the operations list carefully — the AI suggests operations based on part description, but you know your shop floor best
• Set up shop rates once — /work:work-costing saves your rates to .work/shop-rates.json for all future jobs

Degradation Signals

If responses become shorter, less detailed, or skip sections that previously worked: start a new session and re-run the current stage. Your checkpoint file will resume from where you left off.

Requirements

• Claude Desktop or Cowork mode
• Python 3.x (included in Cowork VM)
• python-docx 0.8.11 (installed automatically by /work:work-setup)
• pdfplumber 0.10.4 (installed automatically by /work:work-setup)

Important Disclaimers

• AI-Generated Content: This plugin uses AI (LLM) technology which can produce inaccurate or incomplete outputs. All content should be treated as a starting point and reviewed for accuracy before use.
• Not Professional Advice: Outputs do not constitute legal, financial, tax, medical, or other professional advice. Consult qualified professionals before making decisions based on generated content.
• No Compliance Guarantee: References to industry standards, regulations, or guidelines (AS9102, AIAG, DFARS, ITAR, ISO, ASTM, etc.) are for informational purposes only. This plugin does not guarantee compliance with any law or regulation. Users are responsible for verifying all outputs meet their specific regulatory requirements.
• No Endorsement or Affiliation: Mention of third-party products, standards, or organizations does not imply endorsement, partnership, or certification by those entities.
• Cost Estimates: Job cost estimates are AACE Class 4 (±30% accuracy) and should be refined with actual supplier quotes before use in customer quotations or contract pricing.