# Start here: Operator

Find the right job, review the label and quantity, and follow the print outcome.

Source: https://help.smartfact.ai/manuals/labels/operator

Review edition: 25 October 2026

Roles: operator

Your job is to prepare and print labels for the work in front of you. The published configuration selects the layout, customer codes and quantities. You check that the result is right before accepting it.

## Before your first job

Ask your supervisor which site and station to use, where its labels arrive and what label stock should be loaded. Sign in with your own SmartFACT identity. You need the Operator or Supervisor role in LabelRules and access to this site.

Open the menu and choose **Production jobs**. On a handheld, the menu stays behind **Menu** so the work has the full screen. Focus the job-reference field before scanning. A scan elsewhere must not start work.

## Your everyday workflow

1. Scan or enter the exact work-order reference. Check the reference, customer, revision and required line on the job page.
2. Prepare that line's label. If a form is shown, answer its visible questions and record the required reason. Read [operator forms](/manuals/labels/operator-forms) before using one for the first time.
3. On **Review your label**, check the content, barcode, units, copies per unit and total labels. Read the station notice to find out where acceptance will send them.
4. Accept only when those checks pass. Open the accepted run and follow its copies and outcomes.
5. Collect and check the physical labels according to your site's procedure. If output is uncertain, stop and ask a supervisor.

The [print-a-job guide](/manuals/labels/print-a-job) explains these steps in detail.

## When to stop

Stop if the job or revision is wrong, a customer value is missing, the label looks wrong, the quantity is unexpected, the station is unqualified or output is uncertain. Keep the displayed reason and the job or run reference. Ask your supervisor to investigate.

Do not alter a job reference to make it match, print a different job as a substitute or accept a label that you expect to correct afterwards. An exact reprint needs a supervisor's review.

## What you can and cannot change

You can look up permitted jobs, prepare and accept runs, print through the available route and use the permitted recovery controls. You can read their history. You do not publish label layouts or rules, import production jobs, approve exact reprints or decide what happened to uncertain printer output.

A missing action can be a permission or plan restriction, a site hold or a problem with the job. Read the message before retrying. [Access problems](/manuals/accounts/access-problems) explains who can help.

## At a handover

Give the next person the job and accepted-run reference, the copies already handled and any outstanding issue. Leave uncertain output for the supervisor to resolve. Signing out does not undo an accepted run or withdraw labels already sent to a printer.