Well, you dont have to do anything, Nikki... Yes, you heard me right
Production Order Statuses are automatically assigned from CRTD (Created) till DLV (Delivered)
If the Status is not DLV, it will go into WIP Loop... If it is DLV, it will go into the Variance Loop
Status TECO is a manual assignment.. Must be assigned when the Goods are Fully Delivered.. Does not matter much even if you dont assign (From a Variance Stand Point)
The only thing you must discipline the users is about the Status CLSD.. If the status is not CLSD, the production order will continue to participate in WIP and Variance calculation even if it was created 10 years ago.. It will deplete your system performance
So, how to do it?
Best thing to do is ask your PP folks whats the Maximum time a Production Order can remain open.. If they say 3 months, add 2 more months to that (Buffer).. Schedule a Job which automatically assigns Status CLSD to all Production Orders which are Older than 5 months.. This ways, your system performance will be up and running and you will never have Production Orders being considered for PE Process beyond 5 months
Hope it was clear
Ajay M