Configuring Operations, Routings, and Sequences for Production Jobs

A Routing in the DEACOM system is a series of pre-defined processing steps, listed in order of sequence, necessary to complete a Part. Each Routing step indicates the Work Center, the Operation that will be performed, and the processing rate for the item in units per hour. The MPC's scheduling capabilities are based on Routings since they indicate the sequence of Operations or steps and the associated resources that will be required to complete the Production Job. Prior to creating the Routing, it is necessary to define the Operations that can be performed in each Work Center.

Routing sequences can have lead times, set in days. If set, the Routing lead time indicates how many days, from the job's planned start date, that is required before this Routing step will start. This field is used in connection with the MPC. For example, if there is a job with a planned start date of Jan 12th, and one of the routing steps on the Job routing has a three day lead time, the system will indicate a "Due" date of Jan 15th on the Routing Calendar detail form for this Job routing step.

Note: Decimals and negative numbers are not permitted in this field.

Configuration

Prior to adding or modifying Routings in DEACOM, Operations and Work Centers will need to be set up. Operations are functions performed by Workers in a Work Center. The Operation supplies standard hourly labor cost to Routings as well as the General Ledger accounts to which to post actual labor. Regular and overtime labor can be posted to the same or different accounts that are specified in Operations. To add a new Operation:

  1. Navigate to Production > Maintenance > Operations.
  2. On the Operations form, click the "Add New" button.
  3. Fill in all required fields, marked in blue, on the Edit Operation form.
  4. Enter additional information as necessary. Operations will typically indicate the Crew Size, Units, Hours, and the Standard Labor and Standard Burden rates.
    1. Note: The "Crew Size, "Units", and "Hours" field on the "Edit Operation" form are for informational purposes only and do not provide the default when Routing Sequences using the Operation are created. Instead, the system uses the crew size, units, and hours that are entered on the Routing Sequence when performing calculations.
  5. Ensure the "Active" box is checked then click the "Save" button to save the new Operation record.

Additional information on Operations is available via Production > Maintenance > Operations.

A Work Center typically corresponds to an individual machine. Work Centers are created and maintained at Production > Maintenance > Work Centers. Work Centers must be assigned to a Shop Area, which may contain several Work Centers. To add a new Work Center:

  1. Navigate to Production > Maintenance > Work Centers.
  2. On the Work Centers form, click the "Add New" button.
  3. Fill in all required fields, marked in blue, on the Edit Work Center form.
  4. Enter additional information as necessary, such as the Hourly Cost.
  5. Ensure the "Active" box is checked then click the "Save" button to save the new Work Center record.

Additional information on Work Centers is available via Production > Maintenance > Work Centers. The Work Center record in DEACOM contains a Maintenance tab where Maintenance Tasks associated with the selected Work Center can be specified. Companies have the option to indicate an "Unavailability Level" for individual tasks. The unavailability levels are: None, Work Center, Shop Area, and Facility. As an example, if performing the Maintenance Task will not require the Work Center to be shut down or taken offline, the unavailability level will be set to "None". When Maintenance Jobs are scheduled for Maintenance Tasks that contain unavailability levels besides "None", the MPC will black out the appropriate Work Centers, Shop Areas, and Facilities to indicate that they will be unavailable while maintenance is performed.

Process

Adding a Routing

Once created, Routings are attached to BOM Revisions. The classic example is a default Routing attached to a BOM Revision. The BOM Revision is then selected on a Job and the default Routing is brought onto the Job. Changes are made to the Job only and do not impact the Routing group. There are a couple considerations or scenarios to discuss when adding Routings in the system:

  • BOM Revisions may have multiple Routings, which may or may not contain a default Routing. During Job creation, once users select a Part and BOM, there is the option to select a Routing other than the default, or if no default is set, users may choose to pick a Routing. Note that the Routing is not a required entry for Job creation in DEACOM.
  • Routings may be added to Jobs without specifying a BOM Revision at all. This is accomplished by clicking the "Routings" button on the Job after a Job line has been added. This situation happens more so with MRO Jobs and is not usually seen in Production.

Routings may be created in four different locations:

  1. Inventory > Maintenance > Routings.
  2. Inventory > Bills Of Material > click "View" > select a BOM Revision and click "Modify" > Routings tab.
  3. Inventory > Item Master > select a Part and click "View" > click "Edit BOM" > select a BOM Revision and click "Modify" > Routings tab.
  4. Production > Job Entry > click "Add" to add a Line, save and close the Line and save the Job header > click "Routing" on the Job header.

To add a new Routing:

  1. Follow the navigation path for one of the four methods listed above then click the "Add New" button.
  2. Fill in the appropriate information on the Edit Routing form. If there is a Lead Time required for this Routing, be sure to fill in the proper value during Routing addition.
  3. Click the "Save" and "Exit" buttons to commit the changes.

Notes:

  1. Beginning in version 16.04.027, moving same-job routing sequences, where one or more sequences in the job are in different Work Centers, users will have the option to move all routing sequences as a group. In this case, users will be presented with the following yes/no prompt: “Would you like to move this job’s routing sequences in this work center to the new work center?” If yes is clicked, the system will only move the sequences on the current work center where the sequence is being moved from for that specific job. If no is clicked, the system will not move all sequences.
  2. Beginning in version 16.04.039, documents attached to the Routing can be printed when using Document Groups by selecting the "Routing" option in the "Print Attached" field on the Document Group master record.
  3. Beginning in version 17.01.010, anew feature has been added which was designed for situations where a work center will be tied up and needs to be marked unavailable for scheduling based on where and when operations on subsequent sequences on the same job occur. Additional information is available via the Configuring Availability and Availability Exceptions

Understanding costing methods and labor postings

Routings provide the details that support the current standard labor cost (this can be periodically updated to become the accounting standard labor cost):

  • In standard cost mode, the accounting standard labor cost is credited to the Job Finish Labor account when the product is finished on production Jobs.
  • In FIFO or average cost mode, there is an option in Accounting > Options > Labor/Burden tab ("Use Standard Labor and Burden in Actual Cost") to have the standard labor post when finishing Jobs.

Routing cost calculations are as follows:

  • Labor Cost ($/unit) = Operation Cost ($/hr) (from standard labor field on Operation) * Sequence Hours (hr) (from routing step) * Crew (from routing step) / Sequence Units (unit)
  • Machine Cost ($/unit) = Operating Cost ($/hr) (from hourly cost field in the Work Center) * Sequence Hours (hr) (from routing step) / Sequence Units (unit)
  • Current Burden Cost ($/unit) = Operation Cost ($/hr) (from standard burden field on Operation) * Sequence Hours (hr) (from routing step) * Crew (from routing step) / Sequence Units (unit)
  • Total Sequence Cost ($/unit) = Labor Cost ($/unit) + Machine Cost ($/unit)

The total Routing cost is the sum of all the sequence costs that make up the Routing.

Note: The calculations for the tothours and labcost variables that are available to the Edit Routing form grid are indicated below.

  • tothours = IIF(j2_batch, j2_hours, IIF(j2_pieces = 0, 0, lj_quant * j2_hours / j2_pieces))
  • labcost = tothours * op_rate