Managing Routings

Routings can be used to determine Labor, and Burden Costs to manufacture items, and to schedule production using the Master Production Schedule. When using a routing to generate cost, as well as schedule production, a balanced set up approach is best. Creating very detailed routings with many sequences can be difficult to schedule. A Routing in DEACOM is a series of pre-defined processing steps, listed in order of sequence, necessary to manufacture a Part. Each Routing step indicates the Work Center, and Operation that will be performed. The routing also defines the processing rate for the item when produced in a specific Work Center in units per hour. Each Routing step has a cost per unit based on the standard operation Labor rate, the Work Center’s hourly cost, and the processing rate. The sum of all the Routing steps Labor Cost is the total Labor Cost per piece, which is stored in the "Current Labor" field of the Costs tab of the Item Master. The sum of all the Routing steps burden costs is the total Burden costs per pieces, which is stored in the “Current Burden” field on the Costs tab of the Item Master

Routings are attached to individual Bill of Material (BOM) Revisions, which allows for different manufacturing processes for different Formulas.

In addition to the Routings section in Inventory Maintenance, Routings can be created and maintained on the Routings tab in the Bills Of Material or the Item Master areas of the system. The security setting "Item master -- edit routing" controls access to this transaction in all locations.

Configuration

Prior to adding or modifying Routings in DEACOM, Operations and Work Centers will need to be set up.

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 the Standard Labor and Standard Burden rate for this Operation, these fields will be used to calculate item Labor and Burden costs.
    1. Enter additional information as necessary. 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 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.

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 the Hourly Cost and Burden Factor, these fields will be used to calculate item Burden costs
    1. Enter additional information as necessary. Work Centers will typically indicate the Daily Hours, and Crew Size.
  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.

Note: 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.

Process

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. 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: 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 > click "Routing" on the Job header.

To create a new Routing:

Follow the navigation path for one of the four methods listed above then click the "Add New" button.

Fill in the appropriate information on the Edit Routing form, including the fields on the MRP tab if settings other than those on the Item Master MRP tab should be used, then click the "Save" and "Exit" buttons to commit the changes.

Additional information on the Routing form is available on the Routings Encyclopedia page.

Note: 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.

FAQs & Diagnostic Tips

Tip: Beginning in version 16.05.107, when the "Operation Complete" checkbox on the Edit Log On/Off Job form is checked for a Job Routing Sequence that matches the Job/Work Center/Operation then the "Operation Complete" checkbox on the matching Job Routing Sequence will also be checked.