Routings: defining the sequence of work and expected time

A routing describes how a product is made. It identifies the operations, their sequence, the work centres involved, and expected time or resource requirements. The BOM explains what is needed; the routing explains how the transformation occurs.

Both are necessary for a meaningful production plan. A complete set of components does not prove the factory has the capacity or process to deliver the finished product on time.

Operations and sequence

Cutting, machining, assembly, inspection, and packing can have a defined order. Some operations depend on the completion of earlier work. Their sequence influences flow and the point at which quality evidence is required.

DNA routings can reuse standard operations and include quality requirements. Reuse helps establish consistent definitions for recurring work, while the product routing identifies how those operations apply to the particular process.

Setup and run time

Setup time prepares a machine or station for a job. Run time relates to processing the output. Their relationship affects batch economics.

For example, a fictional process needs one hour of setup and six minutes per unit. Ten units require two hours in total under that simplified assumption; 100 units require 11 hours. Treating setup as six minutes per unit or ignoring it entirely produces a different and misleading estimate.

The actual time definitions and rates must follow the configured DNA routing and resource model. The example illustrates why the meaning of a time field matters.

Work centres and capacity

An operation's work centre identifies where it is performed. The station's calendar, status, and resource capabilities affect whether the plan is feasible. A routing that assigns work to an unavailable machine does not become achievable merely because the material is in stock.

Time beyond processing and advanced operation definitions

DNA's routing operation distinguishes setup and run time from queue, wait and move time. Queue time represents waiting for the resource; move time represents transfer between operations; wait time represents a delay in the process. These are different reasons that an order can take longer to finish than its direct processing time.

The operation also carries its time unit, control key, inspection requirement, tools or production resources, capabilities and sub-operations or phases. These definitions make the instruction more specific. Their presence does not prove that a planning run has enforced every constraint: the resulting operation dates, assignments and exceptions are the evidence of the plan produced.

Planned and actual work

The routing supplies an expectation. Operation confirmations record what actually occurred. Differences in time, yield, scrap, or downtime can reveal unrealistic standards, process problems, or incomplete recording.

Actual performance should therefore be compared with the correct routing and production version. Comparing an automated process with the standards for a manual process can produce an apparent variance that reflects the wrong baseline.

A useful routing

A useful routing is understandable to planners and operators and provides a credible basis for scheduling and cost. It connects the product design to the real work required, while leaving actual execution to the records that describe what happened on the floor.