A routing is comprised of the machine and labor actions used in the assembly of a part. Routing is a generic definition. Production orders for a part might require order-specific changes to the list of operations to be performed, but the set of operations for the order is initially created in accordance with the routing definition of the ordered part.
Routings are also used to calculate lead times and costs, and they are used in scheduling potential orders. Although optional, routings are the only way to capture cost and time information directly for labor and machine activity.
Configuration rules can be associated with structure alternates, operations, work guidelines, and tools on routings for configurable parts. This could be used, for example, to attach conditions such that a different alternate is selected based upon the values for a specific configuration. For more information about configuration rules, see About Back Office Configuration Rules.
Routings are divided into three elements: the routing header, the routing alternate, and the routing operations.
A routing header identifies the part, site, and routing revision. It is indicates the type of routing. Routings can have routing types of Manufacturing , Repair or Prototype. A Manufacturing routing type is the routing used to build a part of part type Manufactured or Manufactured Recipe. A Repair routing type represents the routing used to repair a part. A Prototype routing type represents the routing used in prototype manufacturing.
Note: A structure with the type Prototype creates a unique part revision with the Prototype Part Revision Prefix defined in the Site/Manufacturing tab.
A routing alternate represents a slightly different way of assembling the same part. The differences might be based on the quantity of parts being assembled, or an alternate routing might use different tools or work centers in case of downtime at the normal work center. All routing headers will have at least one defined routing alternate, known as the default alternate, indicated with an asterisk (*) in the Alternate No field.
The routing alternate state indicates how the routing information can be used. Possible states are:
| State | Description |
| Tentative | A structure alternate is created in Tentative state and, normally, this is the default value. This state indicates that the structure alternate is not yet usable, and the structure data will not be used by Planning or Manufacturing. Operations may be changed in this state. |
| Plannable | A structure alternate promoted to Plannable state can be used to calculate cost and planning information, but is still not used for Manufacturing. Operations may be changed in this state. |
| Buildable | Structure alternates promoted to Buildable
state are completely visible in the system, and can now be seen and used by
Manufacturing, as well as for planning and costing purposes and for generating order
components. The Structure Update attribute, defined in Site/Manufacturing, determines your ability to modify a component's attributes in this state. If Simplified, most changes are allowed. If Enhanced, only some changes are allowed. If Restricted, most changes are not allowed. |
| Canceled | The structure alternate has been canceled and will not be available for use in Manufacturing or Planning nor used to generate costing information. You can change to this state at any time; however, once done, only the state may be changed. |
| Obsolete | The structure alternate has been obsolete and will not be available for use in Manufacturing or Planning nor used to generate costing information. You can change to this state at any time; however, once done, only the state may be changed. |
Note: If the routing type is prototype the routing alternate can only have Tentative and Obsolete states. The routing alternate is created in Tentative state and can be used by prototype manufacturing. Routing alternates in the Obsolete state will not be available for use in Manufacturing and cannot be changed to a different state.
Routing operations are the steps used in the assembly of the part. Each operation identifies a task, which can include labor, labor setup, machine time, machine setup, or any combination of these elements. Operations with labor time or labor setup time also need a labor class and a crew size defined.
Operations are defined as rates. An operation rate is the number of parts that can be processed in a period of time. An operation rate can be expressed in one of three ways: units per hour, hours per unit, and hours (regardless of units). In each case, the machine time and the labor time are calculated based on the entered machine or labor rate and the number of parts being made. The machine and labor setup are absolute values, not affected by the quantity being made.
Operations can also be defined as being parallel or not parallel. A parallel operation is planned to be done at the same time as the previous operation. Setting an operation to parallel could affect the lead-time and the planning of the operations.
Operations can be defined as milestone operations. A milestone operation must be reported consequently, and it is not possible to report a higher value on following operation than the value reported on the milestone operation.
Operations can also be linked to product structure, recipe structure, or configuration structure line items. If an operation is linked to a structure line item, the material on that line item will be issued during the linked operation. Functions within Shop Order Operation Reporting will automatically issue material linked to specific operations, and a pick list report can be generated for an operation, showing only material linked to that operation.