PRODUCTION – ROUTING

Routing determines what work will be done on a product or a part as well

where and how it will be done. It establishes the operations, the path they will take and
its sequence and the appropriate machines and personnel required for those
operations.

Definition:-

Kimball and Kimball define routing as “the selection of the path or rots
over which each piece is to travel in being transformed from raw material into finished
goods.

Importance of routing:-

The practice of routing rose out of the demand for a more systemtic
method of carrying the work through the plant. The object of routing is to determine
the best and the cheapest sequence of operations and to ensure that this sequence is
followed. The economic advantage of routing is based upon division of labour.
Determination of routs demand deliberates and concentration of mind. A busy foreman
cannot always do this. Routing constitutes a function which can be well interested to a
section specializing in the work. Once a good route has been worked out and recorded,
it can be used for the further similar jobs. This brings the advantages of the recorded
data.

The degree of detail in routing varies with the factory and products. In
some cases, it is sufficient to show the successive department through which each
product or part is to pass. In other cases, it may be advantageous to indicate the several
operations to be performed, the department in which in each operation is to be
performed and the machine tool to be used in each case.

To be successful routing, requires the route clerk have a thorough

knowledge of product, of the manufacturing equipment and complete knowledge of the
capacity and characteristics of every matching and process. The major responsibility of
routing rests with production control or planning department. But it is also
concentrated with product development by affirming that a product develop can be
readily manufactured. Similarly, plant and engineering department is to set up the most
efficient operating method and establish a materials – flow through the plant which will
need in quotation which will need “minimum of handing and back tracking”. Thus, at
one time or another each of this department may have a hand in product routing.

Routing procedure:-

Routing involves various procedural steps. They are as follow:

a) The finished products are analyzed from the manufacturing standpoint in order
to decide how many components can be made in the plant and how many can be
purchased from outside sources through vendors, subcontracting, etc.,(make or
buy decision). This decision depends upon the work load in the plant, availability
of equipment and personnel to manufacture all components and the economy
associated with making all components within in plant itself.
b) Parts-list and a bill of materials’ are prepared showing name of the part, quantity,
material specifications, amount of material required, etc. the necessary materials
thus can be preserved.
c) Machines, capacities, their characteristics and the operations which must be
performed at each stage of manufacture are established and listed in proper
sequence on an operation and route sheet.

Route sheet:

It is a document with specific manufacturing sequence of operations.

The precise route, which must be followed, is given in the route sheet. A
typical route sheet contains the following information:

a) Number and identification of work order.

b) Symbol and/or identification of a part.
c) Estimated number of pieces to be produced. 
d) Number of parts in each lot.
e) Operations needed on the given part
f) The operation required and their desired sequence.
g) Machine or equipment to be used for each operation.
h) Estimated setup time and operation time.
i) Tools requires for operation.
j) Specifications of raw materials to be used.
k) Specifications of dimensions, tolerance, surface finishing and quality to be
achieved.
l) Packing and handling of contracts.
Main Benefits:
 1. Precise and thorough control of all production processes to maximize volume and
profits for each item - by department and by the whole enterprise
2. Production tracking and exception reporting
3. Reduction of production lead-times
4. Quality improvement by better managing material usage and parameter settings for
production
5. Reduction of waste with accurate process standards and monitoring activities
6. Accurate management of external processes, including in-transit shipping, sub
contracted processes, and price lists for commissioned activities
a. Tracking the inventory
b. Tracking the external processing
c. Job costing
d. Invoicing
7. Proactive communication between production and customer service so that
potential delays and problems can be identified and corrected.

Factors affecting routing procedure:

 Type of manufacture:
Layout if the plant depends on the type of production. In case of product layout, routing is
built into production line and the flow of materials is virtually automatic. But in case of
process or operation layout, much discretion lies on the part of the routing section.

 Characteristics of individual machines, etc:

Machines do differ in age, condition, degree of precision, capacity of range, speed, tooling and such
other traits. These facts have to be taken into consideration in determining the allocation of job to a
particular machine. For this purpose, the common practice followed by the routing section is to
prepare and maintain a file of machine data cards for each machine. In these, individual
characteristics, and capacity range of each machine are listed. Such a list should also include the
conveyors, cranes, containers and other equipments which may be available in one section of the
plant but not in another.

 Availability of alternate routing:

Machines may break down or an operator may be absent, in such situations routing section
must readily have an alternative routing to substitute the standard route.

 Human factors:
Personnel vary in various characteristics. For example, there is a difference between
operators regarding experience and capability relating to visual exactness, manual
dexterity, physical limitations, intelligence and emotional stability. Similarly, supervising
staff differ in ingenuity, mechanical ability or general competence of supervision. Thus,
many important decisions are mostly based on the human factors involved.