MFG/PRO 9.0 User Guide Volume 3: Manufacturing - QAD.com

26 MFG/PRO USER GUIDE — MANUFACTURING
Tip
Routings are
required if you use
the Repetitive
module.
Introduction
To manufacture an item or product, it is always necessary to complete
one or more activities or operations. The listing of required operations is
called a routing, which basically defines the process needed to make the
item. If a product structure is the list of ingredients in a recipe, a routing is
the directions. The routing operations indicate the machines, expected
times, and instructions for completing specific tasks.
For example, in manufacturing sunglass lenses, there might be a routing
with four operations with instructions to grind, polish, tint, and coat the
lenses. These would be separate operations because they involve different
machines, tools, skills, and tasks.
In the Shop Floor Control and Repetitive modules, you record actual
statistics on what happens during production. This might include how
long it takes to produce items, what quantities are produced and by whom,
whether there was downtime or some other interruption to production,
and so on. These statistics are always recorded against a routing
operation.
In addition to providing manufacturing instructions, routings contain data
used as a standard for evaluating production, operation times, yield
percentages, the number of machines normally needed, and so on. The
department and work center codes associated with routing operations link
actual production results with capacity planning, cost accounting, payroll,
and other programs.
Specifically, routings can be used to:
• Calculate the cost of producing an item
• Calculate the time it takes to manufacture an item
• Schedule operations for work orders and repetitive schedules
• Backflush components in the Repetitive module
• Calculate work center and department load
• Print routings for work orders
• Obtain operation feedback using programs in Shop Floor Control and
Repetitive