Ignoring routings in the BOM is not a viable or desirable option because it severely limits your overall efficiency potential and increases your workload. Without routings, you must run the shop manually, which is much more difficult than using the formal shop control that is afforded by routings.
Light manufacturing systems do not include work centers and routings and focus solely on BOM components. Without work centers and routings, light systems cannot handle product costing, MRP, or shop control.
Routings distinguish DBA from light manufacturing systems and are used for the following purposes:
- Work center hourly rates are applied to process setup hours and cycle times to calculate estimated and actual labor and manufacturing overhead costs.
- Subcontract supplier prices are translated into unit costs to calculate estimated and actual subcontract service costs.
- Routings provide detailed process instructions that print on the shop traveler for production guidance out on the shop floor.
- Routings provide detailed instructions to subcontract service suppliers that print on subcontract POs.
- Routings provide the estimated hours calculations that are used to establish item Job Days settings that drive MRP job generation and the master schedule.
- BOM routing specifications are copied to jobs as jobs get generated by MRP.
- Job routings group job sequences by work center within the Work Center Schedule screen to prioritize worker assignments.
- Job routing specifications are used to calculate estimated remaining job hours for job prioritization and job status metrics.