Routing is the sequence of operations a product goes through from raw material to finished goods: cutting, bending, welding, painting, assembly and so on. Routing-based production tracking records where each work order is in that sequence, how long each step takes and how much scrap it produces.
Why order-level tracking is not enough
If a work order is only ever "open" or "closed", nobody knows which stage the product is at. Answering a customer means walking the floor, and the station causing a delay only becomes clear once a shipment is missed.
What routing-based tracking gives you
- Live location: See which station each order is running at or waiting for.
- Actual times: Start and finish are scanned, so standard and actual times can be compared.
- Visible bottlenecks: A station with a growing queue is spotted before shipments slip.
- Accurate cost: Operation time and scrap feed product cost with real data.
- Operator and shift efficiency: Performance conversations are based on data, not guesses.
How to set it up
- Define work centres: Group machines or benches that do the same job.
- Map product routings: Start with your highest-volume products and set operation sequences and standard times.
- Use barcoded job cards: Operators scan the card and the station to start and finish each operation.
- Make the board visible: Show waiting and running jobs on a screen on the shop floor.
Nitrogen's routing-based production tracking system sets this up with tablets and barcode scanners on the floor, keeping work orders and stock movements in sync with Mikro ERP.
