Individual Assembly Routing Question

[MCDFD]

Hey we're a small manufacturer/assembly business in the Midwest that is just implementing a new routing system for our shop. The idea is that along every step along the process they scan an ID card to keep the offices up to date with progress and to add some accountability for their work. The issue is for one of our assemblies we did a time study and found that for this one in particular it was much quicker to do each assembly one at a time rather than the usual step by step group/batch assembly of the whole order. Is there a way we can still implement into our routing system without have to route each individual assembly one at a time? We sometimes get orders of 500+ and doing 500 scans and 500 sheets of paperwork is definitely not an option. Any help on this would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Michael_M]

I am not sure I understand the issue, correct me if I am wrong:

sample router instructions
1. insert tab A into Slot B (move to next operation)
2. insert tab C into slot P (move to next operation)
3. move cable T into harness G (move to next operation)
4. insert screw Z into slot B (part is now done)

What you have found that doing each step on one part until all steps are complete (complete steps 1-4 on one part then repeat steps 1-4 on part number 2).

Can you change the routing instructions to say something like 'step 1: complete process per work instructions 1 through 4'? This makes the routing 1 step for all the steps but it should do as you wish.

[MCDFD]

Yes, you have the issue correct. But if we have an order for 250 assemblies, it would clog our systems by having 250 individual "jobs" completed. Were trying to route it so that we do all the steps and assemblies all together. I'm thinking the only way would be have to have the all the assemblies checked in when they start and just have the whole thing be a single step until they're all completed. But then I guess this would also not truly be routing since there is no progress until the whole thing is completed. Thanks for your help but I don't think there's going to truly be a satisfactory answer for my manager.

[Michael_M]

I may not have been clear, but my suggestion was to have the assembly as a single router step. I made an assumption that if 6 parts were made in an 8 hour shift (or a single shift) the person who made the assembles would log that they made 6 parts and that would be the only tracking that would be done for that day.

for example the router could look like this:
1. materials (inventory gathers all material for the job)
2. Assemble (assemble each part following instructions)
3. Inspection (Inspect parts per requirements
4. Ship parts (ship to customer or stock as required).

Another thing to consider is possibly reducing the quantity of the router to what can be produced in a single shift (or given time frame). This produces a bit more paper work but allows parts to move through faster without having to split parts off constantly.

[Hodgepodge]

In Reply to Parent Post by Michael_M

Another thing to consider is possibly reducing the quantity of the router to what can be produced in a single shift (or given time frame). This produces a bit more paper work but allows parts to move through faster without having to split parts off constantly.

This sounds like an easy solution. You could also split the lots into groups of 10, 20, 25, etc. Choose a quantity that would be significant and still beneficial to the office types who will use the information.