What Is a Bill of Routing (BOR)? Definition and Example
User Solutions TeamA bill of routing (BOR) is the ordered list of manufacturing steps required to make a product, and unlike a plain bill of materials it also specifies the work center for each step, the setup and run time, and how the steps connect to one another. If a bill of materials is the ingredient list in a recipe, the bill of routing is the recipe itself: first Jane grinds the beans for ten minutes, then Mike steams the milk for two minutes, then Jane plates the drink. It is the single most important input to a finite capacity scheduler, because it is the document the engine turns into dated operations on real machines.
This entry is part of the EDGEBIC by User Solutions glossary series; for the broader vocabulary of production planning, see the manufacturing glossary.
How a Bill of Routing Works
A routing is a container of steps, and each step is one row of instructions. A step names the work center that performs the operation, the setup time to prepare the machine, and the run time required per unit of product. It also carries a sequence number and a link to the next step, so the engine knows the order.
Two numbers do most of the work. The run time per unit multiplies by the order quantity to give the total run hours: if drilling takes 0.5 hours per part and the order is 100 parts, the engine schedules 50 hours of drilling. The setup time is added once, before the run, to cover fixture changes and calibration.
Steps do more than run on a machine. A routing step can carry a queue buffer that inserts staging or inspection time before the next step, transit days for parts that go out to a plating or heat-treat vendor, a transfer batch that lets the next step start early, or a required skill that ties the operation to a certified operator. Some steps consume raw material and some pull in a finished sub-assembly.
A Concrete Example
Consider a custom bracket with three operations. You build the routing as three steps:
| Sequence | Step | Work center | Setup | Run per unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Cut | Saw-A | 1 h | 0.10 h |
| 20 | Drill | Drill-B | 0.5 h | 0.08 h |
| 30 | Paint | Paint-1 | 0.5 h | 0.06 h |
For an order of 100 brackets, the engine reads the routing and computes 11 hours of cutting (1 setup plus 10 run), 8.5 hours of drilling, and 6.5 hours of painting. It then places them in sequence on the three work centers, respecting each machine's shift calendar and existing load, and returns dated operations. Change the order to 200 brackets and every run time doubles while the setup stays the same, because the routing describes the process once and the engine scales it to the quantity.
How EDGEBIC Uses It
In EDGEBIC the bill of routing is the routing you build for each product, either in a data grid or in the graphical routing designer. Every scheduling run starts by reading the routing for each job's product and expanding it into operations.
- Steps drive the schedule. The engine sorts the routing into dependency order with a topological sort, then schedules each step on its work center, so a step's position comes from its sequence and next-step links rather than from the machine it happens to use.
- Special step types live in the same routing. A material step consumes stock at its point in the sequence, and a sub-assembly pulls a component into the parent job. Both sit inside the routing at the step where they are needed.
- Alternatives and groups add flexibility. A step can point at a work center group instead of one machine, letting the engine pick the best available member, or it can carry true-alternative work centers the scheduler chooses among.
- The routing is snapshotted at scheduling time. When a job schedules, EDGEBIC freezes a copy of the routing with the plan, so later edits to the master routing never rewrite history. That frozen copy is the routing snapshot.
Because the routing carries the timing and capacity data, it is what separates a real finite capacity schedule from a wishlist. The bill of routing explained walkthrough shows how to build one step by step, and what is production scheduling sets the routing in the wider planning picture. The container that groups every step belonging to one product into a single addressable routing is the routing header.
A bill of routing is the ordered list of manufacturing steps needed to make a product, and unlike a bill of materials it also names the work center for each step, the time the step takes, and how the steps connect. Where a bill of materials answers what goes into the product, the bill of routing answers who does each operation, in what order, and for how long. It is the input a finite capacity scheduler turns into dated operations on real machines.
A bill of materials lists the components that go into a product, like a recipe's ingredient list. A bill of routing adds the process: the sequence of operations, the work center that performs each one, the setup and run time, and optional parallel or alternative work centers. A routing can consume materials at specific steps, so the two are related, but only the routing carries the timing and capacity information a scheduler needs.
Each step in a bill of routing carries a sequence number, a work center or work center group, a setup time, a run time per unit, and a link to the next step. Steps can also carry a queue buffer, transit days to an outside vendor, a transfer batch for lot streaming, a required skill, and alternative work centers. Material steps and sub-assembly steps sit in the same routing at their consumption points.
Expert Q&A: Deep Dive
Q: Our part has three operations: cut, drill, then paint. How does the routing turn that into a schedule?
A: You enter three steps with sequence numbers 10, 20, and 30, each pointing at its work center (Saw, Drill, Paint) with a setup time and a per-unit run time. For a 100-piece order where drilling takes 0.5 hours per piece, the engine schedules 50 hours of drilling plus setup, places it after cutting finishes, and places painting after drilling. The routing supplies the recipe; the finite capacity engine supplies the dates and the machine instances.
Q: Can two steps in a routing use the same work center, and does the order still hold?
A: Yes. Two steps can name the same work center, and the sequence numbers plus the next-step links, not the machine names, decide the order. EDGEBIC sorts the routing with a real topological sort keyed on each step's identity, so a sub-assembly and its parent sharing a mill still schedule in dependency order rather than colliding. If you want the steps to overlap deliberately, that is a transfer batch or flow-step decision, not an accident of shared machines.
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