What Is the Include Sub-Assemblies in Schedule Setting?
User Solutions TeamInclude Sub-Assemblies in Schedule is the option that decides whether a multi-level product's sub-assembly routings are exploded and planned alongside the parent job, or whether only the top-level routing is planned. It is on by default, and it is the difference between a job that represents the whole product and a job that represents only its final assembly.
EDGEBIC by User Solutions exposes it on the Schedule page of Settings, under Sub-Assemblies. This article defines what it changes and which production models suit each position. For the structure it governs, see the sibling term sub-assembly in manufacturing.
How It Works
A multi-level product is a product whose routing references components that themselves have routings. A welded frame goes into a cabinet; the frame has its own steps on its own work centers, and the cabinet has steps of its own.
When you create a job for the cabinet, the scheduler has to decide how far down to look:
- On, the default. The sub-assembly routings are exploded and scheduled with the parent job. The frame's welding and grinding operations appear in the plan, consume capacity on their work centers, and must complete before the cabinet operations that depend on them can run. One job carries the whole structure.
- Off. Only the top-level routing is planned. The cabinet's own operations are scheduled; the frame's are not part of this job at all.
The setting takes effect on the next scheduler run, not the moment you save it, because it changes what gets planned rather than how something is drawn. Jobs already on the Gantt keep their plan until they are rescheduled.
Nothing about your master data changes either way. The sub-assembly routings stay exactly as defined; the setting only decides whether a given run walks into them.
A Concrete Example
Think of planning a dinner. On is the plan that includes making the stock from scratch: you schedule the simmering hours and they occupy the stove. Off is the plan that assumes there is stock in the freezer, so the recipe starts at the point the stock is needed and says nothing about how it got there. Both are valid plans. The second is only correct if somebody actually made the stock.
At Acme Industries, Cabinet-C is built from Frame-F, and Frame-F has three of its own operations:
| Setting | Operations planned for a Cabinet-C job |
|---|---|
| On | Weld-1, Grind-1, Paint-Booth-1 for Frame-F, then Assembly-1 and Test-1 for Cabinet-C |
| Off | Assembly-1 and Test-1 only |
With the setting on, the job's Gantt shows five operations and the assembly cannot start until the frame's paint step finishes. With it off, the job shows two, and the plan assumes frames are available when assembly begins.
How EDGEBIC Uses It
The default is on because that is the safer assumption: a job for a product plans the whole product, and nothing needed for it is left implicitly to someone else. It is also the position that gives you the real capacity picture, since the sub-assembly operations genuinely consume machine time and leaving them out understates load.
Turning it off suits one specific model well. If your sub-assemblies are made to stock on their own jobs, driven by their own demand, then exploding them inside every parent job books the same machine time twice and inflates the load. In that case each level is planned by the job that owns it, and the picture stays honest.
The cost of turning it off is the timing link. The scheduler no longer holds the parent's first dependent operation until the sub-assembly routing completes, because that routing is not part of the job. Sequencing the levels becomes a human responsibility, usually handled by running the component jobs early and holding enough stock that the parent never waits.
The failure mode when the setting is off but nobody owns the components is quiet: the job schedules, runs, and reaches assembly with nothing to assemble. There is no warning, because leaving the levels out is a legitimate configuration rather than an error. That is the main reason to make this a deliberate decision rather than an inherited one.
For how routings describe multi-level structure, see what is a bill of routing, and for the plan that results see what is a production schedule. For the sequencing the setting affects, see what is a next-in-sequence link in a routing. Browse more definitions in the manufacturing glossary.
It is a scheduling option that decides how much of a multi-level product gets planned. With it on, which is the default, a sub-assembly's own routing is exploded and scheduled together with its parent job, so the sub-assembly operations occupy real capacity in the plan. With it off, only the top-level routing is planned and the sub-assembly levels are left out.
It is on the Schedule page of Settings, under Sub-Assemblies. It takes effect on the next scheduler run rather than immediately, because it changes what gets planned rather than how something is displayed. Jobs already scheduled keep their existing plan until you reschedule them.
No. The routings are master data and are untouched by the setting. Turning it off only changes what the scheduler considers on its next run, so the sub-assembly steps stop appearing in the plan while remaining fully defined. Turn it back on and reschedule and they return.
It is the first thing to check. With Include Sub-Assemblies in Schedule off, the scheduler plans only the top-level routing, so the parent operations appear on the Gantt and the sub-assembly operations simply are not there. Nothing errors and nothing warns, because leaving them out is a legitimate configuration rather than a fault. The tell is that a product you know has multiple levels shows a job whose operation list stops at the finished-item routing. Open the setting to confirm, and if it is off, decide deliberately: turn it on and reschedule if you want EDGEBIC to plan the whole structure, or leave it off if your sub-assemblies are genuinely made to stock on their own separate jobs. What you should not do is leave it off while assuming the components will appear from somewhere, because that is exactly the gap you have just found.
Turning it off is a reasonable fit for that model, and it prevents a specific double count. If a sub-assembly is already being made on its own job against its own demand, exploding it again inside every parent job books its operations twice on the same machines, which inflates load and makes the constraint look busier than it is. With the setting off, each level is planned by the job that owns it and the capacity picture stays honest. What you give up is the automatic timing relationship between the levels: EDGEBIC will no longer hold the parent's first operation until the sub-assembly's routing completes, because the sub-assembly is not part of that job's plan. You take on the responsibility for sequencing the two, usually by scheduling the sub-assembly jobs earlier and keeping enough stock that the parent never waits. That is a normal way to run a make-to-stock component, but it is a decision rather than a default, and it belongs with whoever owns the material plan.
Expert Q&A: Deep Dive
Q: A job for a two-level product finished its top-level operations but the sub-assembly parts were never made. Could this setting be why?
A: It is the first thing to check. With Include Sub-Assemblies in Schedule off, the scheduler plans only the top-level routing, so the parent operations appear on the Gantt and the sub-assembly operations simply are not there. Nothing errors and nothing warns, because leaving them out is a legitimate configuration rather than a fault. The tell is that a product you know has multiple levels shows a job whose operation list stops at the finished-item routing. Open the setting to confirm, and if it is off, decide deliberately: turn it on and reschedule if you want EDGEBIC to plan the whole structure, or leave it off if your sub-assemblies are genuinely made to stock on their own separate jobs. What you should not do is leave it off while assuming the components will appear from somewhere, because that is exactly the gap you have just found.
Q: We build sub-assemblies to stock on their own jobs. Should we turn this off, and what do we lose?
A: Turning it off is a reasonable fit for that model, and it prevents a specific double count. If a sub-assembly is already being made on its own job against its own demand, exploding it again inside every parent job books its operations twice on the same machines, which inflates load and makes the constraint look busier than it is. With the setting off, each level is planned by the job that owns it and the capacity picture stays honest. What you give up is the automatic timing relationship between the levels: EDGEBIC will no longer hold the parent's first operation until the sub-assembly's routing completes, because the sub-assembly is not part of that job's plan. You take on the responsibility for sequencing the two, usually by scheduling the sub-assembly jobs earlier and keeping enough stock that the parent never waits. That is a normal way to run a make-to-stock component, but it is a decision rather than a default, and it belongs with whoever owns the material plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ready to Transform Your Production Scheduling?
User Solutions has been helping manufacturers optimize their production schedules for over 35 years. One-time license, 5-day implementation.
User Solutions Team
Manufacturing Software Experts
User Solutions has been developing production planning and scheduling software for manufacturers since 1991. Our team combines 35+ years of manufacturing software expertise with deep industry knowledge to help factories optimize their operations.
Share this article
Related Articles
The EDGEBIC Scheduling Glossary Index
A themed index to the EDGEBIC glossary: scheduling engine, capacity and calendars, materials and planning, shop floor, reporting, quoting, and data import terms, defined in plain language.
What Is the Critical Chain in Manufacturing Scheduling?
The critical chain is the longest dependent path through a plan once shared machine contention is counted, not just step precedence. Here is how it differs from the critical path.
What Does Finite Capacity Mean in EDGEBIC?
Finite capacity means the scheduler refuses to book more hours on a machine than that machine actually has. See exactly how EDGEBIC enforces it, day by day and shift by shift.