Introduction

When setting up your fabrication operations in Swell, routing is crucial. A route determines the production steps, stations, or stages a particular item has to pass through for completion. This guide walks you through the process of adding a new route.

Prerequisites or Starting Steps

• Access to the Rules Engine.
• Strong understanding of your production workflow.

Step-by-Step Guide

Accessing Routes

• Navigate to the Rules Engine.
• Select the Routes tab.
• Use the Types dropdown at the top of the list to choose what you're working on. Process Routes are the process itself, independent of any department. Department Routes are that process as a specific department runs it, and picking this reveals a Department selector.
• View the overview of existing routes.

Pick the type before you build

Department Routes carry a shift, so their Duration follows that department's default shift. Process Routes don't. See Cycle Time, Duration, and Float.

Adding a New Route

• Click the Add New button located at the top left.
• A prompt will appear for you to enter route details.

Entering Route Details

• Fill in the route name.
• Provide a description if needed.
• Choose the relevant shop for this route.
• Confirm by clicking Save.
• Observe your new route displayed, often at the bottom left.

Adding Stages

• Click the 'add stage' button.
• Choose a stage from the existing options, such as "on deck."
• Modify the steps within the stage as required.
• Adjust the number of personnel or the cycle time for specific steps as needed.

What if my Stage or Step isn't Listed?

Adding New Steps to a Stage

• Navigate to the top right of the page.
• Click 'add new step.'
• Define the step details, such as name and duration.
• The new step will be appended to the stage.
• Rearrange step sequences by dragging them to the desired order.

Adding a New Stage Not Listed

• From the dropdown, scroll to its end.
• Select 'Add New Stage.'
• Define the stage details, including name, description, and capacity.
• The newly created stage becomes available for connections and steps addition.

Linking Stages

• Add more stages if necessary.
• To set the sequence, connect one stage to the next.
• Drag the connection from the stage that comes first to the stage that follows it.
• This visually represents the order in which stages should occur.

Deleting a Stage

• Select the stage you wish to remove.
• Choose the 'Remove' option.
• Confirm the deletion.

Additional Tips

• We save automatically to ensure no data is lost.
• Always remember that when adding a route, it starts in a draft form by default. It won't be live until you actively choose to make it so. This ensures that unfinished routes don't interfere with ongoing processes.

Conclusion

With your new route added and configured, you can now integrate it into your operational flow in Swell. Ensure to review the route with your team, make any necessary adjustments, and set it live when you're confident in its structure.

Video walkthrough

Adding a New Route