The quick answer
Step-by-step instructions for an operation are stored on the manufacturing routing, so every work order built on that routing can print them. With Oracle's Work Instructions and Traveler SuiteApp installed, edit the routing, open the Work Instructions subtab, pick the operation in Operation Name, type a Process Notes entry, add one line per instruction, and save. Then go to Reports > Manufacturing > Generate Traveler, search for the work order, and click Generate & Print. The PDF lands in the File Cabinet folder set as the Report Directory, and with the delivered Default Template each operation gets its own page with its process notes and numbered instructions. In this example, three instructions added to the Laser Cutting operation print on page 2 of the traveler for WO3172.
The screenshots show sample data. Person and company names are fictional. Use your own routing, work order and values when following the steps.
Before you start
In this example, Alex Morgan at Example Supply Co. builds the BR-240 Mounting Bracket at Sparks Plant on BR-240 Routing, which has three operations: 10 Laser Cutting, 20 Bending and 30 Powder Coating. The laser operators work from a printed traveler, but the routing only carries work centers and times, so nothing on paper tells them how to run the job. Work order WO3172 for 25 brackets is Released and waiting to be printed.
A few things have to be in place first:
- The Work Instructions and Traveler SuiteApp is installed. It's a free Oracle SuiteApp from the SuiteApp Marketplace, and it needs work orders, assembly items and Manufacturing Routing turned on. An administrator installs it.
- The Traveler Preferences record is set up. It names the Template used for the PDF (the delivered one is Default Template) and the Report Directory, the File Cabinet folder where travelers are saved.
- Use Advanced Manufacturing on Traveler Preferences is cleared. Accounts with Advanced Manufacturing have it checked by default, which keeps Advanced Manufacturing's traveler in charge and hides this SuiteApp's Work Instructions subtab. If someone checks it again and saves, the work instructions stored on routings are deleted. Leave it cleared once you start adding instructions.
- The assembly has a manufacturing routing with routing steps. To build one, see how to set up a manufacturing routing.
- The work order is Released or In Process. Generate Traveler only finds work orders in those statuses.
- Your role can edit manufacturing routings, run Generate Traveler and open the Report Directory folder. Menus and subtabs can vary by role.
01. Check the operation's Work Instructions
Go to Lists > Supply Chain > Manufacturing Routing. The list shows each routing with its Bill of Materials, whether it's the Default, and its Memo. Click View next to BR-240 Routing.
The Routing Steps subtab lists the three operations: 10 Laser Cutting at Laser Cell 2, 20 Bending at Press Brake 1 and 30 Powder Coating at Coating Line, each with a setup time and run rate. That's where and how long. There's no field for how.
Open the Work Instructions subtab. It shows Operation Name Laser Cutting and Operation Sequence 10, with an empty Process Notes and no instruction lines. A traveler printed now would carry nothing for the laser operator.
In this account the subtab shows on the view page. If yours only shows it in Edit mode, check there instead.
02. Add the process note and instructions
Click Edit and open the Work Instructions subtab. In Operation Name, select Laser Cutting. Operation Sequence fills in as 10 from the Routing Steps subtab. You can only pick operations that already exist there.
In Process Notes, type "Use nitrogen assist gas for clean edges." Each operation has one Process Notes field, and it prints above the numbered instructions.
Now add the instructions one line at a time. Type "Load the 3 mm sheet and square it against the stops." in Work Instructions and click Add. Sequence No fills in as 1. Add "Run nest program BR240-N1 and measure the first part." as line 2 and "Remove dross and stack parts flat for bending." as line 3. Sequence No sets the printed order.
Each line also has a url, a Print Image box and an Inactive box, left blank here. A url can point to an image, video or document. Print Image only prints the image when the url resolves directly to a single JPG or PNG file. An image from the File Cabinet may also need Available Without Login checked and 24-bit color to render in the PDF. An Inactive line stays on the routing but is left off the traveler.
Click Save.
03. Confirm them on the routing
The saved routing can reopen on the Routing Steps subtab. Open Work Instructions again. Laser Cutting, sequence 10, now shows the process note and instruction lines 1, 2 and 3, with Print Image and Inactive both No.
These instructions are stored against the routing's Laser Cutting operation. The traveler reads them when it's generated, so a work order on BR-240 Routing picks them up the next time its traveler is generated, with no edit to the work order. If an assembly has several BOM revisions or routings, add instructions to each routing its work orders use.
04. Generate the traveler
Go to Reports > Manufacturing > Generate Traveler. In this account Template defaults to Default Template and Status to Released. You can search by Location, Assembly Item, Status, a start date range or a Work Order Saved Search. To print one order, type its number in Work Order. Here that's WO3172. In this account the other filters become unavailable, because the search is now for that order alone.
Click Search. The Filter by section collapses and the Work Orders list shows WO3172: Sparks Plant, BR-240, Released, routing BR-240 Routing, 25 EA. The row comes back checked and VIEW SELECTED shows 1. If it isn't checked, check it.
A work order that already had a traveler generated is left out of the results. To print it again, check Include Printed Orders before you search.
Click Generate & Print. The traveler is built in the background. An Information message says report generation is in progress, and when it's done a Completed message says the report has been generated successfully.
05. Open the traveler PDF
Go to Documents > Files > File Cabinet and open the Report Directory folder, Work Instructions & Traveler > Reports in this account. It holds WO3172_BR-240 Mounting Bracket.pdf. In this account the file is named after the work order and assembly, and generating the traveler again replaces it.
Click the file name to open the PDF. Page 1 identifies the job: Work Order WO3172, Assembly Item BR-240 Mounting Bracket (Quantity 25) and the Traveler heading. With Default Template, each routing operation then gets its own page.
Go to page 2, the Laser Cutting page. The header has the work order and operation-sequence barcodes, Operation Name Laser Cutting, Work Center Laser Cell 2, the start and end dates, Run Rate 3 and Setup Time 8. Below the STL-3MM component, Process Notes reads "Use nitrogen assist gas for clean edges." and Work Instructions lists 1, 2 and 3 exactly as entered on the routing.
Check the result
- BR-240 Routing's Work Instructions subtab shows Laser Cutting, sequence 10, with the process note and lines 1, 2 and 3.
- Generate Traveler shows the Completed message for WO3172.
- Work Instructions & Traveler > Reports holds WO3172_BR-240 Mounting Bracket.pdf.
- Page 2 of the PDF is Laser Cutting and prints the process note and the three instructions in order.
In this example the Bending and Powder Coating pages show no instructions, because none were added to those operations. That layout comes from Default Template. Traveler templates can be copied and changed, so pagination, barcodes and fields depend on the one you pick.
If the instructions don't show up on the traveler, check that you picked the right operation in Operation Name, that the lines aren't marked Inactive, and that the work order uses the routing you edited. If you generated the traveler before adding the instructions, generate it again with Include Printed Orders checked. That box doesn't bring back a work order that is no longer Released or In Process.
Common questions
How do I print work instructions on a work order traveler in NetSuite?
With the Work Instructions and Traveler SuiteApp installed, edit the manufacturing routing, add Process Notes and instruction lines to the operation on the Work Instructions subtab, and save. Then go to Reports > Manufacturing > Generate Traveler, search for the work order, make sure its row is checked, and click Generate & Print.
Why is the Work Instructions subtab missing from my manufacturing routing?
Usually because Use Advanced Manufacturing is checked on Traveler Preferences. Accounts with Advanced Manufacturing have it checked by default, which keeps Advanced Manufacturing's traveler and hides this subtab. Clear the box and save. Also check that the SuiteApp is installed and that you're editing the routing, since some accounts only show the subtab in Edit mode.
What happens if I check Use Advanced Manufacturing again?
Saving Traveler Preferences with the box checked deletes the work instructions the SuiteApp stored on your routings. Decide which traveler you're using before anyone adds instructions.
Where does NetSuite save the generated traveler PDF?
In the File Cabinet folder named as the Report Directory on Traveler Preferences. In this example that's Work Instructions & Traveler > Reports, and the file was WO3172_BR-240 Mounting Bracket.pdf. Generating the traveler again replaced it.
Why doesn't my work order show up in Generate Traveler?
Check its status first: the traveler is for work orders that are Released or In Process. If a traveler was already generated for it, check Include Printed Orders before you search. Also clear any filters that don't match it, or type the work order number in Work Order to search for that order alone.
Do I need to update existing work orders after changing routing work instructions?
No. The traveler reads the routing's instructions when it's generated. Change the instructions on the routing, then generate the traveler again with Include Printed Orders checked, and the new version prints.
Do routing work instructions apply to every work order for the assembly?
They apply to work orders that use that routing. Instructions belong to the combination of bill of materials, routing and operation, so if an assembly has several BOM revisions or routings, add the instructions to each routing its work orders use.
Can I put images on a work order traveler?
Yes, per instruction line. Put the image's address in url and check Print Image. It only prints when the url resolves directly to a single JPG or PNG file, and a File Cabinet image may need Available Without Login checked and 24-bit color to render.
Can I add instructions to just one work order?
Where the feature is enabled, a work order can carry its own Additional Work Instructions, which needs the work order's WIP option. The Default Template prints them on the first page, and you can print that work order's traveler from its Print Traveler action.
What does the traveler print for each operation?
With Default Template, each operation gets its own page with the work order and operation-sequence barcodes, operation name, work center, start and end dates, run rate, setup time, the components issued to that operation, then Process Notes and the numbered Work Instructions. Inactive lines are left off.