# Set up routings > Give each made item its routing, the stations it goes through in order, with operations, speeds, instructions, and quality checks. Source: https://docs.floorlinehq.com/setup/routings/ (updated 2026-10-14) A routing is the list of stations a made item goes through, in order. Each line is a **step**: a station and the **operation** done there, like "Cut to length" at the Saw or "Weld the frame" at Weld. A station can appear more than once, for example Deburr before and after Weld. When you create a work order, its steps come from the item's routing, and operators work them one at a time on the tablet at each station. Admins and managers edit routings on the item's page. Routings are on every plan; throughput, instructions, and quality checks depend on the plan, as marked below. **Note:** Only items made in house have a routing. A purchased item has none, and switching an item to purchased removes its routing when you save. You also need at least one station first: admins add them under **Settings → Stations** (see [Set up stations](https://docs.floorlinehq.com/setup/stations/)). ## Build a routing 1. Go to **Stock → Items** and open a made item (or click **Add item** for a new one). 2. In the **Routing** section, click **Add new line**. 3. In the **Station** column, start typing a station's name and pick it from the list. 4. Click **Add the operation** in the **Operation** column. In the dialog, type what happens at this step under **Operation**, like "Deburr edges", and click **Done**. 5. Click **Add line** for the next step, and repeat until the routing is complete. 6. Click **Save** in the bar at the top of the page. *Screenshot: The Routing table with numbered steps, each with a station, an operation, a throughput, and buttons to move or remove it* To change the order, use the up and down arrows at the end of a line. The **X** removes a line. Like everything on the item page, nothing changes until you click **Save**, and **Undo** in the bar puts the routing back. A routing can have up to 50 steps. If a station in a routing is archived, its line says "Archived: pick another station". Pick an active station and save. Until then, FloorLine won't create work orders for the item. ## Set a step's throughput *(Mid plan and up)* Throughput says how fast a step goes. FloorLine uses it to: - estimate each step's time, and the order's total, on the work order page, - size each step on the [planning calendar](https://docs.floorlinehq.com/floor/planning/), - show an estimated completion time and progress bar on the [Live view](https://docs.floorlinehq.com/floor/live-view/), - work out efficiency on the [Dashboard](https://docs.floorlinehq.com/reports/dashboard/) and the daily summary. 1. In the **Throughput** column, click **Set** (or the current value). 2. Choose how to measure it: **Units per hour** (like 60 an hour), or **Time for one unit** with a number and **seconds**, **minutes**, or **hours** (like 10 minutes). 3. Click **Apply**, then **Save** on the item page. If the item's unit isn't **each**, the choices use it, like "ft per hour". **Remove throughput** clears it. Steps without a throughput still work; FloorLine just can't estimate them, and the planner gives them an hour. Below Mid, the Throughput column is hidden, and throughputs saved earlier are kept for when the shop is on Mid again. ## Add instructions to a step *(Basic plan and up)* Each step's **Operation** dialog can hold the instructions an operator needs at that station. Operators see them on the tablet while they work the step. *Screenshot: The Operation dialog for a step: the operation text, the Instructions choices, and the Quality checks list* 1. Click the step's operation in the Routing table. 2. Under **Instructions**, choose one: - **No instructions**. - **Upload a file**: click **Choose a file** and pick a drawing, spec sheet, or work instruction (a PDF, an image, or any file) up to 25 MB. Operators download it on the tablet. - **Use the editor**: write the instructions in the box. The toolbar has bold, italic, a heading, bulleted and numbered lists, and **Add image** for photos (PNG, JPEG, GIF, or WebP, up to 10 MB). 3. Click **Done**, then **Save** on the item page. Once a file is uploaded, the dialog shows its name and size with **Download** and **Replace**. In the Routing table, a step with instructions says "File:" with the file's name, or "Written instructions". Files and images count toward your plan's file storage, shown at the bottom of the dialog as "File storage: … used". If it's full, the dialog says so; remove files from other steps, or add storage under Billing. See [Plans and limits](https://docs.floorlinehq.com/start/plans/). On the tablet, the current step shows its instructions: a large Download button for a file, or the written instructions with their images. The work order page links each step's instructions too. ## Add quality checks to a step *(Mid plan and up)* Quality checks are what the operator must record at a step before completing it: an answer, a measurement, or a photo. 1. Click the step's operation in the Routing table. 2. Under **Quality checks**, click **+ Add a quality check**. 3. Type what to check, like "Hole diameter", and choose how it's answered: - **Written answer**: the operator types an answer. - **Measurement**: the operator enters a number. Add a **Unit** (like mm) and, if you like, a **Lowest allowed** and **Highest allowed** value. - **Photo**: the operator takes a photo with the tablet's camera. 4. Add as many checks as the step needs (up to 20), then click **Done** and **Save** on the item page. The Routing table shows how many checks each step has, like "2 quality checks". ### What operators see Once the step is started, the tablet lists its checks. The operator records each one and taps **Save** (or **Take a photo**). A measurement outside its range is saved and marked **Out of range** so it stands out; it doesn't stop the job. **Complete step** waits until every check has a result, and says "Record the quality checks before completing the step." until then. *Screenshot: Quality checks on the tablet: a written answer and a measurement with its allowed range* Results show on the work order page under each step. Photos count toward your file storage and need the connection; written answers and measurements can be saved offline. Marking a whole order complete from the work order page doesn't ask for the checks, so a manager can still close an order out. Below Mid, quality checks are kept but not asked for, and the Operation dialog says how many the step has. ## How routing changes affect work orders A work order copies the item's routing when it's created: each step's station, operation, throughput, instructions, and quality checks. Changing the routing later changes the work orders you create from then on, never the ones already out on the floor. ## Related - [Set up items](https://docs.floorlinehq.com/setup/items/) - [Set up bills of materials](https://docs.floorlinehq.com/setup/boms/) - [Set up stations](https://docs.floorlinehq.com/setup/stations/) - [Work orders](https://docs.floorlinehq.com/floor/work-orders/) - [Use the tablet](https://docs.floorlinehq.com/floor/tablet/)