Free job traveler template
Fill in the job, add your operations, hit print. The sign-off columns print blank for whoever runs the job. No signup, nothing to download.
Job Traveler
machestra.com| Op | Work center | Description | Setup hrs | Run hrs/pc | Qty OK | Scrap | By | Date | Row actions |
|---|
The last four columns print blank. Those are for the operator's pen.
Saved in this browser only, so you can come back and reprint. It will not be here on another computer, and clearing your browser data clears it.
The CSV, and what it does not carry
The CSV holds the job header: job number, priority, and the due date as the planned end. Its column names already match Machestra's import wizard, so there is no column mapping step. Drop it in and the job is there.
The operation rows do not ride along. Jobs in Machestra carry their steps as real operations, each with its own machine and its own operator, and that is richer than a spreadsheet column can hold. You rebuild the steps once, inside, and then they are assignable instead of handwritten.
A traveler describes one job. It cannot tell you that two jobs both want the same machine on Thursday. That is the part this sheet will never do.
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What a job traveler is
A job traveler is the sheet that rides with the job through the shop. It gets printed when the job is released, goes in a sleeve clipped to the cart or tote of parts, and every person who touches those parts fills in their line and passes it along. Where the paper is sitting is where the job is.
You will hear it called a traveler, a router, a routing sheet, a shop traveler, a manufacturing traveler, or a job jacket. Strictly, a router is the reusable process definition for a part number and the traveler is the copy printed for one specific work order. Most small shops use the words interchangeably and nobody minds.
What goes on one
The header block identifies the job: job number, customer and their PO, part number and revision, quantity, due date, material, and the heat or lot number if the work needs traceability. Then one row per operation, in the order the work happens: saw, mill, turn, deburr, outside process, inspect, ship.
Each operation row names the work center, describes the step, and carries the estimated setup and run times. The columns to the right stay blank on purpose. The operator writes in quantity good, quantity scrapped, their initials, and the date as they finish. That handwriting is the record, and it is why a traveler beats a screen for this one job. Following every job at once across every machine is a different problem, and paper is bad at it.
Why operations are numbered by tens
Ops are numbered 10, 20, 30 rather than 1, 2, 3 so you can add a step later without renumbering the sheet or confusing anyone reading last month's paperwork. When a part comes back needing a deburr between the mill and the lathe, it becomes op 15. This generator numbers by tens automatically, and you can type over any number it picks.
How to use this sheet
Fill in the header, add a row per operation, and print. Print one copy per job, not per part, unless you split the lot across machines. Some shops staple the material cert and the print revision to the back, which is worth doing when a customer audits you two years later and asks which bar the parts came from.
If you already keep this in a spreadsheet, the CSV button here writes the job in the exact shape Machestra's importer expects, so you are not retyping anything twice. The same goes for the rest of your data: here is how tomove machines, materials, and jobs out of a spreadsheet without retyping them.
When paper stops being enough
A traveler is very good at one job and blind to every other job. It cannot warn you that the Haas is already promised on Thursday, or that the material for op 10 is short, or that the job everyone forgot is now two days late. Those are the problems that start costing real money once a shop is running more than a handful of jobs at once, and no amount of paper fixes them. Ourguide to job shop scheduling covers what to do about them.
The usual next step is a scheduling board: every job and every machine on one screen, so conflicts show up before they cost you a delivery. That is what Machestra is for, and it is the same jobs and operations you just typed, with the schedule, the machines, the materials, and the people in one place. Common setups for amachine shop take about ten minutes. Start with three machines free and see whether it beats the clipboard.
Frequently asked questions
What is a job traveler?
A job traveler is the printed sheet that moves with a job through the shop. It carries the job details at the top and one row per operation underneath, and each operator signs off their step as they finish it. Where the paper is sitting tells you where the job is. Some shops call the same document a manufacturing traveler, a shop traveler, or a router.
What should be on a job traveler?
Job number, customer and PO, part number and revision, quantity, due date, and material, plus the heat or lot number if the work needs traceability. Then a row per operation with the work center, a description, and the estimated setup and run times. Leave columns blank for quantity good, quantity scrapped, initials, and date, because those get filled in by hand on the floor.
Is a manufacturing traveler the same thing?
Yes. Manufacturing traveler and job traveler are two names for the same document, and so are shop traveler, router, routing sheet, and job jacket. This template works whichever one your shop says.
What is the difference between a job traveler and a router?
A router is the reusable process definition for a part number: the standard sequence of operations you run every time. A traveler is the copy printed for one specific work order, with that order's quantity, due date, and sign-off columns. Most small shops use the two words interchangeably.
Why are operations numbered 10, 20, 30 instead of 1, 2, 3?
So you can insert a step later without renumbering the sheet. If a part comes back needing a deburr between the mill and the lathe, it becomes op 15 and nothing else has to change. Old paperwork still reads correctly, which matters when a customer asks about a job from two years ago.
Is this free, and do I have to sign up?
Free, with no account and nothing to install. Fill in the sheet and print it. Your draft is saved in your own browser so you can come back and reprint, which also means it is not on any other computer.