Job traveler (router)
A job traveler, also called a router or shop traveler, is the document that moves with a job through the shop, listing every operation, the material, and where each step gets signed off.
The traveler is the job's paperwork in physical form. It typically carries the job and part number, revision, quantity, material and heat lot, the sequence of operations with their work centers, outside processing steps like plating or heat treat, inspection points, and space for operators to record quantities and initials. When the job ships, the completed traveler becomes part of the quality record.
In small shops the traveler is often a Word or Excel template filled in by hand for each job, which means retyping the routing every time and hoping the latest revision got used. Travelers also get lost, coffee-stained, or skipped when the shop is busy, and then nobody knows where the job stands without walking the floor.
In Traveler, the traveler is generated from the quote routing, so nobody retypes ops, and on a repeat part it clones from the last run with setup photos and program names attached. It prints clean in black and white with a QR code on each op, and scanning that code at a kiosk or on a phone clocks the operator onto the step and updates the job's status.
Related
Want this handled without the spreadsheet?
Traveler Cloud is quote-to-invoice for small machine shops at $109/month flat, unlimited users. It's in early access — leave your email and we'll bring you in by wave. No sales calls.
Free, no signup: Job Traveler Template →