Resource Allocation

A resource can be allocated to many activities ranging from a work order to a project to training in IFS Human Resources. From a maintenance perspective the resource could be allocated to a corrective work order, preventive work order, route work order and separate PM (preventive maintenance) action. The Resource Allocation Gantt window attempts to give you an overview of the allocations related to a particular resource (i.e., employee and/or tool-and-facility) within a specific range of time. Furthermore the window allows you to assign suitable resources to work orders and PM actions that do not have allocations yet, thereby making the process of planning, scheduling and allocation a lot more easier.

The allocation details will only be displayed if one or more of the following conditions are fulfilled:

• For work orders, the signature of the employee responsible for executing the work order, the start and end dates of the work order and the execution time should be entered.
• For WO operation lines, the signature of the employee responsible for executing the operation, the start and end dates of the operation, and the number of allocated hours should be entered (applicable for both single and multiple allocations)
• For PM operation lines, the PM_PLAN_OPERATION parameter should be set to TRUE (IFS/Application Services) and for each line in the PM plan, the signature of the employee in-charge, the start and end dates and the number of planned hours should be entered for the relevant operations. Additionally the PM action should be active.
• For WO tool-and-facility lines, the dates and planned hours on which the tool-and-facility is required should be entered.

When allocating an employee, the available time for the employee is considered, and will be fetched according to the following criteria:

• If IFS Human Resource is installed, the employee must be registered in both IFS Human Resource and IFS Service and Maintenance, and the employee's available time is fetched from the Working Hours Schedules window in IFS Human Resource/Time Management/Schedules and Rules.
• If IFS Human Resource is not installed, the employee available time is fetched from the calendar connected to the maintenance organization of the employee.

When allocating a tool or facility, the available time for the tool/facility is considered, and will be fetched according to the following criteria:

• A tool or facility can be considered as available 24 hours a day. But a tool or facility is indirectly connected to a maintenance organization. Therefore, the availability is fetched from the calendar connected to the maintenance organization of the tool or facility.
   

In addition, to view allocations on completed work orders as well as the completed work orders themselves, the SHOW_DONE_WO parameter should be set to TRUE (IFS/Application Services). Completed work orders are those with status Work Done or higher.

Defining Search Criteria

In order to view the details in the window, you need to first define a search criteria. You can search based on the site, maintenance organization, time interval, and resource type. Next, based on the resource type you selected, you can further narrow down the search based on craft, craft group, employee OR tool-and-facility type and tool-and-facility ID. 

Another way to display details is to access the Resource Allocation Gantt window from the Resource Load Graph (once the results are displayed), Free Time Search and the Allocate Employees for WO (Prepare Work Order/Operations) windows.

The initial search will give you a list of work orders and PM actions that match your search criteria. On sub window 2 (figure below) you have the possibility to search for a specific work order and/or PM action within the search result, this is in addition to the other filters.

Structure of the Resource Allocation Gantt

The Resource Allocation Gantt window is divided into two sub windows as shown in the figure below:

Sub window 1 - Displays allocations per resource, i.e., employee and tool and facility.

Sub window 2 - Displays the planning information per work order and/or PM action.

Each of these sub windows are divided into several more sections:

Filter area: Once the details related to your search has been displayed you can further filter the details. You can filter the allocation details (sub window 1) based on the maintenance organization, resource type (i.e., employee or tool-and-facility), craft and/or tool-and-facility type (applicable to both the allocated and the non-allocated details.). Allocation details can also be filtered based on the allocated activity, i.e., preventive maintenance (work orders generated from PM actions), corrective maintenance, route work order and planned separate PM actions.

You can filter the planning details (sub window 2) based on the maintenance organization, resource type and craft. Further more you can choose whether to view all planned information (including allocations), or just the information that has no allocations. You also have the option of hiding the filter area of this sub window if you require more space.

Frame Settings: Allows you to control the resolution of the graph, i.e., the scale (whether information should be displayed on an hourly, daily or weekly basis) and lets you zoom within the queried time range. Additionally you can view the color scheme that is applied to the graph. Available color schemes are: Craft ID, Criticality, Operational, Priority, Work Order, and Work Type. You can assign a color to the available values in these categories in the Gantt Status Colors window, e.g., for Criticality: LOW = Green, MEDIUM = Yellow, HIGH = Red. If colors are not specified the bars will be shown in the default color (i.e., the colors used in the Resource Load Graph). The changes will be applied to both sub windows.

Refresh Options: Allows you to refresh the information that most probably will be updated in a short time frame and refrain from loading information that is not frequently updated. Refresh Resources will refresh the last search for only the allocations belonging to the resources already displayed in the Gantt, but exclude the allocations from Human Resources (HR) and Project i.e. it will only update the Sub window 1 with work order information. The Load HR Data check box in Properties dialog box, if selected ensures that the refresh command is included with an update of HR Schedules and Load. If not selected, the calendar from HR or Application Services will not be updated. Refresh Work Orders will load the work order information that has been modified since the last time the Resource Allocation Gantt window was refreshed. Refresh All will refresh the last search for only the allocations belonging to the resources and work orders already displayed in the Gantt, but exclude the allocations from HR and Project i.e. it will only update Sub window 1 and Sub window 2 with work order information. It should/should not update the calendar from HR or Application Services and the information about the resource or work order depending on the selection of the Load HR Data check box.

Graph area: Each of the sub windows contain a graph that displays the search result.

The first graph (sub window 1) displays the current allocation details for resources. You can also right-click on the graph and create a work order or service request for a resource. The graph consists of:

• Horizontal Bars - Represents the activities for which the resources are allocated. The colors are based on the color scheme that is applied. The activities are operation and tool-and-facility that is related to corrective, preventive and route work orders and separate PM actions. A summary of the details are displayed in the tool tip that appears when you focus on the bars. The Booking No is the WO/PM number. You can access the relevant information using the available right mouse button options. In addition you will also see bars (with a grid pattern) for allocations related to project and trainings in IFS Human Resources. Details however are not shown for these.
   
• Background color - The white area represents the working schedule. The schedules for employees are retrieved from the employee schedules defined within IFS Human Resources if installed. If not the work time calendar of the maintenance organization defined within IFS Maintenance will be used. The schedule for tools-and-facilities is always based on the work time calendar.

The primary purpose of the second graph (sub window 2) is to display the work orders and PM actions for which operations and tool-and-facilities have been planned but no resources have been allocated. The horizontal bars in this graph represent this planned information. In addition you can see all planned work (including allocations) if you choose to do so. When you select to view the non-allocated work only, you may come across horizontal bars that are crossed over, like so: . These bars represent the total time planned for the work order, PM action or job (for informational purposes only). The bars are helpful if, for example, you need to make a comparison between the times planned for the work order and the operation.

Apart from the filters mentioned above you can also group the work orders and/or PM actions based on the following: Action, Maintenance Organization, Executed By, Object and Team. The current date and time will be indicated via a red line on the graphs.

Re-plan and reschedule Activities

You can re-plan and reschedule activities (operation and tool-and-facility lines) by a simple drag-drop mechanism. Re-planning and rescheduling is done entirely on the first graph. Simply drag and drop the horizontal bar to the required timeslot in order to move the activity through time. If you want to change the duration, simply resize the bar. Alternatively you can double-click on the bar and specify the required dates and times. Observe that operations cannot be re-planned to fall out side the time frame of the connected job (applicable to jobs on PM actions as well) or work order, in turn jobs cannot be re-planned to fall out side the time frame of the connected work order or PM action.

Allocate Resource

Allocation of resources are also achieved through a drag and drop mechanism. You need to filter the graph first to show non-allocated work only, then simply drag the activity bar from the second graph to a time slot against a resource in the first graph. When dragging the activity bar, you can choose whether to allocate a single resource to the entire planned time, or to split it among many resources. When the total allocation time for a particular activity bar is equivalent to the planned time of the activity bar, it will be removed from the second graph.

During the allocation process, the following conditions must be fulfilled in order to complete the allocation successfully:

• For operations, the craft and maintenance organization of the employee should be the same as the ones specified for the operation lines (in the work order or PM action).
• For tools-and-facilities, the tool-and-facility type of the tool-and-facility ID should be the same as the one specified for the tool-and-facility lines (in the work order or PM action).

These two conditions are not applicable when you are allocating resources on a work order or PM action level.

You can also perform a free time search in order to help you find a suitable resource.