Resource time management in Netronic Manufacturing with proprietary resource master data in SAP Business One

SAP Business One calculates the “real” processing time of a single unit of a resource using two master data parameters, i.e. by dividing the Time per Resource Units value by the Res. Units per Time Period value:

<”real” processing time of a single unit of a resource> = <Time per Resource Units> / <Res. Units per Time Period>

It has to be pointed out that, as “real” processing time is calculated by division, any real-life scenario can be described by keeping the Res. Units per Time Period value at 1. It could be enough to change the Time per Resource Units value as needed. With Res. Units per Time Period = 1, the “real” processing time would simply be equal to the value specified in the Time per Resource Units field. Indeed, this is the most widely used practice. Most often, resource master data in SAP Business One are set to:

• Unit of Measure Text = min;
• Time per Resource Units = <0:01:00>;
• Res. Units per Time Period = 1.

The article Synchronization of resource capacity / usage between Netronic Manufacturing and SAP Business One covers the above, default scenario.

In the following, we are going to discuss how resource capacity and usage are managed / synchronized by Netronic Manufacturing when the resource master data settings in SAP Business One are different from these defaults.

For example, it may feel more natural in certain cases to pick a unit of measure that is not a real time unit, such as seconds or minutes. In fact, it can be any unit that expresses some kind of periodicity that is characteristic of the resource, such as “cycle” or “period”. Then Time per Resource Units specifies the time that it takes the resource to run a “cycle” or complete a “period”. Res. Units per Time Period shows the number of items processed by the resource during one “cycle” or “period”. Dividing the former by the latter yields a time value: the time it takes the resource to process one item – in other words, the processing time of a single unit of the resource.

Let us demonstrate these concepts through the example of a 4-head cutting machine that works in 2-minute cycles. With its four heads, it can produce 4 packs of plates in each cycle. Then you would set the resource master data for this machine in SAP Business One as follows:

• Unit of Measure Text = cycle;
• Time per Resource Units = <0:02:00>;
• Res. Units per Time Period = 4.

The time to process one item is calculated as

Time per Resource Units / Res. Units per Time Period = <0:02:00>/4 = <0:00:30>

We would get the same result with keeping Res. Units per Time Period = 1, by setting the master data to

• Unit of Measure Text = cycle;
• Time per Resource Units = <0:00:30>;
• Res. Units per Time Period = 1.

However, the first representation may feel more natural, may provide a more user-friendly mapping of reality.

For the application of resources with non-default master data settings in Netronic Manufacturing, see

• Representation of resources in an operation plan in Build vs. a bill of materials in SAP Business One
• Using proprietary resource master data

For an overview of resource time concepts across members of the Netronic Manufacturing family and SAP Business One, see Equivalences of resource related time concepts across Netronic Manufacturing and SAP Business One (SBO)