An example of resource capacity / usage calculations in Produce / Operator, Produce / Manager and SAP Business One – Resources with different Setup times

<expected time> = <setup time> + <planned time> = <setup time> + <job time> * (<completed quantity> + <scrap quantity>)

So, for example, for the Assembly Machine, Expected time should be <00:00:11> + <00:06:00> = <00:00:11> + <00:02:00> * (2+1) = <00:06:11>, just as seen in the screenshot.

Calculated time is determined by distributing the actual time used (i.e. Time spent) into setup and job time components using the following formula:

<calculated time> = [<longest setup time of all resources> or <time spent>, whichever is shorter] * <setup time>/<longest setup time of all resources> + {<time spent> - [<longest setup time of all resources> or <time spent>, whichever is shorter]} * <job time>/<longest job time of all resources>

The above basically may have two outcomes:

1. In a typical case, the Time spent would be longer than the longest Setup time of the resources. Then the formula would be reduced to:

<calculated time> = <setup time> + {<time spent> - <longest setup time of all resources>} * <job time>/<longest job time of all resources>

This means that we take the Setup time of the resource, and then add a proportional part of its job time to it, based on the time that remains from the total Time spent once even the last resource has become operational. Using the example of the Assembly Machine:

Calculated time = <00:00:11> + {<00:05:45> - <00:00:30>] * <00:06:00> / <00:06:00> = <00:00:11> + <00:05:15> = <00:05:26> which coincides with the screenshot.

2. If the operator spends shorter time with the operation than the longest Setup time, then the calculation becomes:

<calculated time> = <time spent> * <setup time>/<longest setup time of all resources>

In this case, there is no time left for the job itself. The whole Time spent has not been enough to make the slowest resource operational. Consequently, we take a proportional part of the total time spent for setting up the resource.

Let us test this latter scenario with a production order identical to the previous one. However, now we stop working on the operation after 15 seconds, without producing a single printer or scrap.

The Calculated time for the Assembly Machine is: <00:00:15> * <00:00:11> / <00:00:30> = <00:00:06> as seen in the screenshot above (the exact result is 5.5 seconds which has been rounded up by Produce / Operator).

For resources that have Issue Method = Manual in their Resource Master Data form, the last, Time, column in Step 3 of the PDC workflow contains the Calculated time value by default (like in the screenshot above). This value can be overwritten manually to enter the actual time used by the resource.

For resources with Issue Method = Backflush, the Time column shows a lock icon (). No value can be entered manually, since the usage will be issued by SAP Business One automatically.

PDC Step 5 - Review

If a resource’s Issue Method = Manual in SAP Business One, then in the last (Review) step of the PDC workflow we have two time values displayed for the operation as a whole: Resource time, and Expected time. The formulae used for their calculation are shown below the next screenshot.

The Resource time value for manually issued resources can be edited manually by clicking Change ().

<resource time for the operation> = <longest setup time of manually issued resources> + {[<actual time> – <setup time>] of the manually issued resource with the longest job time}

(“Actual Time” in the formula above is the value displayed in the Time column in Step 3 of the PDC workflow which, by default, is the Calculated time of the resource, but, as mentioned, can be changed manually.)

In the case of our first production order, the longest Setup time is <00:00:30>, and the resource with the longest Job time is the Assembly Machine. Its actual Time was <00:05:26> (was not edited manually), and its Setup time was <00:00:11>. Thus:

Resource time = <00:00:30> + <00:05:26> - <00:00:11> = <00:05:45> as seen above.

Expected time

<expected time for the operation> = <longest setup time of manually issued resources> + <longest job time of manually issued resources> * (<completed quantity> + <scrap quantity>)

The formula for Expected time assumes that no resource can start working before even the last one gets operational. In our example for 3 printers, the longest Setup time is <00:00:30> and the longest Job time is <00:02:00>, which yields:

 Expected time = <00:00:30> + <00:02:00> * (2+1) = <00:06:30> as seen on the graphic illustration of the production order at the beginning of this article. 

Now let us see a case when the operator overwrites manually the value displayed in the Time column in Step 3 of the PDC workflow. For this, we use a production order identical to the first one shown in this article, and will spend the same <00:05:45> on the operation, producing 2 printers and 1 scrap. In the example below, the Assembly Machine was used much less than expected: no longer than 4 minutes. Therefore, its Time value has been changed manually from the Calculated time of <00:05:26> to <00:04:00> as shown below.

This should not affect the Expected time in Step 5 of the PDC workflow, but it should impact the Resource time. Let us see the calculation:

As earlier, the longest Setup time is <00:00:30>, and the resource with longest Job time is the Assembly Machine. Its actual Time now was <00:04:00>, and its Setup time was <00:00:11>. Thus:

Resource time = <00:00:30> + <00:04:00> - <00:00:11> = <00:04:19> as seen in the following screenshot.

If all resources have Issue Method = Backflush in SAP Business One, then the Resource time box will contain the following text:

Issuing resources in SAP Business One

Once the production order has been completed, and the transaction has been processed, the production order in SAP Business One gets updated with the resource usage data. This information is shown in the Issued column of the production order. Below you can see these values for the last production order we presented in this article – those for the one where the Calculated time was changed manually to <00:04:00> for the Assembly Machine in the Time column in Step 3 of the PDC workflow.

As you can see, the Issued column registers the Time values that are either calculated or entered manually in Produce / Operator. For the Assembly Machine, Issued = 4 minutes, as set manually. For the Testing Machine, it is 4.283 minutes which coincides with the <00:04:17> seen in PDC Step 3 (0.283*60 = 16.98). Similarly, for the Senior Technician, the 3.133 minutes issued are equivalent with the <00:03:08> shown in the Time (and Calculated time) column of Produce / Operator.

Resource time values in Produce / Manager

When opening a production order’s detail view under the Production orders menu item Produce / Manager, among other data, you can see the Expected time (as in Step 3 of the PDC workflow in Produce / Operator) and the Used time for each resource involved in the execution of the production order.

Used time – which is equal to the Time value in Step 3 of the PDC workflow in Produce / Operator – is shown only for resources that are set to Issue Method = Manual. For resources with Issue Method = Backflush, the Used time column contains a lock icon ().

The following screenshot shows the details of our last production order in Produce / Manager.

Produce / Manager also displays actual resource time usage in the Time column of the Transaction details screen (under the menu item Transactions). Again, here you can see the same values as in the Time column in Produce / Operator.