Update - Managing resources, resource groups and resource categories

In Schedule terminology, a resource is defined as an element with a finite capacity to fulfill a certain task in the manufacturing process. Typically, a resource is a machine or an employee (operator). Resources that are designed/capable to perform the same manufacturing task are bundled into resource groups in Schedule. A resource can be assigned to multiple resource groups. Resource groups that share some common features can be further bundled into resource categories.

For optimum performance, it is recommended to keep the number of resource groups in your resource configuration as low as possible. The more resource groups you have, the more complex your screen becomes and the higher is the computing power required to draw all the corresponding Gantt charts in Schedule. By using resource categories, you can achieve a more compact screen that is easier to overview. As there will be fewer bars to draw, the introduction of resource categories improves system performance. At the same time, some information details will not appear on the screen directly, and you may need to turn to tooltips to view them. The decision whether to introduce resource categories and, if so, how broad they should be, depends on your particular use case. Practice shows that, if the number of resource groups exceeds 20 (which is often the case for employees), it is worth bundling them into resource categories.

By default, resource categories are not enabled in Schedule. To enable their use, select Settings from the top menu bar, then click the Settings () icon.

Then, in the Settings modal that pops up, set the Use resource categories dropdown to Yes.

Resource calendars

Schedule sets the default standard working hours of resources to 8:00 to 17:00 from Monday through Friday, and assumes no work on Saturdays and Sundays.

To view or edit the standard resource calendar setup of a resource, select the Update menu item from the top menu bar, then click Manage resources, as shown below.

The Manage All Data modal will be displayed, opened at the Resources tab. Click the Edit link here of the resource you wish to check.

Standard working hours

This will take you to the Standard Calendar tab of the Manage Resource Details modal, where you can edit the standard (normal) working hours of your resource.

Exceptions from the standard working hours

Employees may go on holidays or sick leave, or there may be other reasons why they cannot work as usual for certain periods of time. Machines may need maintenance or could also fall out from work for other reasons. You may also need overtime from employees or introduce extra shifts for machines. To specify such exceptional periods in your plan select the Calendar Exceptions tab of the Manage Resource Details modal.

Click the + sign indicated by the red arrow above to add a new exceptional period. Select the reason for the exception (e.g. vacation, as above) from the Category dropdown. Enter the start and end time of the working hours during the exceptional period in the Work Time column, or leave the column blank if you want the resource to be idle during the exceptional period. Click OK in the bottom left corner to save the changes.

The exception you have created will be listed on the Calendar Exceptions tab of the Manage All Data modal.

Here you can also specify exceptional periods that are shared by members of a resource group or all resources. For the latter, click Select All Resources in the top right corner, then select the dates and the category, then click Add To Exceptions. The new line will show up in your list. Click OK to save the changes.

The exceptions are highlighted in color in your plan.

You can customize the color to be used for each calendar exception category, and can also specify your own custom categories. See Settings - Categories for calendar exceptions.

Finite / infinite resource capacity

By default, Schedule assumes that each resource has a limited capacity, which is also reflected in the resource's work calendar. There may be cases, however, when - at least from your point of view - a resource can have unlimited availability. A good example for this is outsourcing: some of your production processes are carried out by a contractor for you. In this case, you may want to handle the related resources as if they had infinite capacity.

To declare a resource to have infinite capacity, simply untick the Finite checkbox corresponding to it either on the Resources tab of the Manage All Data modal (see the first screenshot below), or in the resource's Manage Resource Details modal (shown on the second screenshot below).

A resource set to Infinite is marked with an infinity symbol (∞) in your plan (highlighted by a red frame in the screenshot below).

Resource productivity

By default, Schedule assumes that each resource has a single employee (operator) or machine assigned to it. This is reflected by the value "1" in the Productivity field on the Resources tab of the Manage All Data modal (see the first screenshot below), or in the resource's Manage Resource Details modal (shown on the second screenshot below).

However, you may have multiple employees or machines registered on a single resource. In this case, the productivity of the process affected will be multiplied by the number of employees or machines registered for the resource. In such cases, set the Productivity value to the number required on either of the modals mentioned.

In the example below, the value for the Assembly Machine has been set to 2, thus that resource will deliver twice as much during the same period of time.

The new productivity value is also displayed on the line of the resource in your plan. Of course, the production times will be shortened accordingly.

The Productivity setting can also be used to reflect significant differences between the performance of employees or machines. In this case, you may use decimals in the Productivity field.