Best practices: Data preparation for scheduling
Many factors affect the ease and effectiveness of scheduling. By preparing your data ahead of time, you can ensure that your work can be scheduled effectively.
Calendar and shift information
Set up your calendar with shift and shift break information. Include all shifts that you want to schedule work for. Ensure that your calendar extends far enough into the future. For example, if you want to plan your work out for the next six months, ensure that your calendar information extends out for six months.
Craft, crew, and labor information
Set up your crafts and crew types so that they can be specified on job plans and work plan labor. Set up labor and crews with their appropriate shifts and ensure that they are available for assignments.
Work orders and tasks
Divide your work orders and other work records into smaller tasks so that each task can be scheduled and divided between resources as needed. Plan your resources at the level that they are managed. For example, if you assign entire work orders, the resource requirement must be at the work order level. If you assign individual tasks within a work order, the resource requirement must be at task level. If you require resources at the task level, you must include tasks in the schedule to see them in the Gantt view.
Use the Interruptible check box to schedule work only during work time. If a task or work order is not interruptible, it is scheduled in a single block that might include non-work time.
Job plan information
Review your job plans to ensure that they require the appropriate craft and crew types. Also, carefully review job plan durations.
Durations affect scheduling and cost calculations. Ideally, all durations for craft requirement should be for the entire length of the job plan. For example, a 2 hour job plan for fire hydrant maintenance would require 2 hours for a plumber and 2 hours for a mechanic. Job plan and work order durations are synchronized in the Gantt view.
Service addresses
Create service addresses for assets and locations. When you enter an asset or location as a service address, XY coordinates are calculated for each asset and location. You can then view work graphically on the Dispatch tab in the Gantt view of the Graphical Assignment application.