Analyzing the Schedule of Resources

You can get a good grasp of the resource workload from the sequence of operations on each resource. In addition, you can display the execution status of the operations. It shows which operations are under way, and which operations are complete already, for example.

In the Gantt chart, operations change color to reflect the execution stage they are at. By default, an operation is:

• Light gray (hex color: #e0e0e0) when the production plan has scheduled it, but the operation has not reached production yet.
• Dark blue if it is ready for execution; hex color: #005686. The workshop / teams know they can start working on the operation, but there is no further information on execution.
• Light blue if it is in progress; hex color: #42a2da. The workshop / teams have started performing the operation. Execution is under way.
• Green if it is complete; hex color: #57b847. The workshop / teams have finished working on the operation. Execution is complete.
• Dark gray if the execution status of the operation is unknown; hex color: #77797c. This is an anomaly.

You can choose a different color scheme at any time. If you select Advance / Delay, the colors reflect the advance / delay of each operation with respect to its target end date—or, missing that, to its work order due date. This is another useful "status" information on the operations in the plan.

Whatever the color scheme, specific hatch patterns always identify the operations that are in progress or complete:

• Black and yellow hatches at the bottom of an operation indicate that the operation execution is under way. The start date of the operation in the plan is the date when execution began. The end date is the scheduled end date.
• A white mesh pattern on an operation identifies the part of the operation that is complete so far. This goes from the execution start date to the current date.
• When execution is complete, the white mesh pattern covers the entire operation bar. The hatches at the bottom disappear. The dates of the operation in the plan are the start and end dates of its execution.
• In some cases, an operation can appear as both in progress (hatches) and finished (white mesh on the whole bar). This happens when the app has not received an execution end date for the operation yet, and the scheduled end date is before the current date. Because the operation is entirely in the past, the app considers that it is complete. Yet, until there is an execution end date to confirm this information, the operation retains its in progress status.

For clarifications on the current schedule, you can use the highlighting feature described below to display the links between operations.

You can highlight all the operations of a specific work order and see the links between them. This is useful to find out which resources these operations are using and how they constrain one another. This can also clarify the reasons for idle times in the schedule of resources.

The operation you clicked and those that belong to the same work order appear in color, with their links. All other operations in the chart are gray. The links show the order in which the highlighted operations take place, and the dependencies between them. The links these operations have with operations of other work orders, if any, appear as well. The colors of the links reflect their type:

• Light green is for total precedence links, that is: end-start synchronization links with a minimum lead time (delay) between the two operations.
• Dark green is for end-start synchronization links with a maximum lead time (delay) between the two operations.
• Dotted lines are for links with errors. Their color reflects the type of the original link. The operation that does not comply with the link constraint shows a thick red top border. Its tooltip and the Details panel show the error message.

The number of operations in the work order appears in the search result bar at the bottom of the chart area. On using the filter feature of the search bar to drill down the view, see Search and Filters on Gantt Charts.

To highlight a different work order, click an operation of that work order. To highlight multiple work orders, Ctrl + click operations.

When you no longer need that feature, click a blank space to cancel the current selection, and then from the action bar, click the feature icon to disable it. If the chart previously highlighted 3DSearch results, then it highlights them again. This is true also for dependency links between work orders.

The Resource Gantt Chart makes it easy to spot and analyze any alerts on the current schedule of resources and operations.

Analyze each of the alerts to assess if the plan needs correction, or remains valid as is. The most common alerts are as follows:

• Further to a change in the data model, a resource now has finite instead of infinite capacity. The change has no impact on the operations that are already complete or in progress on the resource, because their start and end dates remain the same. Conversely, the change triggers an alert for the operations that have not started yet, because their current sequence, which resulted from an infinite capacity situation, is no longer valid. These operations still appear on the resource in the Gantt chart, but from a planning standpoint, they are now operations that need rescheduling.
• Further to a change in the data model, the current resource of an operation is no longer a capable resource of that operation. You need to reassign the operation to a valid resource.
• The operation does not comply with the synchronization constraint it has with another operation. This situation needs your attention, because it can compromise the proper execution of the next steps of the production process. Analyze its impact to determine if you need to take corrective action.

Depending on the number and the types of the alerts, the best option to correct the issues can vary. You can choose to:

• Reschedule the plan. This action typically solves the resource-related alerts, and may solve also the alerts on synchronization constraints. On how to proceed, see Run the Optimization and Scheduling Feature.
• Move individual operations in the plan. Sometimes this may be a better option than rescheduling the entire plan, typically if there are very few alerts. You can drag the operation from one resource to another in the Resource Gantt Chart, for example, as explained in the section below.

Whatever the actions you take to solve the alerts, verify the values of the KPIs afterward, to make sure that the resulting plan is still up to your standards.

In the Resource Gantt Chart, you can move an operation to a different date or to a different resource, or both. This can be useful when you need to make small adjustments to the current schedule, typically further to an alert on an operation or to last-minute information.

Provided the move is valid, the plan adjusts accordingly. Namely:

• The app updates the sequence of operations on the resources involved.
• It recalculates the start and end dates of the operation you moved. Typically, the new start date is the date at the position where you dropped the operation. If this is an invalid start date because of some planning constraints, then the app uses the closest possible start date.
• The app recalculates also the start and end dates of all the other operations concerned, including the operations that take place on other resources, but that have links with the operation you moved.
• The app recalculates the values of the KPIs. You can therefore verify the impact of your changes on the overall quality of the plan.
• The app updates also the workload of the resources concerned in the workload charts. For more information, see Monitoring the Workload of Resources.

You can repeat these steps to move other operations if applicable. Keep in mind that:

• Making many changes of that kind can downgrade the optimization of the plan.
• When you publish the plan, you save your changes. Yet, the optimization feature does not regard these changes as planning constraints. Typically, next time you run the optimization feature, it can choose other machines for the operations you moved.

You can use the Details panel of the chart to view the characteristics of resources.

In the panel, the Allocated Resource tab shows details on the selected resource. Some are generic characteristics. Others depend on the operation using the resource, and therefore change if you click another operation on that resource. Available information includes:

• The work center, and the code and name of the resource.
• A check box indicating if this is a finite capacity resource. If it is not, the plan considers that the resource has the capacity to handle any workload it gets. Typically, in the data model, infinite capacity resources represent subcontractors.
• The production rate of the resource for the selected operation. This is the time it takes to produce a quantity of 1.
• The tooling used for the operation, if any, and whether there is time required for tool changeover / setup before the operation can start. If there is a changeover / setup time, it is visible also on the graph. For more information, see Symbols on Operations and Work Orders.
  Note: There can be tooling in the Code field, and yet no changeover time. Typically, this happens when the current operation and the previous operation on the resource require the same tooling . There is therefore no need for a changeover between the two.

Clicking another operation updates the Details panel accordingly. For more information, see Gantt Chart Details Panel.

You can use the Details panel of the chart to view the characteristics of operations.

The panel displays information on the selected operation, including:

• Details on the work order the operation belongs to. For more information, see View Details on Work Orders.
• The operation name.
• The operation quantity.
• The dates provided or calculated for the operation. The scheduled dates are the current start and end dates of the operation in the plan. When the operation is under way, its start date in the plan is the beginning of the remaining activity. Execution dates are available only when the operation is under way, or complete. They are the dates when the operation execution began and finished. The target end date is the (optional) objective for completing the operation. If the scheduled end date is later than the target end date (or, missing that, later than the work order due date), then the panel indicates that the operation is late. Else, the app considers that the operation is on time.
• The maturity status of the operation: scheduled or in progress, for example.
• The execution priority of the operation. The higher the value, the higher the priority.
• A check box indicating if the time it takes to perform the operation is proportional to quantity or not.
• A check box indicating if it is possible to interrupt the operation. If it is not, a typical implication is that the operation cannot start before a nonworking day and finish after that day.
• Whether there is time required before or after the operation for actions that are mandatory, but that do not use modeled equipment (time "out of machine"). For example: a drying time. If there is, this time is visible also on the graph. For more information, see Symbols on Operations and Work Orders.
• Any alert in relation with the operation.
• Details on the resource the operation is using. For more information, see View Details on Resources.

Clicking another operation on the chart updates the Details panel accordingly. For more information, see Gantt Chart Details Panel.