na2009 enus sm_07

Chapter 7: Planning Management

Page 273

CHAPTER 7: PLANNING MANAGEMENT

Objectives

The objectives are:

Handle resources and resource groups:

o Assign customers and resources to service zones.

o Add resource capacity.

Allocate resources directly.

Filter resources or resource groups in the Service Tasks and

Dispatch Board windows.

Cancel allocation or reallocate resources.

View and change the allocation status and repair status.

Use the Dispatch Board and Service Load Level reports.

Introduction

This chapter introduces the following concepts:

Service order allocation

Planning

Dispatching

Allocating statuses and repair statuses

Use the Dispatch Board window to:

Get an overview of service orders and/or quotes.

Set filters, for example, to only view service orders for:

o A particular customer.

o A service zone.

o Orders that need reallocation.

Allocate resources or resource groups to service items within service

orders (service tasks).

Reallocate resources and resource groups for a service task or cancel

allocations.

Use the Service Tasks window to:

Get an overview of the service tasks.

Display information on service item lines in service orders, such as:

o Repair status

o Response time


74

o Service shelf number

Set filters, for example, to only view service tasks allocated to a

specific resource that has the Active or Finished allocation status.

The program allocates resources based on whether those resources:

Are available (available work hours each day).

Possess the skills necessary for the task.

Are assigned to the customer’s service zone.

Are the preferred resources for the service task.

FIGURE 7.1 RESOURCE ALLOCATION IN PLANNING MANAGEMENT


Page 275

Resources and Resource Groups

Specific resources or resource groups can be allocated to specific service tasks.

To base the allocation on:

The availability of the resources and resource groups (available work

hours each day), assign work capacity to the resources and resource

groups.

Whether or not the resources have the skills necessary for the task,

set up skills, and assign them to the:

o Resources

o Resource groups

o Items

o Service items

o Service item groups

Whether or not the resources are assigned to the service zone the

customer is located in, locate the customers in service zones and

assign the resources to service zones.

Skill Codes

If a service item requires certain skills when being serviced, assign resource

skills to the:

Item

Service item

Service item group

Resources

Resource groups

This provides a quick reference of which resources are sufficiently skilled to

repair the service item when allocating resources or resource groups.

The Skilled field in the Res. Availability (Service) window contains a check

mark if the resource being allocated is sufficiently skilled to service the service

item.

The Res. Gr. Availability (Service) window contains a check mark if the

resource group being allocated is sufficiently skilled to service the service item.

Set up the program to identify resource skills in a company when resources are

being allocated to service items in the Resource Skills Option field in the

Service Mgt. Setup window (refer to chapter 2 “Service Management Setup”).

To assign skill codes to service item groups, do the following:

1. Click Departments > Service > Contract Management.


Page 276

2. Under Administration, click Service Item Groups. The Service

Item Groups window appears.

3. Select the service item group to be assigned a skill code and in the

Action Pane, click Related Information > Group > Resource

Skills. The Resource Skills window appears.

FIGURE 7.2 THE RESOURCE SKILLS WINDOW

4. Click the AssistButton in the Skill Code field, and then click

Advanced at the bottom of the drop-down list to view the Skill

Codes window. Select the relevant skill code and click OK.

If the service item group contains related items and/or service items, a

confirmation message appears. Click Yes for the skill code to be assigned to all

the items and service items belonging to this service item group.

To assign skill codes to items, follow this procedure:

1. Click Home > Items.

2. In the Items list place, select the item to be assigned a resource skill

and double-click it to open the Item Card window.


Page 277

FIGURE 7.3 THE ITEM CARD WINDOW

3. In the Action Pane, click Related Information > Item > Resource >

Resource Skills. The Resource Skills window appears.

FIGURE 7.4 THE RESOURCE SKILLS WINDOW FOR ITEM 80005

4. Click the AssistButton in the Skill Code field to select the relevant

skill code from the drop-down list.


Page 278

If the item contains related service items, a confirmation message appears. Click

Yes for the skill code to be assigned to the service items linked to this item.

To assign skill codes to service items, do the following:

1. Click Home > Service Items.

2. In the Service Items list place, select the service item to assign a

skill code to, and double-click to open the Service Item Card

window.

FIGURE 7.5 THE SERVICE ITEM CARD WINDOW

3. In the Action Pane, click Related Information > Serv. Item >

Resource Skills. The Resource Skills window appears.


Page 279

FIGURE 7.6 THE RESOURCE SKILLS WINDOW FOR SERVICE ITEM 1


skill code.

To assign skill codes to resources, do the following:

1. Click Departments > Resource Planning.

2. In the Resources list place, select the resource to assign a skill code

to and double-click it to open the Resource Card window.


Page 280

FIGURE 7.7 THE RESOURCE CARD WINDOW

3. In the Action Pane, click Related Information > Resource > Skills.

The Resource Skills window appears.

FIGURE 7.8 THE RESOURCE SKILLS WINDOW FOR LINDA MARTIN


Page 281


skill code.

If changing or deleting the skill code assigned to the service item, item, or service

item group, the procedure is similar to the assignment procedure, however, some

differences exist.

Each time the skill code is changed or deleted on an item or service item group

(with other items or service items linked to them), a dialog box appears where

you define how the skills codes on the related items need to be updated.

For example, if changing the skill code on a service item group with related items

and/or service items, a dialog box with two options appears.

FIGURE 7.9 CHANGING THE SKILL CODE ON THE SERVICE ITEM GROUP

Change the skill codes to the selected value: Select this option to

replace the old skill code with a new one on all the related service

items.

Delete the skill codes or update their relation: Select this option to

change the skill code on this service item group only. The skill code

on the related items and/or service items is reassigned, that is, the

Assigned From field is updated.

Service Zones

To allocate a resource to a service task performed at the customer site, and to

select a resource assigned to the same service zone as the customer, it is

necessary to know the service zones the resource and the customer is assigned.

Set up the program to identify service zones in a company when allocating

resources to service items in the Service Zones Option field, in the Service Mgt.

Setup window (refer to chapter 2 “Service Management Setup”).

Assigning Customers to Service Zones

1. Click Home > Customers.

2. In the Customers list place, select the relevant customer, and

double-click the line to open the Customer Card window.


Page 282

FIGURE 7.10 THE CUSTOMER CARD WINDOW

3. On the General FastTab, in the Service Zone Code field, click the

AssistButton, and then click Advanced at the bottom of the drop-

down list to view the Service Zones window. Select the service zone

the customer is located in and click OK.

4. If the customer’s ship-to addresses belong to a different service zone,

in the Action Pane click Related Information > Customer > Ship-

To Addresses. The Ship-to Address List window appears. The

window shows the information about the specific ship-to address.

FIGURE 7.11 THE SHIP-TO ADDRESS LIST WINDOW


Page 283

5. To create a new ship-to address, click New in the Action Pane and

fill in the fields in the Ship-to Address window.

6. Click the AssistButton in the Service Zone Code field to select the

service zone to assign to the ship-to address and click OK.

After assigning a customer to a service zone, the program automatically fills in

the Service Zone Code field with this service zone for all the service orders and

service quotes with this customer as a ship-to customer.

To view all the documents corresponding to a specific service zone, do the

following:

1. Click Departments > Service > Planning & Dispatching.

2. Under Tasks, click Dispatch Board. The Dispatch Board window

appears.

3. Specify the document type in the Document Filter field. There are

three available options:

o Order

o Quote

o All

4. In the Zone Filter field, click the AssistButton to select the service

zone from the Service Zones window.

FIGURE 7.12 THE DISPATCH BOARD WINDOW

Assigning Resources to Service Zones

1. Click Departments > Service, and then click Administration.


Page 284

2. Under Setup, click Resource Service Zones. The Resource Service

Zones window appears.

FIGURE 7.13 THE RESOURCE SERVICE ZONES WINDOW

3. In the Action Pane, click New to insert a new resource service zone

entry.

4. In the Resource No. field, click the AssistButton to select the

resource to assign to a service zone.

5. In the Service Zone Code field, click the AssistButton to select the

service zone where the resource needs to be assigned.

6. In the Starting Date field, enter the date the resource is first placed

in the service zone.

Repeat steps 3 to 6 for each assignment to be set up.

Adding Resource Capacity

Use the following procedure to define the resource capacity on a regular basis, to

allocate resources to service tasks based on the availability of those resources.


2. Under Lists, click Resources.


Page 285

3. In the Resources list place, select the relevant resource, and double-

click the line to open the Resource Card window.

4. In the Action Pane, click Related Information > Planning >

Resource Capacity.

5. In the Resource Capacity window that appears, fill in the fields on

the Matrix Options FastTab, and click Show Matrix in the Action

Pane. The Resource Capacity Matrix window appears.

FIGURE 7.14 THE RESOURCE CAPACITY MATRIX WINDOW

6. Select the resource to which capacity is being added to, and in the

Action Pane click Related Information > Planning > Set Capacity.

The Resource Capacity Settings window for the selected resource

appears.


Page 286

FIGURE 7.15 THE RESOURCE CAPACITY SETTINGS WINDOW

7. In the Starting Date and Ending Date fields, define the time period

during which the resource capacity is valid.

8. In the Work-Hour Template field, click the AssistButton, to select

the relevant template. Refer to chapter 2 “Service Management

Setup” for how to set up work-hour templates.

9. In the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday,

Saturday, and Sunday fields, change the template work hours.

10. In the Action Pane, click Add Capacity to add the capacity. To

confirm, click Yes in the dialog box that appears.

Repeat steps 3 to 10 for each resource that needs additional capacity.


Page 287

Lab 7.1 – Assigning Service Zones, Using Skill Codes and Adding Capacity

In this lab, you will practice assigning service zones, using skill codes and adding

capacity.

Scenario

Company Cronus received information that a regular customer moved his

facilities to a new service zone.

Your task is to register this in the program.

Challenge Yourself

Change the service zone for the customer.

Assign a resource to the changed service zone.

Assign skills and capacity to the resource.

Need a Little Help?

1. Locate customer number 10000 in the East service zone. Also,

change the service zone of the ship-to addresses.

2. While the customer is setting up his new facilities, assign Mark as a

resource to the East service zone from February 1, 2010.

3. The technician, Mark, has comprehensive experience in servicing

personal computers. Record this in the program.

4. While Mark is working for the customer in the new service zone,

change his capacity to a total of 30 hours for each week.

Step by Step

Change the service zone.

1. Click Home > Customers.

2. From the Customers list place, open the customer card for The

Cannon Group PLC.

3. On the General FastTab, click the AssistButton in the Service Zone

Code field and select E.


Page 288

FIGURE 7.16 CHANGING THE SERVICE ZONE FOR CUSTOMER 10000

4. In the Action Pane of the Customer Card window, click Related

Information > Customer > Ship-to Addresses.

5. In the Ship-to Address List window, double-click the line for

DUDLEY to open the Ship-to Address window.

6. In the Service Zone Code field, click the AssistButton and select E.

FIGURE 7.17 CHANGING THE SERVICE ZONE OF THE SHIP-TO ADDRESS

7. Click OK to apply the change.

8. Double-click the line for PARK ROAD and repeat step 6 to assign

the service zone.

9. Click OK and close the Ship-to Address List and Customer Card

windows.


Page 289

Assign a resource to the service zone.

1. Click Departments > Service, and then click Administration.

2. Under Setup, click Resource Service Zones.

3. In the Action Pane of the Resource Service Zones window, click

New.

4. In the Resource No. field, click the AssistButton and select MARK.

5. In the Service Zone Code field, click the AssistButton and select E.

6. In the Starting Date field, enter “2/1/2010”.

FIGURE 7.18 ASSIGNING A RESOURCE TO THE EAST SERVICE ZONE

7. Click OK to save the changes.

Assign skills and capacity to the resource.


2. Under Lists, click Resources.

3. In the Resources list place, double-click resource No. MARK to

open the Resource Card window.


Page 290

4. In the Action Pane, click Related Information > Resource > Skills.

The Resource Skills window opens.

5. In the Skill Code field, click the AssistButton and select PC.

FIGURE 7.19 REGISTERING RESOURCE SKILLS FOR MARK

6. Click OK.

7. In the Action Pane of the Resource Card window, click Related

Information > Planning > Resource Capacity.

8. In the Resource Capacity window that appears, click Show Matrix.

9. In the Resource Capacity Matrix window, select the line for Mark

Hanson and click Related Information > Planning > Set Capacity.

10. In the Resource Capacity Settings window, fill in the following

fields:

Starting Date: “2/1/2010”

Ending Date: “2/28/2010”

Work-Hour Template: “30HWEEK”

11. Press ENTER. The program fills in the rest of the fields in the

window.


Page 291

FIGURE 7.20 CHANGING THE CAPACITY FOR MARK HANSON

12. In the Action Pane, click Add Capacity.

13. Accept the message that follows and click OK.

14. Go back to the Resource Capacity Matrix window and view the

changed value for resource Mark Hanson for the selected period.

FIGURE 7.21 ADDING CAPACITY


Page 292

Allocation

A service order allocation entry consists of:

A link to a service item line in a service order (the service task).

A resource number or resource group number.

An allocation date.

Allocated hours.

The starting and ending time if specified.

A status entry used to keep track of the service task progress for the

allocated resource, or resource group.

The program updates the status of the allocation entry using the following

methods:

Nonactive – When a service order allocation entry is created. This

status entry indicates that neither a resource nor a resource group is

allocated.

Active – When a resource or a resource group is allocated to the

service item in the service order allocation entry.

Finished – When selecting the Finished repair status for the service

item in the service order allocation entry, or when reallocating the

partly serviced item in the entry.

It indicates the allocated resource or resource group has finished

their part of the service task.

Cancelled – When reallocating the referred service item in the

service order allocation entry, indicating the allocated resource or the

allocated resource group did not attempt the service task.

Reallocation Needed – When either:

o Selecting the Referred or Partly Serviced repair status for the

service item in the service order allocation entry.

o Canceling the allocation entry directly, or converting a service

quote to a service order.

It indicates the allocated resource or the allocated resource group

did not attempt the service task, or it has finished only a part of

the service task. In either case, the service order allocation entry

needs to be reallocated.

If using service order allocation in a company, the program automatically inserts

a nonactive service order allocation entry each time a service item line is inserted

in a service order.

NOTE: For each service item line in a service order, there can only be Active

service order allocation entries with one resource or resource group at a time.

Allocate resources and resource groups either:


Page 293

Directly in the Resource Allocations window.

By using the Resource Availability functionality in the Res.

Availability window.

Use the Res. Availability window to view which resources:

Are qualified to repair certain service items.

Are available in the customer’s zone.

The customer prefers.

Allocating Resources

Once service orders or service quotes are created, allocate resources or resource

groups to perform the service tasks corresponding to the service item lines within

specific orders or quotes.

NOTE: Allocate the same resource or the same resource group to perform one

service in more than one day by inserting a new allocation entry for each date.

Allocating Resources Directly


2. Under Tasks, click Dispatch Board.

3. In the Dispatch Board window that appears, select the relevant

service order and in the Action Pane, click Related Information >

Planning > Resource Allocations. The Resource Allocations

window appears.

FIGURE 7.22 THE RESOURCE ALLOCATIONS WINDOW

4. Select a nonactive allocation entry that contains the service task to

allocate to a resource/resource group.

5. In the Action Pane, click New to enter a new entry if no nonactive

allocation entry exists.


Page 294

6. In the Resource No./Resource Group No. fields, click the

AssistButton, to select the relevant resource/resource.

If the resource is a member of a resource group, the program

automatically fills in the number of the resource group in the

Resource Group No. field. (Use the Choose Column function to add

the field.)

7. Fill in the Allocation Date and Allocation Hours fields.

Only after completing all the steps described above, the program automatically

selects the Active option in the Status field.

Repeat steps 3 to 7 for each service task to allocate a resource/resource group to.

Allocating Resources/Resource Groups Using Resource/Resource Groups Availability

Once service orders or service quotes are created, make use of resource/resource

group availability to allocate resources/resource groups to perform the service

tasks corresponding to the service item lines of specific orders or quotes.



3. In the Dispatch Board window that opens, select the relevant

service order.


Resource Allocations.

5. In the Resource Allocations window that appears, select the entry

with the service task to be allocated to a resource/resource group,

and in the Action Pane click Related Information > Planning >

Resource Availability. The Res. Availability (Service) window

appears.

FIGURE 7.23 THE RES. AVAILABILITY (SERVICE) WINDOW


Page 295

6. Fill in the View by and Date Filter fields, and in the Action Pane

click Show Matrix. The Res. Availability (Service) Matrix

window appears.

FIGURE 7.24 THE RES. AVAILABILITY (SERVICE) MATRIX WINDOW

7. Select the resource to allocate. Base the choice on whether the

resource is skilled for the task, located in the customer zone, and/or

preferred by the customer.

8. Select a date when the resource has sufficient available hours for the

task and is the closest to the response date of the service order.

9. In the Qty. To Allocate field, enter the number of hours allocated to

the resource to service task.

10. In the Action Pane, click Actions > Functions > Allocate to

allocate the selected resource on the selected date. The program

automatically returns to the Res. Availability (Service) window.

Click OK. The Resource Allocations window now looks like this.


Page 296

FIGURE 7.25 ALLOCATING RESOURCES

Only after completing all the steps described above, the program automatically

selects the Active option in the Status field.

Repeat steps 3 to 10 for each service task to be allocated a resource.

Allocating to All Service Items in a Service Order

Use the Allocate to All Service Items function in the Resource Allocations

window to allocate the same resource/resource group to all the service items in a

service order.

Before allocating a resource/resource group to all service items in an order,

allocate the resource/resource group to one of the service tasks existing in the

order.

To allocate to all service items in a service order:



3. Browse to the relevant service order and in the Action Pane click

Related Information > Planning > Resource Allocation. The

Resource Allocations window appears.

4. Select the allocation entry with the resource/resource group already

allocated. The program divides the contents of the Allocated Hours

field between the allocation entries for all the service items in the

order.


Page 297

FIGURE 7.26 DIVIDING THE ALLOCATED HOURS

5. In the Action Pane, click Actions > Functions > Allocate to all

Service Items. Click Yes in the dialog box that appears to confirm.

The program:

Creates allocation entries for the other service items in the order,

with the same resource/resource group number and allocation date as

the allocation entry created above.

The allocated hours are the time allocated, divided by the number of

service items in the order.

Automatically selects the Active option in the Status field for all the

entries it creates.

Resource/Resource Group Filtering in the Service Tasks Window

Once a resource or a resource group is allocated to the service tasks, the resource

or the resource group member can view the service tasks allocated to them in the

Service Tasks window.

To view all the service tasks which a specific resource/resource group is

allocated to, follow this procedure:


2. Under Tasks, click Service Tasks. The Service Tasks window

appears.

3. Specify the document type in the Document Filter field. There are

three available options: Order, Quote, and All.

4. Fill in the Resource Filter field by clicking the AssistButton, and

selecting the resource from the Resource List window to view the

service tasks a resource/resource group is allocated to.


Page 298

5. Fill in the Resource Group Filter field by clicking the AssistButton,

and selecting the resource in the Resource Groups window to view

the service tasks to which a resource group is allocated.

FIGURE 7.27 SERVICE TASKS FOR LINDA MARTIN

Resource/Resource Group Filtering in the Dispatch Board Window

Use the Dispatch Board window to get an overview of the documents containing

the service item lines which a specific resource or resource group is allocated to.

To get an overview of the documents containing the service tasks a specific

resource or resource group is allocated to, follow this procedure:



appears.

3. In the Document Filter field, specify the document type.

4. Fill in the Resource Filter field by clicking the AssistButton and

selecting the resource from the Resource List window.

An overview of the documents containing the service tasks to which

the resource is allocated appears.


Page 299

FIGURE 7.28 OVERVIEW OF THE DOCUMENTS WITH SERVICE TASKS FOR LINDA MARTIN

5. Fill in the Resource Group Filter field by clicking the AssistButton,

and selecting the resource from the Resource Groups window, to

get an overview of the documents containing the service tasks a

resource group is allocated to.

Canceling Allocations

To cancel the allocation of resources or resource groups to service tasks without

reallocating the tasks directly, do the following:



3. In the Dispatch Board window, browse to the relevant service order

and in the Action Pane click Related Information > Planning >


4. In the Resource Allocations window, select the allocation entry with

the service task that cancels the allocation of resources.

5. In the Action Pane, click Actions > Functions > Cancel

Allocation. The Canceled Allocation Reasons window appears.


Page 300

FIGURE 7.29 CANCELLING ALLOCATION

6. In the Reason Code field, click the AssistButton to select the

appropriate reason code.

7. Click Yes to confirm the cancellation.

The program automatically selects the Reallocation Needed option in the Status

field.

FIGURE 7.30 CHANGED STATUS AFTER CANCELLING ALLOCATION

Repeat steps 3 to 7 to cancel an allocation for each service task.


Page 301

Reallocating Resources

Reallocate a service task by selecting the allocation entry with the resource (for

example, a technician) or the resource group already allocated and selecting a

new resource, either:

Directly

By using the Resource Availability window

The resource allocation entry can have the status of either:

Active

Reallocation Needed

The following procedure shows how to reallocate an allocation entry with the

Reallocation Needed status in the Resource Allocations window.



appears.

3. In the Allocation Filter field, select Reallocation Needed. The

Dispatch Board window now shows only those service orders that

include service tasks that need reallocation.

FIGURE 7.31 VIEWING SERVICE TASKS THAT NEED REALLOCATION

4. Select the relevant service order and in the Action pane click

Related Information > Planning > Resource Allocations. The

Resource Allocations window appears.

5. Select the allocation entry with the service task to which to reallocate

a resource or resource group.


2

6. Click the AssistButton in the Resource No./Resource Group No.

field to select the relevant resource or resource group. The program

overwrites the previous resource/resource group number in the field.

7. Press ENTER. A dialog box appears, asking whether to reallocate

this entry.

FIGURE 7.32 REALOCATING A RESOURCE

8. Fill in the Reason Code field by clicking the AssistButton in this

field and selecting the appropriate reason code or creating a new one

in the Reason Codes window. Click OK to confirm the reallocation.

9. Fill in the Allocation Date and Allocation Hours fields.


Page 303

FIGURE 7.33 THE RESOURCE ALLOCATIONS WINDOW AFTER REALLOCATION

The allocation entry now contains the new resource/resource group with the

Active status. The old entry still exists, however, depending on the repair status

of the service item its status is either:

Finished

Canceled

(In the Action Pane, click Related Information > Planning > Cancelled

Allocation Entries to view the old entry.) Repeat steps 3 to 9 for each service to

be reallocated.


Page 304

Lab 7.2 – Allocating and Reallocating Resources

In this lab, you will practice allocating and reallocating resources.

Scenario

You work as a dispatcher at Cronus Ltd. in service zone North, and want to view

all service orders in this service zone with no allocation, or a partial allocation

with the response date January 25, 2010.

Challenge Yourself

Find the service order and allocate the technician to the service order. Reallocate

the service tasks of this technician and check the canceled allocation entries.

Need a little Help?

1. On the Dispatch Board, find the service order that meets these

criteria.

2. Determine which resources have both the skills to service all the

service items in the service order and are assigned to the relevant

service zone.

o Select the technician whose skill level meets the criteria required

to service all the service items in the particular service order.

o Allocate this technician to work four hours servicing this service

item on the response date.

3. On January 25, the technician Linda is checking the service tasks

allocated to her for this day.

Find the optimal way to find the service tasks in the Service Task

window.

4. Linda receives an urgent phone call and must go to the customer’s

site immediately. She asks you to reallocate the service tasks

allocated to her on this day to someone else. Technician Timothy has

the skills to service the service items and some free hours today.

o Reallocate Timothy to the relevant service tasks; the date of

service and total hours needed to service the item need to remain

as before.

o Check the canceled allocation entries for the service order.

Step by Step

Find the service order and allocate the technician to the service order.



appears.

3. Fill in the following fields:

Response Date Filter: 1/25/2010

Allocation Filter: No or Partial Allocation


Page 305

Document Filter: Order

Zone Filter: N

According to the defined filters, the program finds the service order

as shown in the following screenshot.

FIGURE 7.34 SEARCHING FOR THE SERVICE ORDER IN THE DISPATCH BOARD WINDOW

4. In the Action Pane of the Dispatch Board window, click Show

Document.

5. In the Service Order window that opens, on the Lines FastTab,

click Actions > Line > Resource Allocations.

6. In the Action Pane of the Resource Allocations window, click

Related Information > Planning > Resource Availability.

7. In the Res. Availability (Service) window, click Show Matrix.

8. The Res. Availability (Service) Matrix window opens where it

shows that Linda is the one who meets the criteria.


Page 306

FIGURE 7.35 VIEWING THE RESOURCE AVAILABILITY

9. Go back to the Resource Allocations window and fill in the

following fields:

Resource No.: LINDA

Allocation Date: 1/25/2010

Allocated Hours: “4”

FIGURE 7.36 ALLOCATING THE SERVICE ITEM TO LINDA

Reallocate the service tasks and check the canceled allocation entries.


2. Under Tasks, click Service Tasks.

3. In the Service Tasks window that appears, set the filters:

Resource Filter: LINDA


Page 307


Allocation Status Filter: Active

Document Filter: Order

FIGURE 7.37 SEARCHING THE SERVICE TASKS FOR LINDA

4. Go back to the Dispatch Board window.



6. In the Resource No. field, click the AssistButton and select

TIMOTHY from the drop-down list.

7. Press ENTER. In the Reallocation Entry Reasons window that

appears, click Yes to confirm the reallocation.

The Resource Allocations window now looks like this.

FIGURE 7.38 REALLOCATING THE SERVICE TASKS TO TIMOTHY


Page 308

8. To check the cancelled allocation entries for service order

SO000006, in the Action Pane of the Resource Allocations window,

click Related Information > Planning > Cancelled Allocation

Entries. The Cancelled Allocation Entries window opens.

FIGURE 7.39 CHECKING THE CANCELED ALLOCATION ENTRIES FOR THE SERVICE ORDER


Page 309

Allocation Status and Repair Status

The repair and the allocation status of the allocation entries for service items

have a certain relationship in the Service Management application area. The

allocation status changes when:

The repair status of the service item is changed to Finished or Partly

Serviced.

A service quote is converted to a service order.

The repair status of the service item changes when:

The allocation of resources to the service item is canceled.

Another resource/resource group is reallocated to the service item.

View the repair status of service items on the service item lines in the document

they belong to, and in the Service Tasks window.

In the Service Item Worksheet window, update the repair status in the Repair

Status Code field.

In the Resource Allocations window, view the allocation status in the Status

field.

Changing Repair Status

When the repair status of a service item changes on the service item line, the

program searches for a corresponding allocation entry for this service item with

the status Active.

If it finds such an allocation entry, it updates its status in the following manner:

If the repair status is changed to Finished, the program changes the

allocation status from Active to Finished.

If the repair status is changed to Partly Serviced (some of the service

is completed), or Referred (no service is done), the program changes

the allocation status from Active to Reallocation Needed.

The allocation status reflects when:

The service process is finished.

Another resource/resource group needs to be allocated to finish the

service of the service item.

Converting Service Quotes to Service Orders

When a service quote is converted to a service order, the program:


Page 310

Updates the service order, the service items in the service order, and

their allocation entries in the following manner:

o The repair status of the service items changes to Initial.

o The service order status changes to Pending.

Searches for allocation entries of all the service items in the service

order with status Active.

If it finds such allocation entries, their allocation status changes from

Active to Reallocation Needed.

Canceling Allocations

When an allocation for a service item is canceled, the program, updates the

allocation status of the corresponding allocation entry as follows:

It changes the allocation status from Active to Reallocation Needed.

If the repair status of the service item is:

o Initial, the program updates it to Referred (no service is started).

o In Process, the program updates it to Partly Serviced (some

service is performed).

Reallocating

When a resource/resource group is allocated to the service item in the allocation

entry with the status Active, the program, updates the allocation entry in the

following manner:

If service is started while the allocation is Active (that is, if the repair

status of the service item in the allocation entry is changed to In

Process), it changes the allocation status from Active to Finished.

If service is not started while the allocation is Active, it changes the

allocation status from Active to Canceled.

The program updates the repair status of the service item in the allocation entry

the same as if the allocation is canceled. If the repair status is:

Initial, the program changes the repair status to Referred (no service

is started).

In Process, the program changes the repair status to Partly Serviced

(some service is completed).

As a result of reallocation, the program creates a new allocation entry containing

the new resource/resource group with the status Active.

Reallocating a Service Item Needing Reallocation

When a resource/resource group is allocated with the Reallocation Needed status,

the program, updates the allocation entry in the following manner:


Page 311

If service is started while the allocation status is Active (that is, if the

repair status of the service item in the entry changes from Initial to In

Process), it changes the allocation status from Reallocation Needed

to Finished.

If service is not started while the allocation is Active, it changes the

allocation status from Reallocation Needed to Canceled.

The program creates a new allocation entry containing the new resource/resource

group with the Active status.

NOTE: If a quote is converted to a service order, the program always changes

the status of the allocation entries registered for the quote from Active to

Reallocation Needed. If a resource/resource group is reallocated to the service

task of this service order, the status of the allocation entry for the previous

resource changes from Reallocation Needed to Finished and the program creates

a new allocation entry for the new resource/resource group with the Active

status.

Allocation Status and Repair Status Filtering

Use filtering:

In the Service Tasks window to find the service tasks with the

known allocation status and/or the known repair status.

In the Dispatch Board window to view the documents containing

service item lines with a specified type of allocation.

There are three types of the document allocation that correspond to the options in

the Allocation Filter field in the Dispatch Board window. The documents

correspond to the following types of allocation:

No or Partial Allocation – Have neither any allocated

resources/resource groups to their service item lines nor the

resources/resource groups allocated to all of their service item lines.

Full Allocation – Have the resources/resource groups with the Active

or Finished allocation status allocated to all the service item lines.

Reallocation Needed – Have at least one service item line with the

allocation status Reallocation Needed.

Filtering the service tasks on allocation status/repair status in the Service Tasks

window is used:

In combination with filtering on a resource/resource group.

To view the service tasks with a certain allocation status/repair status

and a certain allocated resource/resource group.

Filtering the documents on allocation in the Dispatch Board window is used:


Page 312

In combination with filtering on resource/resource group.

To view all the documents with one of the following allocation

types:

o No or Partial Allocation

o Full Allocation

o Reallocation Needed

o With a certain allocated resource/resource group


Page 313

Reports

Use the reports in the Service Management application area to view and print an

overview of the following:

Service orders

Service tasks

Service load levels

The Dispatch Board Report

This report prints a list of the dispatch board entries. It shows:

Response date

Response time

Priority

Order number

Order status

Customer number

Ship-to-code

Customer name

Contract number

Service zone code

Number of allocations

Order date of the resource

The Service Load Level Report

This report tests what the service load is for resources. The report shows:

Resource number and name

Capacity

Usage

Unused capacity

Unused percentage

Sales and sales percentage of the resource

On the Options FastTab, select whether a report is wanted for quantity, costs, or

prices.


Page 314

Lab 7.3 – Allocating Resources

In this lab, you will practice allocating resources.

Scenario

You receive a phone call from a customer who has service items which might be

serviced at Cronus.

The working date is January 28, 2010.

The customer hands in three items to register as service items, and for which you

want to create a service quote and allocate resources.

Challenge Yourself

Create a service quote for three items to further register them as service items,

and allocate the resources to these service items.

Need a Little Help?

1. Register the following service items:

Two processors with item no. 80001, and serial numbers 5482154

and 1254578.

A monitor with item no. 80102.

2. While allocating the resources with the appropriate skills to service

the items, you notice no skills are assigned to the items or to the

service item groups.

Assign the PC skill code to both the PROCESSOR service item

group and the monitor service item.

3. The technician named Mary is a monitor specialist. The technician

named Timothy is a processor specialist.

Select Mary as the preferred resource for the monitor service item.

Create a service quote for customer number 50000 including these

three service items.

Allocate Mary to service the monitor service item for half an hour

and Timothy to service the processor service items for one hour on

January 28, 2010.

4. The technicians estimated the time needed to repair the service items.

Mary estimated two hours for servicing the monitor. Timothy

estimated three hours for servicing each processor. The customer

wants the service to be carried out for the service items.

Change the allocated hours for all the service items.

Change the repair status of the items to reflect the quote is finished

and convert the quote to an order.

Step by Step

Create a service quote for three items and register the service items.


Page 315

1. Click Home > Service Quotes.

2. Create a new service quote:

On the General FastTab:

Customer No.: 50000

On the Lines FastTab, create three lines using the data from the

following table:

Item No. Serial No.

1st line 80001 5482154

2nd

line 80001 1254578

3rd

line 80102

3. On the Lines FastTab of the Service Quote window, click the first

line, and then click Actions > Functions > Create Service Item.

4. Click Yes to confirm the creation of the service item, and then click

OK to the information message stating that the service item is

created.

5. Repeat steps 3-4 to create service items for the second and the third

lines.

Assign the resource skills to the service items.

1. On the first line, click the AssistButton in the Service Item Group

Code field, and then click Advanced at the bottom of the drop-down

list.

2. In the Action Pane of the Service Item Groups window, click New

to create a new group.

3. In the Code and Description fields, type “Processor”.

4. In the Default Response Time (Hours) field, type “12”.

5. In the Action Pane, click Related Information > Group >

Resource Skills.

6. In the Resource Skills window for processor, click the AssistButton

in the Skill Code field and select PC.


Page 316

FIGURE 7.40 ASSIGNING RESOURCE SKILLS TO SERVICE ITEM GROUP PROCESSOR

7. Click OK twice to return to the Service Quote window.

8. For the second line, click the AssistButton in the Service Item

Group Code field and select PROCESSOR from the drop-down list.

9. For the third line, click the AssistButton in the Service Item No.

field.

10. Select the created service item for the monitor and in the Action

Pane, click Actions > View.

11. In the Action Pane of the Service Item Card window, click Related

Information > Serv. Item > Resource Skills.

12. In the Resource Skills window that opens, fill in the Skill Code field

with PC.


Page 317

FIGURE 7.41 ASSIGNING RESOURCE SKILLS TO SERVICE ITEM FOR THE MONITOR

Allocate the resources to the service items.

1. Go to Home > Service Items. Browse to the service item just

created for the monitor and double-click the line to open the service

item card.

2. On the General FastTab, click the AssistButton in the Preferred

Resource field and select MARY.

The Service Item Card window for the monitor looks like this.


Page 318

FIGURE 7.42 ASSIGNING THE PREFERRED RESOURCE TO THE MONITOR SERVICE ITEM

3. Go back to the Service Quote. On the Lines FastTab, click Actions

> Line > Resource Allocations.

4. In the Resource Allocations window, for the first two lines, fill in

the following fields:

Resource No.: TIMOTHY


Allocated Hours: “1”

5. On the line for Monitor, fill in the following fields:

Resource No.: MARY


Allocated Hours: “0.5”

Click OK.

6. In the Resource Allocations window, for the first two lines:

Click the AssistButton in the Service Item No. field to copy the

relevant number from the service item lines.

In the Allocated Hours field, change the value to “3”.

7. For the third line, change the Allocated Hours field value to “2”.

The Resource Allocations window looks like this.


Page 319

FIGURE 7.43 ALLOCATING RESOURCES AND CHANGING THE ALLOCATED HOURS

Convert the quote to an order.

1. On the Lines FastTab of the Service Quote window, for each line,

click the AssistButton in the Repair Status Code field and select

Quotation Finished.

The program changes the status on the General FastTab from

Pending to On Hold.

2. In the Fault Reason Code field, select ME. (Use the Choose

Column function to add the field)

3. In the Action Pane, click Make Order. Accept the message that

follows, and click Yes to the check credit limit message concerning

the customer overdue balance.

4. Click OK to the information message stating that the service quote

has been converted to a service order.


Page 320

Lab 7.4 – Reallocating Resources and Changing the Repair Status of the Service Items

In this lab, you will practice reallocating resources and changing the repair status

of the service items.

Scenario

You want to reallocate the resources to the service items in the order created in

the previous lab.

Challenge Yourself

Reallocate resources for the order created from a quote and verify the repair

status of the service items.

Need a Little Help?

1. Check the status of the allocation of the service items and reallocate

all resources according to the following information:

o The allocation date is February 1, 2010.

o The allocated hours are the estimated hours for servicing each

item.

On February 1, technician Timothy starts repairing one of the processors.

2. Change the working date to February 1, 2010, and change the repair

status to reflect Timothy started the repair.

Timothy finished repairing the processor.

3. Enter one hour for Timothy’s work on the processor with serial no.

1254578 and change the repair status of the processor to reflect

Timothy is finished working on the item.

Timothy does not have sufficient time to start servicing the other processor. He

wants this service task to be reallocated.

4. Change the repair status of the processor with serial no. 5482154

accordingly.

The same day, Mary must start a high priority project after two hours of work on

the monitor. More work is needed.

5. Change the repair status of the monitor to reflect Mary started the

repair and enter two hours for Mary’s work on the monitor.

6. Change the repair status to reflect Mary is only partly finished

servicing the item.


Page 321

The customer Guildford Water Department calls in to check whether the service

items are serviced.

7. Check the status of the service items to inform the customer of the

status.

As a dispatcher, you notice the order needs reallocation.

8. Allocate the monitor to Linda for one hour and the processor to

Linda for 1.5 hours on February 1.

Step by Step

Reallocate resources.

1. Click Home > Service Orders.

2. Browse to the last order in the list and double-click to open the

Service Order window.

3. On the Lines FastTab, click Actions > Line > Resource

Allocations. The Resource Allocations window opens.

Note that the Status field of each line is set to Reallocation Needed.

4. For the first line, click Related Information > Planning >

Resource Availability.

5. In the Res. Availaility (Service) window, click Show Matrix.

6. In the Res. Availability (Service) Matrix window, select the line for

Timothy and set the Selected Day field to 2/1/2010 and in the Qty.

To Allocate field, type “3”.

7. In the Action Pane, click Actions > Functions > Allocate.

8. Click Yes in the Reallocation Entry Reasons window.

9. Repeat steps 4 to 8 to perform the reallocation for the second line

with status Reallocation Needed.

10. For the third line, repeat steps 4 to 8 but type “2” in the Qty. To

Allocate field for resource Mary in the Res. Availability (Service)

Matrix window.

On allocating the date and hours, the Resource Allocations window

looks like this.


Page 322

FIGURE 7.44 THE RESOURCE ALLOCATIONS WINDOW AFTER PERFORMING THE ALLOCATION

Change the repair status of the service items.

1. Change the work date to 2/1/2010.

2. Go to Departments > Service > Planning & Dispatching. Under

Tasks, click Service Tasks.

3. In the Service Tasks window, set the following filters:

Resource Filter: “TIMOTHY”

Response Date Filter: “2/1/2010”

Allocation Status Filter: “Active”

FIGURE 7.45 APPLYING FILTERS IN THE SERVICE TASKS WINDOW

4. Select the line with Serial No. 1254578 and click Show Document.


Page 323

5. On the second line, change the value in the Repair Status Code to

IN PROCESS.

6. On the Lines FastTab, click Actions > Line > Resource

Allocations.

7. Select the line with status Active for the service item with Service

Item Serial No. 1254578 (use the Choose Column function to add

the field) and change the value in the Allocated Hours field to “1”.

8. Click OK to return to the Service Order window.

9. On the second line, change the value in the Repair Status Code to

FINISHED.

10. For the first line, change the value in the Repair Status Code field

to REFERRED.

11. Repeat steps 2 to 3 to select service tasks allocated to Mary.

12. In the Service Tasks window, select the relevant line and click

Show Document.

13. For the third line, change the value in the Repair Status Code field

to PARTLYSERV.

The Service Order window now looks like this.

FIGURE 7.46 VERIFYING THE REPAIR STATUS OF THE SERVICE ITEMS

14. To view the result on allocation entries, click Actions > Line >



Page 324

FIGURE 7.47 RESOURCE ALLOCATIONS AFTER CHANGING THE REPAIR STATUS

Reallocate resources and check the cancelled allocation entries.

1. Go to Departments > Service > Planning & Dispatching.


3. In the Dispatch Board window, set the following filters:


Allocation Filter: Reallocation Needed

4. In the Action Pane, click Resource Allocations. The Resource

Allocations window opens.

5. Select the line for the monitor with status Reallocation Needed and

click Related Information > Planning > Resource Availability.

6. In the Res. Availaility (Service) window, click Show Matrix.

7. In the Res. Availability (Service) Matrix window, select the line for

LINDA and set the Selected Day field to 2/1/2010 and in the Qty.

To Allocate field, type “1”.

8. In the Action Pane, click Actions > Functions > Allocate.

9. Click Yes in the Reallocation Entry Reasons window.

10. Repeat steps 5 to 9 to perform the reallocation for the processor with

status Reallocation Needed but type “1.5” in the Qty. To Allocate

field in the Res. Availability (Service) Matrix window.


Page 325

FIGURE 7.48 RESOURCE REALLOCATION

11. To view the canceled allocation entries, in the Action Pane of the

Resource Allocations window, click Related Information >

Planning > Cancelled Allocation Entries.

FIGURE 7.49 VIEWING THE CANCELED ALLOCATION ENTRIES


Page 326

Summary

The chapter describes how to use resource allocation within the Service

Management application area.

The chapter explains how best to allocate the resources taking into account

resource availability, skills necessary for the task, assignment to the customer’s

service zone, and resource preference for the service tasks.

Also, the procedures performed in the Dispatch Board and Service Tasks

windows are shown.


Page 327

Test Your Knowledge

1. True or False:

The allocation of specific resources/resource groups to specific service tasks

is based on whether or not the resources are assigned to the service zone the

customer is located in.

2. What can resource skills be assigned to if a service item requires certain

skills when it is being serviced?

3. When using service order allocation in a company, what is the status of the

allocation entry the program inserts when a service item line is inserted in a

service order?

( ) Cancelled

( ) Active

( ) Reallocation Needed

( ) Nonactive

( ) Finished

4. Complete the following sentence:

Once service orders or service quotes are created, allocate _____________ or

_____________ ___________ to perform the service tasks corresponding to

the service item lines within specific orders or quotes.


Page 328

5. What is a resource/resource group allocated to before it is allocated to all

service items in an order?


Page 329

Quick Interaction: Lessons Learned

Take a moment and write down three Key Points you have learned from this

chapter:

1.

2.

3.


Page 330

Solutions

Test Your Knowledge

1. True or False:

The allocation of specific resources/resource groups to specific service tasks

is based on whether or not the resources are assigned to the service zone the

customer is located in.

MODEL ANSWER:

True.

2. What can resource skills be assigned to if a service item requires certain

skills when it is being serviced?

MODEL ANSWER:

If a service item requires certain skills when it is being serviced, you can assign

resource skills to the item, service item, service item group, resource, or resource

group.

3. When using service order allocation in a company, what is the status of the

allocation entry the program inserts when a service item line is inserted in a

service order?

( ) Cancelled

( ) Active

( ) Reallocation Needed

(√) Nonactive

( ) Finished

4. Complete the following sentence:

Once service orders or service quotes are created, allocate _____________ or

_____________ ___________ to perform the service tasks corresponding to

the service item lines within specific orders or quotes.

MODEL ANSWER:

Once service orders or service quotes are created, allocate resources or resource

groups to perform the service tasks corresponding to the service item lines within

specific orders or quotes.

5. What is a resource/ resource group allocated to before it is allocated to all

service items in an order?

MODEL ANSWER:


Page 331

Before allocating a resource/resource group to all service items in an order,

allocate the resource/resource group to one of the service tasks existing in the

order.

na2009 enus sm_07

Technology