Managing resources control
Prerequisite
- Access to the Management > Resources control (MA080) menu.
- Enabled activity programming.
Introduction
The Resources control (MA080) menu is a tool meant for efficiently and orderly managing activities under planning and their resources.
When accessing this menu, you will find the resource management panel, which provides several features to optimize activity programming and execution:
- Task redistribution: allows for redistributing tasks among different team members, thus balancing the workload and ensuring that all activities are carried out efficiently.
- Team workload: provides a clear view of the team's workload, making it easier to prioritize activities and allocate resources based on availability.
- Activity prioritization: helps define which activities must be prioritized, ensuring that the most critical tasks are completed first.
There are specific resources to assist in these operations:
- Drag'n'Drop for allocations: facilitates task allocation and redistribution with a simple drag and drop, making the process more intuitive and faster.
- Visions by period: allows for switching between daily, weekly, and monthly visions, enabling a detailed and customized activity planning management.
- Planning date change: allows for changing activity planning dates as needed, thus ensuring flexibility and adaptability.
- Activity description: provides detailed descriptions of what must be done in each activity, ensuring clarity and understanding on the part of the executors.
- Definition of executor and allocated resources: allows for clearly defining who will be the executor of each activity and what resources will be necessary, ensuring that all aspects of the task are covered.
One advantage of using resources control is having a broad and detailed view of the activities to be carried out and of the availability of the resources involved, facilitating the management and monitoring of tasks.
Managing resources control
On the Configuration > Standard activity type (MA048) menu, the main screen will be displayed as follows:
A - The Activity panel will list all activities whose status is "Planning". Activities that have been sent to the execution and approval steps will not be on the list.
Use the 
button to filter activities by ID #/name, status (on time, alert, or past due), planning period, expected position, or responsible team.
B - The Resource panel lists the resources (technicians) registered in the system and who have at least one association with a service center. The availability of a technician is related to their calendar.
It is worth remembering that, if the "Do not display resources from other business units" option is checked in the general parameters of the resource panel, resources from business units other than the one to which the logged in user belongs will not be displayed.
Use the button to filter the list of resources by ID #/name, availability, position, or technician.
C - The Filters by period can be used to update the resource allocation vision (D). It is possible to check allocations by day, week, and month, with the week field being the default one. The system will always display the result according to the current week.
D - The Workload displays the hours scheduled for the technician (B), according to the period being displayed (C). For activities in which actual time has been entered, the system will replace the programmed value with the actual value.
To associate an activity with a resource, simply drag the activity to the area corresponding to the intended day. Each card in the panel shows the number of activities allocated per day to the resource.
E - The Send activities button displays the screen on which it will be possible to select the activities (A) that will be sent to the next step.
See other menu operations that can help:
Edit activities
It is possible to change some activity information, such as rescheduling the execution period, changing the user responsible for the execution, and associating resources.
1. In the Activity panel, click on the add button located in the card of the desired activity. At this point, a screen will be displayed containing the activity data that can be edited.
2. To reschedule the period in which the activity must be executed, fill in the Planned start and Planned end fields with the dates that define the new execution period of the activity.
3. If necessary, it is also possible to change the Description of the activity.
4. To change the activity executors, select the new Team responsible for execution and, if necessary, define the member of this team who will be its specific Executor.
5. Click on the Add resource button if you wish to include new resources (technicians) in the activity.
6. After the changes, click on the Confirm button to save them.
Allocate technicians
Using the drag'n'drop feature, simply drag the activity from the Activity panel to the row corresponding to the intended technician and day.
The system will then display the calibration screen, with the resource allocated for the selected day. Enter the number of hours that will be allocated for the technician to execute the calibration activity.
Track allocations
When the mouse is hovered over a technician in the Resource panel, an arrow will be displayed. Click on it to view the technician's allocations. Then, click on the allocation links if you want more details.
This makes it possible to identify where overallocations may be occurring, as well as to quickly check whether the overallocated hours can be distributed among the other days or whether the activity will need to be assigned to another technician.
Technician availability depends on the actual entered time, as the timesheet overrides the allocation planned for a given activity.
Conclusion
With these features, the SoftExpert Maintenance resources control menu provides an efficient management of both the activities and their resources, optimizing productivity and ensuring that all tasks are carried out as planned.