This activity explains the different ways in which an activity for a work task can be scheduled by the Dynamic Scheduling Engine (DSE).
The data to be scheduled, e.g., work task activities, resources, shifts and breaks, will be transferred to the DSE in datasets. Datasets need to be set up in IFS Cloud with parameters for how the data should be scheduled and the time horizon for the scheduling (in the Scheduling Dataset page). How the data should be scheduled refers to the type of scheduling, that is, whether scheduling should be done dynamically or as static scheduling. Static scheduling is generally used for long term rough scheduling, where data over several weeks can be loaded into the DSE and scheduled for analysis. Dynamic scheduling is used for the short term detail scheduling (anything from 2 to 5 days) and focuses on optimizing the utilization of resources. For more information on scheduling datasets, refer to the Define Dataset activity.
When the work task activities is scheduled an allocation plan is returned to IFS Cloud. How and when the plan is to be returned is determined by the scheduling broadcast which is set up in IFS Cloud (in the Scheduling Broadcast page). Furthermore, the type of data that should be output is defined by connecting the broadcast to an allocation type, i.e., DSE (Dynamic Scheduling Engine), SDS (Schedule Dispatch Service) or iSWB (Scheduling Workbench). The connection between the broadcast and allocation type is made on the dataset that is to be used when transferring data. For more information on scheduling broadcasts, refer to the Define Broadcast activity.
If the work task activity is scheduled by the DSE, the DSE will produce a plan which, if suitable, you can choose to assign or unassign which will create a work assignment for the work task. If the suggested plan does not meet the requirements, you can choose to wait for the next broadcast of the plan or manually schedule the plan in the Scheduling Workbench. It is also possible to manually assign or unassign a work task activity in the Scheduling Workbench.
If the work task activity is scheduled by the SDS, the allocated (or unallocated) work task will create work assignments for resources automatically suggested by the SDS based on the given scheduling rules. The work task activities that are returned are automatically promoted to the Assigned status and the work assignment is created and assigned to the suggested Resource ID. The scheduling rules for the SDS are set up in an XML file, and referenced in broadcast parameters.
If the work task activity is manually scheduled in the Scheduling Workbench, IFS Cloud will be synchronized with the changes made to the data in the Scheduling Workbench, which is the web based user interface for PSO.
The option Exclude from Scheduling on the work task can be used in case if a work task is not needed to send to Planning and Scheduling Optimization for scheduling.
The option Adjust Duration enables an archiving service to automatically adjust the duration based on historical average durations. The archiving service calculate durations from completed tasks of the same dataset, activity type and location. The calculated duration is then used when the Adjust Duration option is enabled on tasks of the same dataset, location and work type. The Adjust Duration option is found in the Work Task page. The duration field is found on tasks in the Scheduling Information/Allocations tab. The value Yes or No in the field Adjusted Duration indicates if the value has been adjusted or not. The setting of the Adjust Duration can also be copied from the selected work type. Refer to Scheduling Activity Type page where the option Adjust Duration can be toggled On or Off. The setting will then be copied when the work type is added on a task.
To perform this activity, the work task must have been transferred for Scheduling.
As a result of this activity, the work task is scheduled according to the information provided and a scheduled plan is returned to IFS Cloud.