Allocate Resources

Explanation

Use this activity to allocate resources to a project activity.

All types of resources—machines, persons, tools or equipment, and crews—that are connected to resource groups can be allocated to project activities to accommodate different project needs. This supports comprehensive and flexible resource management. If a person resource is connected to an employee, that resource can optionally be allocated using the employee’s ID.

For detailed information about how allocations are handled, refer to About Project Resource Allocations.

Defining Resource Allocations

When allocating resources, you can define either a specific number of hours or a percentage of the resource’s available time:

Hours Allocated
Enter the number of hours for the allocation period. The corresponding percentage is calculated by dividing the allocated hours by the resource’s available time.
Percentage Allocated
Enter the percentage of the resource’s available time to allocate. The corresponding number of hours is calculated based on the resource’s available time during the allocation period.

Allocation Period and Capacity Coverage

If no specific Date From or Date To values are entered, the allocation is made for the duration between the activity’s Earliest Start and Latest Finish dates. If dates are entered, the allocation applies only to the defined period.

Resource capacity must exist for the entire allocation duration to ensure accurate percentage‑based allocation. If the resource’s capacity is not calculated for the entire allocation period, the percentage allocated is based only on the periods where capacity exists, and this is indicated as partial capacity coverage relative to the allocation period.

Fixed Resource Allocations

Resources can be allocated for the full duration of the activity or as a fixed allocation for a defined date range. Fixed resource allocations lock the allocation period, even if the activity's Earliest Start or Latest Finish dates change. If a resource allocation is fixed and the entered Date From or Date To falls outside the activity’s Earliest Start or Latest Finish dates, this is indicated as a resource allocation date exception.

Cross-Company Resource Allocation

When a project requires resources that are not available within the company executing the work, resources from another company can be allocated if the required cross‑company allocation conditions are met.

For more information, see About Cross-Company Resource Allocations.

Self-Allocating Resources

Persons can allocate themselves to project activities using the My Project Allocations page.

If the person has an employment in the selected company, that employment is selected by default. If the person has multiple employments in the selected company, their primary scheduling employment is selected by default.

Comparing Allocated and Planned Hours

If the resource group has been planned on the activity when allocating a resource, the resource planning record is updated with the allocated hours. If no resource planning record exists when the allocation is made, a resource planning record is created for that resource group with zero planned hours and is then updated with the allocated hours. Planned and allocated hours can be compared on the Resources Summary tab of the Project Resource Planning page.

Prerequisites

A project, sub project and activity must exist.
Relevant resource groups must exist and must be connected to the project company.
The resource must be connected to a resource group.
For cross-company allocations, the following conditions must be met:
- The required resource group must be planned on the project company.
- The resource companies that can supply resources to the project company must be defined in the Cross-Company Resource Allocation page.
- The resource must be linked to the resource group through a resource company that is part of both the sourcing relationship and the group’s company connections.

System Effects

Resources are allocated to project activities.
An allocated resource is reserved for the allocation period, reducing the resource’s availability for other tasks.
The resource planning record is created or updated with allocated hours.
The Resources Summary tab on the Project Resource Planning page shows the number of planned resource hours that are covered by allocated resources, as well as the hours that remain unallocated.