Define Dataset

Explanation

This activity is used to define the datasets that will be used within a company to transfer data to the Scheduling Engine. A dataset will contain information on how data should be scheduled. That is, the type of scheduling that should take place and the time horizon for the scheduling. There are three types of scheduling that can be assigned to a dataset, Static, Dynamic and Appointment. Static scheduling is generally used for long term rough scheduling such as the resource capacity for a year, while Dynamic scheduling is used for short term detail scheduling with the focus on optimizing the utilization of resources. And the Appointment scheduling is used when the Appointment Booking Engine is requested to generate appointment slots based on available resources. The time horizon for which the data should be transferred and scheduled should be entered in days. For instance, if the number of days is set to 7, all work orders, schedules, employees, breaks and HR bookings, for the site(s), that should be scheduled within the given time interval (7 days in this example) will be sent to and scheduled by the Scheduling Engine. In addition an appointment work days duration can also be specified; the appointment work days duration will follow on from the scheduling work days duration to return a less accurate but faster schedule for a longer period. For example entering an appointment work days duration of 10 days and a scheduling work days duration of 5 days will make the Scheduling Engine schedule activities for 15 days ahead from the system date, with a high accuracy in the first 5 days and rest with a less accuracy. Further, a calendar can be entered as an input reference so that the scheduling work days duration will determined based on the working days of the calendar only. For example entering a 5 working days per week calendar, with 7 scheduling days and 14 appointment days will send a total scheduling window of 27 days(7+2 and 14+4 = 27).In the Time Zone, you need to enter in what time zone the dataset should be scheduled, used and displayed. i.e. If you are working in an Australian or American company, you can have one central installation for the complete country and different work dispatchers and service technicians in the different time zone regions, you should have one dataset for each of the time zone regions. When this is correctly set up, you will get the scheduled availability and activities correctly displayed on your own computers, configured with your local regional settings.

You can set up the dataset to be applicable for one or more sites within the company. Following is a list of data that will be transferred for scheduling from the relevant site(s):

• Maintenance employees (referred to as resources in Mobile Workforce Management)
• Schedules and work shifts for the employees
• Work orders and route data
• Resource preferences and availabilities of equipment objects and locations
• Scheduling basic data, e.g., resource, resource type, resource regions, SLA (service level agreement), scheduling types

Note: In Mobile Workforce Management, permission groups define which users are allowed to view a set of resources (employees in IFS Applications) and activities (separate and route work orders). These permission groups are called object groups. In the integration, object groups have the equivalence of sites in IFS Applications. This means that in order for a Mobile Workforce Management user to be able to view information like resources and activities belonging to a particular site, the user must be connected to the corresponding object group. The object groups for activities and resources are transferred automatically from IFS Applications to Mobile Workforce Management, but object groups for the Mobile Workforce Management users must be set up and granted to the users manually from the iSWB. The user must also be granted to the dataset itself manually in iSWB.

Default values can be entered for the work orders in the dataset. From these, the default activity type, maximum base value per hour and appointment scheduling type must be entered when setting up the dataset. If a work order is missing a primary scheduling type, secondary scheduling type or an activity type, or if it is an appointment work order which is missing a scheduling type, the default values from the dataset will be assigned automatically to the work order. If a location is missing its do on location incentive value, the default value entered in the dataset will be retrieved to the work order. It is possible to define the lowest status from which work orders in the dataset can be transferred for scheduling. The default work order status for all datasets is Released and is set for the parameter Dataset Schedule from WO Status (Scheduling/Basic Data/Scheduling Configuration). The parameter value can be changed if required and you can also choose to configure this per dataset. Values need to be entered for HR activities, i.e., Lunch and Break, in the dataset as well. The values will be assigned to all lunches and breaks and will be used as an input when scheduling the activities.

For each dataset, it is possible to connect a broadcast to an allocation type. The allocation type is used to indicate what type of data should be output based on its association with either the DSE (Dynamic Scheduling Engine), SDS (Scheduling Dispatch Service), ABE (Appointment Booking Engine) or iSWB (Scheduling Workbench). The purpose of connecting broadcasts to allocation types is to enable transferring of SDS rules (i.e., a set of commit rules to automatically commit/uncommit orders) and to set up communication between IFS Application and the SDS, iSWB, ABE or DSE. To start the transfer of data per allocation type, the connected broadcast must be activated. It is possible to deactivate a broadcast for an allocation type without deactivating the entire dataset. Based on the allocation type you select, the following will occur when the data is transferred via the dataset:

• DSE - The Dynamic Scheduling Engine produces a plan allocating orders to employees, at locations, with proposed start dates. These are visible on the work order, and the order can be processed further in IFS Applications.
• ABE - The Appointment Booking Engine produces a plan with a list of time slots, with proposed start and end dates, based on the availability of the resources for a period (Scheduling work days + Appointment work days) defined in the dataset. This list is visible in the Appointment booking dialog opening from the work order form.
• SDS - The Scheduling Dispatch Service will commit/uncommit (assign/unassign) orders automatically, once they have been allocated by the DSE, and the broadcast for this allocation type will be used to communicate with the SDS. For the SDS to operate, it requires a rule set. These are stored in a rules XML file, in a folder on the Input Manager Service (IMS) server. The data_path parameter has to be set on the dataset to point to this file. If the data_path is set and there is no corresponding file on the IMS server, the XML messages will error at the IMS. The SDS will commit or uncommit (assign/unassign) plans based on the given rules.
• iSWB - IFS Applications will be synchronized with the changes made to the data in the Scheduling Workbench.

Prerequisites

• The company must have been defined in IFS/Enterprise.
• The sites which are to be scheduled, must have been defined in IFS/Enterprise.
• SLAs (service level agreements) must have been defined.
• Scheduling types must have been defined.
• If scheduling broadcasts are to be connected to allocation types on the dataset, these broadcasts must have been defined.
• In order to define a Calendar on the Dataset, one or several work time calendars must be entered and saved in application base setup.
• At least one Activity type must have been defined.
• At least one Availability ID must have been defined.

System Effects

• A scheduling dataset is setup for one or several sites belonging to the company.
• Default values are defined for the work orders and HR activities in the dataset.
• The dataset can be activated whereupon data will be transferred to the Scheduling Engine to be scheduled. For more information refer to the activity Activate Scheduling Dataset.

Window

Scheduling Dataset

Related Window Descriptions

Scheduling Dataset
Scheduling Dataset/Site
Scheduling Dataset/WO Defaults
Scheduling Dataset/HR Defaults
Scheduling Dataset/Broadcast

Procedure

Use the following procedure to create a dataset for your company and define the default values for work orders in the dataset:

1. Open the Scheduling Dataset window.
2. Verify that the correct company is in use. If not, right-click and click Change Company to change the company.
3. Create a new record (F5).
4. In the Dataset ID field, enter a unique identification for your dataset.
5. In the Description field, enter a description of the dataset.
6. In the Scheduling Work Days field, enter the number of days for the scheduling horizon of the dataset.
7. In the Appointment Work Days field, enter the number of days to extend the scheduling horizon from the Scheduling Work Days period.
8. In the Calendar ID field, enter the calendar which contain details of working and non working days.
9. In the Process Type field, specify whether this should be a Static, Dynamic or Appointment dataset.
10. Click the WO Defaults tab.
11. In the Default Activity Type field, enter an activity type for the work orders in the dataset. Use the List of Values to select a valid value.
12. In the Maximum Base Value per Hour field, enter the maximum base value in hours for the work orders in the dataset.
13. In the Appointment Scheduling Type field, enter the scheduling type that is to be used for the appointment work orders in the dataset. Use the List of Values to select a valid value.
14. Optionally, enter the default primary and secondary scheduling types for the work orders in the dataset by using the List of Values in the Default Primary Scheduling Type and Default Secondary Scheduling Type fields respectively.
15. Optionally, enter the default Do on Location Incentive value. The value can be set to -1 or anything between 1 and 2.
16. Optionally, enter the lowest status from which work orders in the dataset can be scheduled in the Schedule from WO Status field.
17. Save the information (F12).

Use the following procedure to enter the sites within the selected company which are to be scheduled:

1. Click the Site tab and create a new record (F5).
2. In the Site field, enter the site for which scheduling data is to be transferred. Use the List of Values to select a valid value.
3. Save the information (F12).

Use the following procedure to define default values for the lunches and breaks in the dataset:

1. Click the HR Defaults tab.
2. In the Scheduling Type Lunch field, enter the scheduling type for all lunches in the dataset. Use the List of Values to select a valid value.
3. In the Lunch Base Value per Hour field, enter the base value per hour for all lunches in the dataset.
4. In the Scheduling Type Break field, enter the scheduling type for all breaks in the dataset. Use the List of Values to select a valid value.
5. In the Break Base Value per Hour field, enter the base value per hour for all breaks in the dataset.
6. Save the information (F12).

Use the following procedure to connect a scheduling broadcast to an allocation type:

1. Click the Broadcasts tab and create a new record (F5).
2. In the Allocation Type field, enter the allocation type. Valid values are DSE, ABE, SDS and ISWB.
3. In the Broadcast ID field, enter the identity of the broadcast that is to be connected to the allocation type. Use the List of Values to select a valid value.
4. Select the Active check box if you want to activate the broadcast for the allocation type.
5. Save the information (F12).

Use the following procedure to define a scheduling parameters for a Dataset, this step is optional:

1. Click the Parameters tab and create a new record (F5).
2. Use the drop down for Parameter Name to select a parameter.
3. In the Parameter Value field, enter the the desired value for the parameter.