This activity explains the different ways in which a work order can be scheduled by the Dynamic Scheduling Engine (DSE).
The data to be scheduled, e.g., work orders, employees (referred to as resources in Mobile Workforce Management), shifts and breaks, will be transferred to the DSE in datasets. Datasets need to be set up in IFS Applications with parameters for how the data should be scheduled and the time horizon for the scheduling (in the Scheduling Dataset window). 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 order is scheduled an allocation plan is returned to IFS Applications. How and when the plan is to be returned is determined by the scheduling broadcast which is set up in IFS Applications (in the Scheduling Broadcast window). 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 (Scheduling Dispatch Service) or iSWB (Internet Scheduling Work Bench). 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 order is scheduled by the DSE, the DSE will produce a plan which, if suitable, you can choose to assign or unassign directly on the work order. 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 iSWB. It is also possible to manually assign or unassign a work order in the iSWB.
If the work order is scheduled by the SDS, the allocated (or unallocated) work orders will be assigned (or unassigned) automatically to employees suggested by the SDS based on the given scheduling rules. The work orders that are returned are automatically promoted to the Assigned status and the Executed By field on the work order is set to the suggested employee's ID. The scheduling rules for the SDS are set up in an XML file, and referenced in broadcast parameters.
If the work order is manually scheduled in the iSWB, IFS Applications will be synchronized with the changes made to the data in the iSWB, which is the web based user interface for Mobile Workforce Management.
Note : The checkbox Exclude from scheduling in Prepare work order can be used in case if a work order is not needed to send to Mobile Workforce Management for scheduling.
To perform this activity, the work order must have been transferred for Scheduling.
As a result of this activity, the work order is scheduled according to the information provided and a scheduled plan is returned to IFS Applications.
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Scheduling is done in the Dynamic Scheduling Engine. Continue with the View Scheduled Plan activity.