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Scheduling with resource selection based on capability

  • Article

By specifying resource requirements for an operation of a production route, you define what is required to perform that operation. For example, an operation might require a specific resource or a resource group, or a combination of skills or capabilities. This article describes resource selection during infinite capacity scheduling when you specify capabilities as resource requirements for an operation.

Turn the capability-based scheduling feature on or off

To use this feature, it must be turned on for your system. As of Supply Chain Management version 10.0.29, it's turned on by default. As of Supply Chain Management version 10.0.36, the feature is mandatory and can't be turned off. If you're running a version older than 10.0.36, then admins can turn this functionality on or off by searching for the Infinite capacity scheduling for Planning Optimization feature in the Feature management workspace.

For more information about this feature, see Scheduling with infinite capacity.

Capability-based scheduling

A capability is the ability of an operation resource to perform a specific activity. More than one capability can be assigned to a single operation resource, and a single capability can be assigned to more than one resource. Capabilities can be assigned to all types of resources, such as tools, vendors, machines, locations, facilities, and human resources.

When you specify capabilities as resource requirements, you can defer resource allocation until orders are scheduled. Instead of assigning specific resources or resource groups to a route operation, you can define the capabilities that are required for each route operation. Then, during scheduling, the system matches required capabilities with the capabilities that are defined for the resources. The system selects only resources that satisfy the requirements.

To assign capabilities to an operation resource, use the Capabilities FastTab of the Resources page. To assign resources to a capability, use the Resources FastTab of the Resource capabilities page. Both pages are accessible under Production control > Setup > Resources on the navigation pane. Both FastTabs include a grid that lists the resources that are associated with a selected resource or capability. Both FastTabs also include a toolbar that you can use to add, remove, and edit rows in the grid. The grid includes the following columns:

  • Resource or Capability – Select the resource or capability that is being assigned by the row.
  • Description – Enter a short description of the resource or capability.
  • Effective – Specify the first date when the resource or capability assignment applies. During scheduling, the system won't use a resource or capability that has an expired capability assignment, even if that resource otherwise satisfies the requirements.
  • Expiration – Specify the last date when the resource or capability assignment applies. During scheduling, the system won't use a resource or capability that has an expired capability assignment, even if that resource otherwise satisfies the requirements.
  • Level – Specify the level of proficiency that the resource must have for the capability. Then, if you specify a Minimum level needed value for the resource or capability requirement, the scheduling engine considers the level of proficiency during resource selection. The system selects only resources that have the required capability at a level that equals or exceeds the minimum level that is specified in the resource requirement.
  • Priority – Set a priority for the resource or capability. Then, if Priority is selected in the Primary resource selection field on the Scheduling parameters page, the system selects the available resource with the highest priority (that is, the lowest numeric value in the Priority field) during scheduling. The engine only evaluates priority among those resources that are both applicable and available, which means that during backward scheduling, if a resource with a high priority isn't available (for example because its calendar is closed) then another resource would be chosen.

Example

This example shows how the scheduling engine selects resources, based on capability.

A production route has five operations: 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50. Each route operation requires a resource that has different capabilities. For example, route operation 10 requires a resource that has the capability to assemble a speaker (0050 Spkr Assembly) and the capability do woodworking (1010 Wood capabilities). Route operation 50 requires a resource that has the capability to pack a product (0070 Packing capability).

Capability used for scheduling.

During scheduling, the engine looks for resources that satisfy the operation requirements. For example, the scheduling engine selects resource 00101 to perform operation 10, because this resource is the first resource that is found that has both the required capabilities. The scheduling engine selects resource 00301 to perform operation 50, because this resource is the only resource that has the packing capability.

Next, consider how this example is affected when proficiency levels are used:

  • Operation 10 requires a minimum proficiency level of 7 for the 0059 Assembly capability.
  • Resource 00101 has a proficiency level of 5 for the 0059 Assembly capability.
  • Resource 00102 has a proficiency level of 10 for the 0059 Assembly capability.

In this case, during infinite capacity scheduling, the scheduling engine selects resource 00102 to perform operation 10, because this resource, unlike the resource 00101, has the required proficiency level for the capability.