February 26, 2016

Our New Resource Scheduler

Our programmers have been hard at work making improvements and enhancements for MAPCON 6.3. One of the most exciting additions to the software is the new labor resource scheduler. The scheduling module was designed with assistance from Doc Palmer, author of The Maintenance Planning and Scheduling Handbook.

MAPCON Lite Resource Scheduler (Basic)

Our basic calendar-based resource scheduler has everything you need to start getting PMs and work orders scheduled fast! The scheduler allows users to see exactly what work needs to be done and which employee will be doing it. Once a work order is created, it will appear on the left-hand side of the scheduler, then simply drag it to the correct employee and day. It’s that easy!

The basic resource scheduler allows users to schedule work orders and PMs by craft or employee, ensuring that work will be completed by the correct employee in a timely manner.

Additionally, it also makes it easy for employees to see what work they have to do that day. All they have to do is look at their scheduled work view, and all of their work orders will be listed!

MAPCON Pro Resource Scheduler (Advanced)

The new resource scheduler in MAPCON Pro includes all of the features of the basic scheduler listed above, along with many others.

In MAPCON Pro, at the bottom of the work order tile on the calendar, a gauge with a percentage appears. The percentage indicates how much time is remaining to schedule for that employee/craft on that day. Seeing this can help avoid over scheduling and allow work orders to get completed faster, saving your facility money.

Being able to see which employees are scheduled and how much of their day is already accounted for is also helpful when scheduling PMs. With the new scheduler, PMs can easily be scheduled around available resources.

In addition, each work order tile on the scheduler displays indicators if there are problems with the order being scheduled. One indicator will appear if the order was scheduled for the wrong craft, another if the PM is overdue, and yet another one will appear if the facility is waiting for parts that are needed to complete the work. These indicators can help prevent downtime.

Other features in the Pro resource scheduler include:

• Four different viewing options – daily, weekly, monthly, and semi-annually
• The ability to schedule work based on zone or site
• A color-coded resource utilization menu and tiles, which helps prevent under or over scheduling and lets you quickly view work priority by color
• Multiple resource views (employee, craft, shift, crews and crafts, etc.)
• Option to sort orders by priority, hours planned, date required and more
• Automatically dispatch immediately while scheduling work

Stay tuned for more information on when MAPCON 6.3 will be released!