Building Operations / On Demand Work / Supervisor

Scheduling Craftspersons and Tools

The SLA governing a service request from which a work request is generated might specify a scheduling step. By scheduling a work request, you can determine the optimal date to perform the work based on the availability of labor and tool. This helps you improve the efficiency of craftspersons and the use of equipment and, over time, and reduce costs.

Note: In addition to using the "Estimate and Schedule Work" task, you can schedule craftspersons using the Planning Board task.

Note: Depending on the SLA governing the component service request, you may first need to estimate the trades and tool types for cost estimation purposes before scheduling specific craftspersons and tools. If the SLA does not require an estimation step, you can go directly to the scheduling step.

Step 1: Review the Requests that Need Scheduling

Choose the "Estimate and Schedule Work" task, and the system presents the Select tab listing all work requests that you must schedule or estimate. The Step Type column at the right of the form indicates if the request currently needs estimation or scheduling.

There are two ways to access the Schedule tab:

The Estimate/Schedule Button

From the Select tab, click on the Estimate/Schedule button in front of a pending work request whose step type reads "Scheduling." The system presents the Scheduling tab.

The Details Button

From the Select tab, click on the Details button in front of a pending work request whose step type reads "Scheduling." The system loads the Details tab, listing all information about this work request.

You can view other requests for this equipment item, submitted by this user, or for this location by choosing the corresponding buttons. By reviewing related items, you can check other upcoming maintenance work for this equipment or area and schedule this job for the same time. For example, if a conference room will be unavailable for a week because it is being painted and there is a second request to repair its ceiling tiles, it makes sense to schedule the ceiling work for this same week.

When you have finished reviewing the request, you can more to the Schedule tab by choosing the Schedule button in the upper right corner.

Step 2: Schedule the Craftspersons and Tools

You are now ready to schedule the actual craftspersons and tools for this job.

Note: A work request's required tool types and trades are specified in the Estimate Work Requests procedure for the purpose of estimating costs. When you choose the specific craftspersons and tools for this job, you are not limited to choosing from the trades and tool types that you estimated.

Craftspersons

In the Craftspersons section of the form, click on Assign Craftsperson to access the Craftsperson Assignment form.
Assign the craftsperson with one of these methods:
- If you wish to filter the list of craftspersons, choose the Trade option; the system presents just those trades that you estimated for this work request. Choose a trade and then move to the Craftsperson Code field. You can choose from a list of craftspersons of this trade who are part of the work team associated with this work request, or report to the supervisor associated with this request.
- You can skip the Trade field and choose from all craftspersons of the associated work team.
Enter the Date Craftsperson Assigned and Time Craftsperson Assigned fields and Scheduled Hours field with the date and time on which you want this craftsperson to begin work.
Complete the Work Type field if you want to specify more information about how the craftsperson will be using these hours (travel, work, material pick-up, and so forth).
Complete the Additional Comments field if necessary.

Note: The form includes the Date Started, Time Started, Date Finished,and Time Finished fields. These fields refer to the actual work performed and should not be completed when scheduling.

Note: When scheduling a craftsperson, you specify the start time and scheduled hours; for example, you might enter a start time of 10:00 for a 2-hour job. However, the system does not prevent you from scheduling this craftsperson again during this time. For example, the system would permit you to schedule the craftsperson for another job between 10:00 and 12:00 for this same day. This allows for multitasking. The craftsperson can update the system with the actual hours worked on the job using the Craftsperson/Update Labor Hours task.

Tools

In the Tools section of the form, click on Assign Tool to access the Tool Assignment form.
Assign the tool with one of these methods:

If you wish to filter the list of tools by tool type, choose the Tool Type and then move to the Tool Code field. You can choose from a list of tools for the specified tool type.
If you wish to see all tools, skip the Tool Type field.

Once you choose the tool, check its availability by choosing the Show Reservations button. Select a new tool if necessary.
Enter the Date to Start and Time to Start fields and scheduled hours for this tool.
Complete the Additional Comments field if necessary.

Step 3: Complete the Schedule

When you are satisfied with your labor and tool schedules, choose the Complete Scheduling button.

The system reserves the tools for the specified time period.

Note: Before choosing the Complete Scheduling button, you can run the Planning Board task and graphically review your labor schedule. You can make adjustments on the Planning Board, and return to this task to finalize the schedule.

The next step for this work request depends upon the SLA that governs the component service request. Some possible actions are:

If the governing SLA specifies a Scheduling Approval step, the work request will be routed to the appropriate approver who will review the schedule and then approve or reject the work request.
The governing SLA may define that the work request be assigned to a work order and automatically issued.

Additionally, you may wish to review your labor schedule in the Planning Board so that you can graphically see how tasks are assigned to craftspersons.