Scheduling Example
The following example illustrates how engineer scheduling works. In this example, Multiple Time Zones is not active.
A company sets up the following values in Engineer Schedule Control:
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Area Points
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20
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Available Points
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2
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Primary Eng Points
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10
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Problem Points
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5
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Two engineers exist in the western region: Bill Smith, who has electrical skills, and Sam Jones, whose skill is preventive maintenance.
Note: An engineer can have multiple skills, but in this example each engineer has only one.
An end user in this region reports an electrical problem. The system uses the following formula to calculate points:
Area + [(Availability * Hours) + Availability] + (2 * Primary) + Problem
How does the system apply the formula to engineers Bill Smith and Sam Jones?
• Both engineers are in the end user’s area, so they each receive 20 points.
• Each engineer receives two points for working that day. Bill Smith is available eight hours, while Sam Jones is available four. The system multiplies these hours by two and adds them to the total, giving Bill 16 more points and Sam 8.
• Sam Jones is the primary engineer for the end user, so he receives 10 points multiplied by two. Bill Smith receives none.
• Bill Smith’s skills match the call’s problem, so he receives five points. Sam receives no points because his skills do not match the problem.
The expanded formula looks like this for each engineer:
Bill Smith:
Area +[(Avail * Hours) + Avail] + (0 * Primary) + Prob
20 + [(2 * 8) + 2] + (0 * 10) + 5 = 43
Sam Jones:
Area + [(Avail * Hours) + Avail] + (2 * Primary) + Prob
20 + [(2 * 4) + 2] + (2 * 10) + 0 = 50
Sam Jones has top priority for this call because he has 50 total points to Bill Smith’s 43.
Changing Weighting Values
The engineer point calculation depends on the priorities expressed by the weighting values you define to indicate your company’s needs. Changing these values in the control program affects the engineer point calculation and results in different recommendations from the system.
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Area Points
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20
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Available Points
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7
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Primary Eng Points
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10
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Problem Points
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5
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The change in this example places a higher priority on the engineer’s availability and de-emphasizes the other criteria. Now the final point calculation looks like this:
Bill Smith:
Area + [(Avail * Hours) + Avail] + (0 * Primary) + Prob
20 + [(7 * 8) + 7] + (0 * 10) + 5 = 88
Sam Jones:
Area + [(Avail * Hours) + Avail] + (2 * Primary) + Prob
20 + [(7 * 4)] + 7 + (2 * 10) + 0 = 75
Using this set of weighting values, Bill Smith is the engineer to assign to the call.
Consider this formula carefully when establishing weighting values in Engineer Schedule Control. Pay particular attention to available hours and the primary engineer points as these become multiples of the weighted value in the engineer point calculation. Changes to them easily outweigh the impact of other criteria.