Scheduling Production Jobs Using the Job Calendar

The primary method for scheduling Jobs, the Jobs and Job Inventory calendars are displayed when running the calendar selection pre-filter with a report type of "Jobs" or "Job Inventory". The form shows a single box per Production Job and displays the Job based on either the Job’s planned start date, planned finish date, or the Job’s due date (original planned completion of Job), depending on the selection made in the "Date Based On" field on the pre-filter. User Calculations may be added and displayed on the Calendar. One benefit of this feature is the ability to use calcs to display specific part number and description information. For example, someone looking at the Job Calendar may be primarily interested in displaying the final finished good output of the job, and not the intermediate sub assemblies on lines 1-3. Job calcs can pull the finished good part number and description into calc results.

The calendar is displayed at the top of the form with unscheduled production jobs on the bottom. Users may drag and drop jobs from the list to the appropriate date on the calendar as necessary. In order to view the job details for a particular job, users have two options: If the job is located on the list at the bottom of the Job Calendar form, they may select a job and double click to view the job detail. If the job is displayed on the calendar at the top of the form, users may right click on the job to view the job detail. Note that the job inventory calendars exclude jobs that are older than 90 days for performance purposes. If these jobs should be displayed, move up the job start and job due dates. A scroll bar is available on the bottom portion of the calendar to move thru the list of unscheduled jobs.

In addition, the Daily Job Calendar form is available on both the Jobs and Job Inventory calendar. This form allows users to issue and de-issue materials to Jobs, modify Jobs, close Jobs, and print production documents such as picking lists and batch tickets. On the Jobs Inventory calendar, this form will display the inventory status for each job using the same colors as seen on the calendar and detailed in the list above.

More information on the general form layout and status color indicators is available on the Job Inventory Calendar page.

Configuration

Job Fields and any desired User Calculations will need to be setup prior to using the Job Calendar. This is completed in System > Options. Five lines of text may be displayed in the box on the Jobs Calendar. The text that appears on these lines is controlled through job fields 1-5 within System > Maintenance > Captions. Also, Job calcs, via Tools > Edit User Calculations, are available as options in the Job Calendar display fields on the Calendar 1 tab via System > Options.

Process

The Jobs and Job Inventory Calendars present information in the same format and contain the same information. The only difference is that the Job Inventory Calendar highlights the Job based on the inventory status. The process for using the calendars remains the same and is detailed in the steps below.

  1. Navigate to Production > Job Calendar.
  2. Select a Report Type of "Jobs" or "Job Inventory".
  3. Ensure the correct selection is chosen in the "Capacity Calculation" field. The default calculation is specified on the Calendar 1 tab in System > Options and is not generally changed, but may be when necessary.
  4. Choose an appropriate "Date Based On" value. Options are Due, Planned Finish, or Planned Start.
  5. Select the appropriate "Schedule Type". Choices are Week or Month.
  6. Fill in any additional fields as desired. Several fields such as "Shop Area", "Facility", and "Part Number" may be used for additional filtering.
  7. Once all the appropriate selections have been made, click the "View" button to display the Calendar.
  8. Unscheduled Jobs will be displayed in the list at the bottom. Users may drag and drop individual Jobs from this list to the appropriate day on the Calendar to begin the scheduling process. In addition, users may change the calendar time frame by using the arrow keys at the top of the form.
  9. If printing production documents or issuing material to Jobs, users may click the "Schedule" button on the Calendar toolbar or double-click a scheduled Job to display the Daily Job Calendar form where these functions are performed. Note that security exists to control which users may issue or de-issue material in the system.
  10. When all changes to the calendar have been made, click on the "Save" button at the top of form. Changes are reflected in the date fields on the appropriate jobs.

FAQ and Diagnostic Tips

Tips:

  • The "Calendar Color" field on the Edit Work Flow Sequence form may be used to be used to determine how Jobs will be displayed on the Job Calendar, not the Job Inventory Calendar, based on the color associated with the Job Work Flow Sequence.
  • The customer phone number field, "sh_name", may be added to the Job Calendar print out to help with deliveries.
  • The “Over Issue” field, on the calendar pre-filter, may impact the color status of jobs depending on how the field is set.

Is staged inventory considered when determining job colors on the Job Inventory Calendar?

Yes. The system will consider inventory staged directly to a Job as issued inventory when calculating colors. When inventory is staged to multiple Jobs or in a generic staging bucket, the inventory is considered as available inventory.