The Work Order Scheduler, also know as the Resource Scheduler, is a tool that can be used to manage your workload in MEX. The principle of the Scheduler is that the maintenance backlog is made up of the outstanding Work Orders in MEX, each of which requires a certain number of man-hours to perform. Work Orders are moved out of the Backlog into the Schedule, where they are allocated to a particular time and day.
The Work Order Scheduler can be accessed by navigating to the Work Order module and selecting the Scheduler Button near the bottom of the page.
The Schedule Builder is divided into three panes; the "Backlog" pane, the "Schedule" pane, and the "Resources Pane".
The Backlog Pane (Left)
The Backlog Listing is a list of the open Work Orders and their assigned trades in MEX that have not yet been assigned to a Schedule Period. Items that are assigned but not completed within a previous Schedule Period will re-enter the backlog.
Contractor Work Orders are excluded from the Backlog Listing, however this can be enabled by ticking the "Include Contractor WO's" check box in the Backlog Filter, which can be located using the Filter option at the bottom of the pane.
By default, MEX calculates a Work Order's Duration in man-hours as the following:
- If man-hours have been allocated to the Work Order on it's Trades tab, then the sum of these man-hours will be taken as the Work Order's Duration.
- If no man-hours have been allocated on the Work Order's Trades tab, the the Work Order's Overall Duration will be used.
- If nothing has been added to the Trades tab or to the Overall Duration, then the Work Order will be taken as requiring two man-hours to complete.
The Schedule Pane (Center)
Displays the schedule for the selected week or day, depending on the time period option selected. This will also display all of the Work Orders and their associated trade records that have been scheduled to be completed for the selected week/day.
The Resource Pane (Right)
Displays a list of trades who are available to be selected for the current schedule. Resources can be Added and Filtered using the options near the bottom of the Pane. These Resources correlate to Trade Names within your MEX System.