Material Resource more than one type and different resource in seq

[sudip]

Hi!

I am Sudip. I am facing two problems

(a) I have number of equipment of same type. How do I quantify the number
in resource page? Do I have to type in the same material name in that many
rows as many equipment?

(b) I have several long projects i.e. 180 days etc where I need to rotate
my personnel resource in the same project. How do I do that ? and how can I
track the the resource utilisation?

Regards

Sudip Roy

 

[Jim Aksel]

Hi Sudip -
(a) You may assign the equipment resouce (type = material) as you wish. If
you have several items that must be allocated (say tractors) you can enter
separate lines. Given them a unique name Tractor1, Tractor2

(b) You can establish a resource pool and assign that pool to mutiple
projects. The help system is pretty good on explaining it.

 

[Steve House]

Jim - equipment resources are work resources, not material. Material
resources are either a: incorporated into the deliverable being produced -
ie, a server purchased and installed as part of a project to build a new
network or a supply of bricks going into a wall; or b: consumed during the
course of a task, such as fuel to run the tractors you mention. Tractors
are neither turned over the the customer at the end of the project, hence
are not part of the deliverable (at least not often) nor are they consumed
by the work they do. They are just like people in that they do work, tasks
the need them can only take place when they are otherwise free, and at the
end of the project they stay in the inventory and can go on to other tihngs.
If we have three tractors, our resource is a single work resource named
"Tractor" with a max availability of 300%, meaning we can use up to three at
a time but not more than that.

So how do you account for the cost of the tractor? If its lifespan is 5
years of full-time use and it costs $150000, that means 150k must be
depreciated over about 10,000 working hours. 150000/10000 equals a resource
"wage" of $15.00 per hour. The cost of using that tractor for this 40 hour
task is 40*$15 + fuel etc.

 

[sudip]

Hi Jim/Steve,

Thanks for that. I have started with that and I will surely let you know if
I find any difficulties. But I am still not clear on the reply for point
(b). I think I will expand on that :
I am handling Resource Planning and for me all the projects of the company
are various tasks for me. Each project (or task) is for about 180 days in
which I will need to allocate personnel. However, all personnel are required
to be rotated/releived after a span of 45 to 60 days. How do I do that so
that it is adequately visible in Gantt Chart.

Regards

Sudip Roy

Jim - equipment resources are work resources, not material. Material
resources are either a: incorporated into the deliverable being produced -
ie, a server purchased and installed as part of a project to build a new
network or a supply of bricks going into a wall; or b: consumed during the
course of a task, such as fuel to run the tractors you mention. Tractors
are neither turned over the the customer at the end of the project, hence
are not part of the deliverable (at least not often) nor are they consumed
by the work they do. They are just like people in that they do work, tasks
the need them can only take place when they are otherwise free, and at the
end of the project they stay in the inventory and can go on to other tihngs.
If we have three tractors, our resource is a single work resource named
"Tractor" with a max availability of 300%, meaning we can use up to three at
a time but not more than that.

So how do you account for the cost of the tractor? If its lifespan is 5
years of full-time use and it costs $150000, that means 150k must be
depreciated over about 10,000 working hours. 150000/10000 equals a resource
"wage" of $15.00 per hour. The cost of using that tractor for this 40 hour
task is 40*$15 + fuel etc.
--
Steve House [Project MVP]
MS Project Trainer & Consultant
Visit http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm for the FAQs

Hi Sudip -
(a) You may assign the equipment resouce (type = material) as you wish.
If
you have several items that must be allocated (say tractors) you can enter
separate lines. Given them a unique name Tractor1, Tractor2

(b) You can establish a resource pool and assign that pool to mutiple
projects. The help system is pretty good on explaining it.

 

[Steve House]

One of your problems may be that you're not breaking the broad summary tasks
down anywhere near far enough. An activity or performance task represents a
discrete physical activity producing a single deliverable performed by a
specific skill set. While I won't go so far as to say 180 day duration
tasks never could happen, they're going to be very very rare. The rule of
thumb I suggest is the 8/80 rule and anything in your plan that violates it
needs further scrutiny. If tasks are less than about 8 hours you may be
excessively micromanaging and need to ease up and trust the resources to
know how to do their jobs while if they're over 80 hours you're probably not
analyzing the work in sufficient detail to effectively manage it.
--
Steve House [Project MVP]
MS Project Trainer & Consultant
Visit http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm for the FAQs

Hi Jim/Steve,

Thanks for that. I have started with that and I will surely let you know
if
I find any difficulties. But I am still not clear on the reply for point
(b). I think I will expand on that :
I am handling Resource Planning and for me all the projects of the company
are various tasks for me. Each project (or task) is for about 180 days in
which I will need to allocate personnel. However, all personnel are
required
to be rotated/releived after a span of 45 to 60 days. How do I do that so
that it is adequately visible in Gantt Chart.

Regards

Sudip Roy

Jim - equipment resources are work resources, not material. Material
resources are either a: incorporated into the deliverable being
produced -
ie, a server purchased and installed as part of a project to build a new
network or a supply of bricks going into a wall; or b: consumed during
the
course of a task, such as fuel to run the tractors you mention. Tractors
are neither turned over the the customer at the end of the project, hence
are not part of the deliverable (at least not often) nor are they
consumed
by the work they do. They are just like people in that they do work,
tasks
the need them can only take place when they are otherwise free, and at
the
end of the project they stay in the inventory and can go on to other
tihngs.
If we have three tractors, our resource is a single work resource named
"Tractor" with a max availability of 300%, meaning we can use up to three
at
a time but not more than that.

So how do you account for the cost of the tractor? If its lifespan is 5
years of full-time use and it costs $150000, that means 150k must be
depreciated over about 10,000 working hours. 150000/10000 equals a
resource
"wage" of $15.00 per hour. The cost of using that tractor for this 40
hour
task is 40*$15 + fuel etc.
--
Steve House [Project MVP]
MS Project Trainer & Consultant
Visit http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm for the FAQs

Hi Sudip -
(a) You may assign the equipment resouce (type = material) as you
wish.
If
you have several items that must be allocated (say tractors) you can
enter
separate lines. Given them a unique name Tractor1, Tractor2

(b) You can establish a resource pool and assign that pool to mutiple
projects. The help system is pretty good on explaining it.

:

Hi!

I am Sudip. I am facing two problems

(a) I have number of equipment of same type. How do I quantify the
number
in resource page? Do I have to type in the same material name in that
many
rows as many equipment?

(b) I have several long projects i.e. 180 days etc where I need to
rotate
my personnel resource in the same project. How do I do that ? and how
can I
track the the resource utilisation?

Regards

Sudip Roy

 

[sudip]

Dear Steve,

I will give details, which may clear the situation out :
We are an offshore service providing company, where our vessels/barges goes
for around 180 days. I need to man the vessels with two persons with
specific skillsets and they are on my 24 hours calender (being offshore). I
cannot breakdown the tasks as it is only one job throughout and the skillset
required are also same throughout. I do not know whether I could make it
clear to you or not but I will still try if you are not clear yet.

Regsrds

Sudip Roy

One of your problems may be that you're not breaking the broad summary tasks
down anywhere near far enough. An activity or performance task represents a
discrete physical activity producing a single deliverable performed by a
specific skill set. While I won't go so far as to say 180 day duration
tasks never could happen, they're going to be very very rare. The rule of
thumb I suggest is the 8/80 rule and anything in your plan that violates it
needs further scrutiny. If tasks are less than about 8 hours you may be
excessively micromanaging and need to ease up and trust the resources to
know how to do their jobs while if they're over 80 hours you're probably not
analyzing the work in sufficient detail to effectively manage it.
--
Steve House [Project MVP]
MS Project Trainer & Consultant
Visit http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm for the FAQs

Hi Jim/Steve,

Thanks for that. I have started with that and I will surely let you know
if
I find any difficulties. But I am still not clear on the reply for point
(b). I think I will expand on that :
I am handling Resource Planning and for me all the projects of the company
are various tasks for me. Each project (or task) is for about 180 days in
which I will need to allocate personnel. However, all personnel are
required
to be rotated/releived after a span of 45 to 60 days. How do I do that so
that it is adequately visible in Gantt Chart.

Regards

Sudip Roy

Jim - equipment resources are work resources, not material. Material
resources are either a: incorporated into the deliverable being
produced -
ie, a server purchased and installed as part of a project to build a new
network or a supply of bricks going into a wall; or b: consumed during
the
course of a task, such as fuel to run the tractors you mention. Tractors
are neither turned over the the customer at the end of the project, hence
are not part of the deliverable (at least not often) nor are they
consumed
by the work they do. They are just like people in that they do work,
tasks
the need them can only take place when they are otherwise free, and at
the
end of the project they stay in the inventory and can go on to other
tihngs.
If we have three tractors, our resource is a single work resource named
"Tractor" with a max availability of 300%, meaning we can use up to three
at
a time but not more than that.

So how do you account for the cost of the tractor? If its lifespan is 5
years of full-time use and it costs $150000, that means 150k must be
depreciated over about 10,000 working hours. 150000/10000 equals a
resource
"wage" of $15.00 per hour. The cost of using that tractor for this 40
hour
task is 40*$15 + fuel etc.
--
Steve House [Project MVP]
MS Project Trainer & Consultant
Visit http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm for the FAQs


Hi Sudip -
(a) You may assign the equipment resouce (type = material) as you
wish.
If
you have several items that must be allocated (say tractors) you can
enter
separate lines. Given them a unique name Tractor1, Tractor2

(b) You can establish a resource pool and assign that pool to mutiple
projects. The help system is pretty good on explaining it.

:

Hi!

I am Sudip. I am facing two problems

(a) I have number of equipment of same type. How do I quantify the
number
in resource page? Do I have to type in the same material name in that
many
rows as many equipment?

(b) I have several long projects i.e. 180 days etc where I need to
rotate
my personnel resource in the same project. How do I do that ? and how
can I
track the the resource utilisation?

Regards

Sudip Roy

 

[Steve House]

Well, operating a ship for 180 days involves many jobs - weighing anchor,
cooking meals, plotting course, steering vessel, adjusting engine, loading
fuel, loading cargo, etc etc etc - even if it's only two people that will do
them all - but in this case I don't think that's the crux of your problem.
How about breaking the 6 month tour into 3 2-month segments, so that you can
have one summary task for the voyage as a whole with 3 subtasks indented
underneath linked in sequence and assign a different pair of resources to
each subtask?

One of the sources of the problem is that this doesn't really sound very
much like a "project" that MSP was designed to schedule in the sense that a
project is a closed ended series of quantifiable discrete tasks that
culminate in the creation of a new, unique, concrete deliverable . This is
more like continuous production with shift work, albeit very long shifts and
using MSP to schedule it is forcing the software to do something it just
wasn't intended to do. Bound to give you some headaches.
--
Steve House [Project MVP]
MS Project Trainer & Consultant
Visit http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm for the FAQs

Dear Steve,

I will give details, which may clear the situation out :
We are an offshore service providing company, where our vessels/barges
goes
for around 180 days. I need to man the vessels with two persons with
specific skillsets and they are on my 24 hours calender (being offshore).
I
cannot breakdown the tasks as it is only one job throughout and the
skillset
required are also same throughout. I do not know whether I could make it
clear to you or not but I will still try if you are not clear yet.

Regsrds

Sudip Roy

One of your problems may be that you're not breaking the broad summary
tasks
down anywhere near far enough. An activity or performance task
represents a
discrete physical activity producing a single deliverable performed by a
specific skill set. While I won't go so far as to say 180 day duration
tasks never could happen, they're going to be very very rare. The rule
of
thumb I suggest is the 8/80 rule and anything in your plan that violates
it
needs further scrutiny. If tasks are less than about 8 hours you may be
excessively micromanaging and need to ease up and trust the resources to
know how to do their jobs while if they're over 80 hours you're probably
not
analyzing the work in sufficient detail to effectively manage it.
--
Steve House [Project MVP]
MS Project Trainer & Consultant
Visit http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm for the FAQs

Hi Jim/Steve,

Thanks for that. I have started with that and I will surely let you
know
if
I find any difficulties. But I am still not clear on the reply for
point
(b). I think I will expand on that :
I am handling Resource Planning and for me all the projects of the
company
are various tasks for me. Each project (or task) is for about 180 days
in
which I will need to allocate personnel. However, all personnel are
required
to be rotated/releived after a span of 45 to 60 days. How do I do that
so
that it is adequately visible in Gantt Chart.

Regards

Sudip Roy

:

Jim - equipment resources are work resources, not material. Material
resources are either a: incorporated into the deliverable being
produced -
ie, a server purchased and installed as part of a project to build a
new
network or a supply of bricks going into a wall; or b: consumed during
the
course of a task, such as fuel to run the tractors you mention.
Tractors
are neither turned over the the customer at the end of the project,
hence
are not part of the deliverable (at least not often) nor are they
consumed
by the work they do. They are just like people in that they do work,
tasks
the need them can only take place when they are otherwise free, and at
the
end of the project they stay in the inventory and can go on to other
tihngs.
If we have three tractors, our resource is a single work resource
named
"Tractor" with a max availability of 300%, meaning we can use up to
three
at
a time but not more than that.

So how do you account for the cost of the tractor? If its lifespan is
5
years of full-time use and it costs $150000, that means 150k must be
depreciated over about 10,000 working hours. 150000/10000 equals a
resource
"wage" of $15.00 per hour. The cost of using that tractor for this 40
hour
task is 40*$15 + fuel etc.
--
Steve House [Project MVP]
MS Project Trainer & Consultant
Visit http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm for the FAQs


Hi Sudip -
(a) You may assign the equipment resouce (type = material) as you
wish.
If
you have several items that must be allocated (say tractors) you can
enter
separate lines. Given them a unique name Tractor1, Tractor2

(b) You can establish a resource pool and assign that pool to
mutiple
projects. The help system is pretty good on explaining it.

:

Hi!

I am Sudip. I am facing two problems

(a) I have number of equipment of same type. How do I quantify
the
number
in resource page? Do I have to type in the same material name in
that
many
rows as many equipment?

(b) I have several long projects i.e. 180 days etc where I need
to
rotate
my personnel resource in the same project. How do I do that ? and
how
can I
track the the resource utilisation?

Regards

Sudip Roy