The basic challenge of the planner is to develop a project execution plan that fits the allotted time and can be achieved with the available resources. As there are many activities vying for resources at various times, it is a complex juggling job to try to schedule the activities so that they will not be held back by the lack of resources. When the computer is asked to do the leveling, the program needs criteria for decision making.
The initial criterion is to complete each activity by its baseline date. The baseline date may be determined in several methods. One can simply adopt the early schedule as the baseline, but that is generally not achievable as things happen and the early dates are missed.
A better approach is to adopt a schedule that lies in between the early and late dates. Using a resource leveled schedule to define the baseline dates is generally a good practice. It takes into account when resources are available and therefore provides a plan of execution that has a better chance of achievement. However, other indices of importance can be used as well.
Some programs allow the assignment of a priority code to each activity that is then used to set the order in which activities are scheduled. When a schedule is first developed, it must be done without regard to the availability of resources. Failure to do that will result in logic and constraints that inhibit the optimization of the CPM algorithm. The availability of resources is much too complicated to analyze manually as the schedule durations and logic is developed.
Therefore, if the resource availability is considered when determining how long each activity should take and what the logic should be, the CPM network will have durations and logic that may be less than optimum.
This should not be confused with taking the amount of a resource required for an activity into consideration to determine the duration of an activity. For example, physical work is often geared to the amount of a resource and the rate of application or consumption of that resource. Take the activity of pouring concrete. One needs to know at what rate the concrete can be poured and how much concrete is to be poured. That will determine the duration of the activity.
However, the availability of the number of concrete pumps and the availability of the craft people who will pour the concrete, must not be considered when initially establishing the activity duration.
Once the CPM network of activities has been established without regard to the availability of the required resources, the practitioner can turn to the task of analyzing the amount of resources required at each time interval. Generally, when the resource library is established, the maximum amount of each resource is entered for use in the leveling process. More advanced programs allow the setting of additional levels of availability. This is useful in the case where the normal maximum level reflects the current staffing for the project in the case of labor and the higher limit reflects the additional staffing that could be hired on an emergency basis.
The next step is to determine what to use as the prioritizing index for ordering the scheduling of activities competing for the same limited resource. As mentioned above, the most common index used is total float. This paper will be limited to using that index. Other indices will function similarly. At this point, the resource leveling algorithm can proceed to establish new start and finish dates for each activity. When there are many different resources assigned to a project, the resource leveled solution tends to be more difficult to achieve in the desired time frame.
The crane is limited to a certain time frame of availability, millwrights are a skilled craft with limited availability, laborers are readily available to add to the project, but the project only has a limited number on staff. In this case, it is better to omit the laborers from the leveling process. This is important as the project completion will be pushed out further the more resources are leveled.
These dates cannot be any earlier than the early start and finish dates as the program is restrained by the network logic. Depending on the goal of the resource leveling process, the dates may or may not be later than the late start and finish dates.
If the goal is to keep the leveled schedule within the project finish constraint, then the resource leveling solution may indicate that the project requires more resources than made available. If the goal is to execute the project with the available resources, then the resource leveling solution may indicate that the project requires more time to finish than originally planned.
The program will analyze each time period of the schedule calendar and determine how many resources are required by all activities that were originally scheduled to be active in that time period. Within each time period, it will rank the currently planned activities by the leveling priority index. We will use total float in this presentation. Starting on Day 1, if two or more activities require millwrights, the activity with the lowest total float will be scheduled first.
That is, it will be assigned a RS and RF. If additional resources are to be leveled, each of them is analyzed to determine if an activity can start because all of the resources are available. If any on of the resources is not available, then the activity is delayed for consideration in the next periodic time slot. Note that once an activity is scheduled, it will continue uninterrupted until it is finished and its resource assignments will be scheduled.
Hence, both RS and RF are assigned in the same periodic iteration of the leveling process. If there are enough millwrights available for the other activities, they will also get scheduled. If there are not enough millwrights available, then the activities with the higher total float will not be scheduled in that time period. The program moves on to Day 2 and analyzes that time period in similar manner.
Keeping track of the activities that are already scheduled, it will determine if there are enough resources available to start another activity. For example, a second shift was mobilized or more millwrights were hired. The program will schedule the activities with the lowest total float, and delay the start of those activities with the higher total float. This process continues until all activities have been scheduled; that is, received a RS and RF date. Resource leveling is a response to a production schedule that has been put together poorly, to redistribute resources, focus, and time to achieve production within a given timeframe.
Dependencies are the relationships between your tasks, which one comes first, and which one comes after. Resources that are needed for multiple projects that have started at the same time. For example, maybe you have a worker who does engraving but has two orders arrive at his workstation.
Knowing your dependencies, resource conflicts, and constraints are going to be essential for helping you put together later production schedules. This is done by looking into your resource dependencies to understand the realistic timeframe in which a manufacturing order can be completed.
With this resource leveling technique, the tasks of the critical path are the ones considered to be highly important, and analyzing these paths will bring out activity interdependencies, which will highlight the resources needed to collaborate on them. Critical path analysis is a resource leveling technique that is widely used in industries that have complex production processes. But today, most businesses use production scheduling software that automatically calculates the completion time of their operations.
Fast tracking is the resource leveling planning technique of buying more time, by completing tasks in parallel, which you would not otherwise normally do. This approach to resource leveling can only be completed if activities can overlap, allowing you to finish production on time and without additional costs. An example of this could be building prototypes of a new product before the design has been approved. The purpose of this approach is to compress your schedule if following the usual steps one-by-one will put you over the deadline.
The purpose of crashing is to shorten your duration by adding more resources to a manufacturing order, with the least possible cost. Make realistic estimations of resource needs: Resource leveling efforts have a better chance of succeeding if you clearly define the project scope up front and make realistic estimates of resource needs. The better the initial resource estimates, the less drastic the resource leveling will be if issues occur later on. Both resource leveling and resource smoothing can be considered resource management techniques.
By doing so, you have more leeway to work on other tasks without affecting the project deadline. Resource leveling comes with the flexibility of moving project dates around, but project dates are set when you use resource smoothing.
After using resource leveling to resolve overallocation conflicts, you can use resource smoothing to even out the project schedule. To make the most out of limited resources, you can use the resource leveling technique to distribute available resources to help projects finish on time. Use this strategy in tandem with customized templates for your team, such as IT templates or marketing templates , to plan and schedule your projects.
Resource leveling relies on having solid resource management skills, but work management software can help you take your project coordination to the next level. Resources Project planning What is resource leveling? What is resource leveling?
Depending on your team needs, here are possible outcomes: If the goal is to keep the current project deadline, more resources may need to be made available. When to use resource leveling Resource leveling prevents resources from being spread too thin while ensuring projects still have what they need to succeed. To optimize your resources Resource leveling lets you get the most out of the resources you have on hand. To minimize deficits Resource leveling prevents significant project delays, thereby minimizing the losses in costs and labor.
To prevent task overloading Overallocation of resources leads to overwork , which can be overwhelming for team members. To ensure the quality of a project output Leveling allows you to manage both resources and client expectations by maintaining the same level of quality for project deliverables.
Example two: Obtaining additional resources The IT team has been responding to a large number of IT requests to deal with a virus that infected company computers. Try our daily standup meeting template Project resource leveling Adding project resource leveling to your arsenal of skills will help you become a more effective leader.
Fast tracking There are times when projects must be delivered on or before the deadline to satisfy client requirements. Critical chain method The critical chain method is an updated version of the critical path method. Read: How to prioritize your most important work Resource leveling tools Resource leveling will become easier with more experience. This is the point at which the strategic and technical elements of resource leveling come together. Resource leveling is a complex process, even with the aid of software tools.
Most software packages provide for varied settings for resource leveling, to allow customized leveling parameters based on individual project needs. Before you level resources, you need to have a full understanding of how your software works, and how individualized settings will influence leveling results.
And you must select and apply those settings in light of project goals, scheduling needs and related resource constraints. You have to make it work. In order to properly manage project resource gaps, you must get an early start, long before project work begins. This will give you a tremendous advantage, as you will be able to fully consider, vet and communicate all viable alternatives.
And, when the time comes to prepare your schedule, and to make the tough decisions, you will be armed with the information you need, ready to use the tools you have. If you're looking for a fast, easy way to achieve project planning success, you'll find it inside the Fast Track Project Toolkit.
This unique, informative online course gives you everything you need to become a project leader and fast tracking expert. Here's what you'll learn:. How to use strategic project fast tracking to save time and make the most of available resources. We started ITtoolkit. To learn more, visit us at Right Track Associates. If you'd like to learn how to quickly plan I. Service Strategy Toolkit is the right course for you.
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Project constraints are a management challenge that must be addressed if projects are to be finished on time, on budget and on plan.
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