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Resources

Resources are the people and assets a planner schedules, so this is the solution every other FastTrack solution leans on. It turns the standard Business Central Resource table into resources in Dime.Scheduler. The one exception is production routing planning, which schedules work centers and machine centers instead.

Setup​

How a resource is categorized and grouped on the planning board is decided here, not in Dime.Scheduler. Use the options in DS Setup and the FastTrack Wizard (shown below) to define how resources, groups and teams are created.

Fast track wizard

The resource setup has five subsections:

  • Type
  • Department
  • Team
  • Pin
  • Filter

The source pattern: Type, Department, Team and Pin​

The first four subsections (Type, Department, Team and Pin) all answer the same question in the same way: where should this attribute's value come from? Rather than typing values by hand in Dime.Scheduler, you point each one at a source in Business Central, and it stays in sync from there. The choices are consistent across all four:

  • Blank (called Default for resource type, where the value becomes "Resource" for every resource): no grouping value is derived.
  • Resource Group: the value follows the resource group assigned to the resource in Business Central.
  • Field: the value follows any field on the resource table, including custom fields you have added. You pick the field in the matching setting (for example "Resource Type Field", "Department Field", "Team Field" or "Pin Field").
  • Dimension: the value follows a default dimension on the resource. You pick the dimension in the matching setting (for example "Resource Type Dimension", "Department Dimension", "Team Dimension" or "Pin Dimension").

Because Business Central is the source of truth, you can change any of these settings whenever you like, and the change takes effect the next time you send the resources. Anything you edit on the corresponding attribute directly in Dime.Scheduler is overwritten on the next send, so make the change here. Planned data is never disturbed: each resource keeps a unique identifier independent of its type, department, team or pin.

What differs between the four is only what each attribute is for, covered below.

Type​

A resource type is any property you use to categorize resources. Rooms, vehicles and machines are all good candidates. The payoff is on the planning board: a planner can filter by resource type, and some teams go further and set up a separate planning board per type. Setting it from Business Central (as shown below) keeps that categorization driven by your back office, though defining it directly in Dime.Scheduler is also possible.

Fast track wizard

Choose the source in the Resource Type From selection list following the pattern above.

Department​

A department is a generic grouping in Dime.Scheduler. It lets a planner sort and group resources on the planning board and in other components such as the planned tasks grid, so the right rows sit together instead of scattered across a long list.

Fast track wizard

Choose the source in Department from following the pattern above.

Team​

Teams are a second way to sort and group resources in Dime.Scheduler. In Business Central teams carry more weight (you can assign a team member's role, for instance), but the FastTrack solutions use them purely for sorting and grouping, giving you a grouping axis independent of department.

Fast track wizard

Choose the source in Team from following the pattern above.

Pin​

Pins are indicators in Dime.Scheduler that give resources, jobs and tasks different pin colors on the maps. With pins set, a planner glancing at the map can tell at a colour which group a resource or task belongs to instead of clicking each marker to find out.

Fast track wizard

Choose the source in Pin from following the pattern above.

Resource Filters​

Filters are how a planner finds the right resource for a task, and they also drive the data-driven security model that defines segregation of roles and responsibilities. The standard resource filters are framed around service management, but they apply just as well to other areas.

You can define additional filter groups in the DS Filter Groups setup, outside of the FastTrack Wizard.

Fast track wizard

There are two pairs of filters: skill filters and service zone filters.

tip

When using service management, enable these filters. Enabling one or both has the FastTrack Wizard create the configuration in BC that sends the required filter values when service orders go from BC to Dime.Scheduler, which is what lets the user rely on the automatic filter options in Dime.Scheduler.

A blocked resource is not the same as a deleted one. Resources that are Blocked in BC are still created in Dime.Scheduler, but they stay hidden from users. Blocking or unblocking a resource in BC sets the Do Not Show setting in Dime.Scheduler accordingly.

Skill filter​

Enable "Create Skill Filter" to create the configuration in BC that filters resources by their skills. Enter the name users will see in Dime.Scheduler for this filter in "Skill Filter Name".

Service zone filters​

Enable "Create Service Zone Filter" to create the configuration in BC that filters resources by the service zones in which they operate. Enter the name users will see in Dime.Scheduler for this filter in "Service Zone Filter Name".

Usage​

Actions​

This page extends the default actions with the following items.

List Actions​

See common actions for an overview of the list actions for this type.

Card actions​

The following actions have been added to the resource card:

Fields​

Alongside the standard fields like name, unique number, type and address, a few fields have been added specifically for Dime.Scheduler:

  • Hide in planning board
  • Enable Gps Tracking
  • Enable Exchange Synchronisation

These fields can be found at the bottom of the resource card:

Extra resource fields

For more information about these fields, read more about it in the resource settings manual.