In a previous post (look here), I pointed out that scheduling is really just a special case of rescheduling. If you can modify part of an existing timeline without affecting other parts, you can easily modify—or create an empty timeline. … Continued
Here’s the essence of a conversation I had recently with a colleague: Colleague: Did you notice that the “Acme Anvil Company” had three different departments doing planning and scheduling? (I changed its name for privacy.) Me: Yes! They had a planning … Continued
Many organizations schedule at different levels of management, which can add another layer of complexity to the process. For example: A manufacturer has a production planning department that builds schedules based on a capacity model that describes their capabilities in … Continued
A doctor’s office schedules appointments for their physicians using an application built specifically for medical practices, but they find out that there aren’t enough examining rooms to support that schedule. A baking plant makes products in batches that must be … Continued
Should you schedule the most important things first? If you have several activities to schedule, it seems like a logical strategy to schedule the higher priority ones before the lesser priority ones, right? Well that doesn’t always work out. In … Continued
As I have discussed in previous posts, the scheduling problem is not only selecting a start time for activities, but also the challenge of selecting the resources to support those activities (aka: the “assignment problem.”) If you are a scheduler … Continued
Do any of these sound familiar? This project has several tasks that can be done by any of my qualified technicians, but it’s best if the people who start the project complete all of the tasks. Umpires can work multiple … Continued
Scheduling is basically answering the questions, which resources should I use? And when should I use them? The “which” question gives rise to a set of alternatives (that you can read more about here), and the “when” question gives rise … Continued
Most of us use spreadsheets for all sorts of things. The spreadsheet and the word processor are the work horses of most computer tasks in the home or the workplace. It is not surprising that when faced with a scheduling … Continued
We’re planning a big promotion for our new product. What if sales go through the roof? What if next June there are lots of weddings on top of the Acme Sales meeting that’s already booked? After the merger, what if … Continued