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Function documentationAvailability Determination Locate this document in the navigation structure

 

If you search for suitable resources or demands in the planning board using the free employee search or global demand search, the system determines the availability of resources for matching. You can choose between the following methods here to determine availability:

  • Slot-based availability determination

  • Capacity-based availability determination

It does not make a difference whether the demand source is an order operation or a network activity.

For every resource, the system also determines the absolute availability and relative utilization in the current planning horizon. For more information, refer to the "Overview of Availability Data for a Resource" section below.

Prerequisites

You have configured the following setting in Customizing:   SAP Multiresource Scheduling for ERP   HR Integration  .

You have executed report /MRSS/HCM_RPTWFMIF to transfer the availability data from SAP HR.

Features

  • As part of the employee or demand search, the method of availability determination currently set is displayed:

    • In the Scheduler Workplace, in the employee and demand search areas

    • In the free employee search and global demand search transactions, both in the Availability Matching areas.

  • You can define the default method of availability determination by choosing   Extras   Settings   in the scheduler workplace.

  • To change the method of availability determination, choose Change Capacity Graph Type (Change Capacity Graph Type)

  • For both methods (slot based and capacity based), you can choose whether the system includes reservations (that is, demands from reserved projects).

  • With capacity-based availability determination, you can also decide for each search whether the system should include capacitive assignments. With slot-based availability determination, you define this in Customizing under   SAP Multiresource Scheduling   Set Up Scheduler Workplace   Include Capacitive Assignments During Slot-Based Availability Determination  

General Rules for Availability Determination

For both methods, the system first determines the availability (without assignments) using the available time allocations. The time allocations can originate from SAP HR, such as the planned working time, but can also have been created in the planning board, such as a doctor's appointment. Using the available assignments, the system forms the capacity graph according to the following rules:

  • Concrete assignments are entered in the capacity graph as 100%. In other words, if a resource has a basic availability of 100 % in a time period and receives a concrete assignment for this period, the resource has the availability 0.

  • Stretched assignments do not result in negative values for availability, since they only make provision for work in the time that the resource is also available.

  • The system distributes capacitive assignments with their duration equally between the start and end of the assignment. In other words, if a resource must complete a two-hour capacitive assignment on an eight-hour working day, this assignment reduces the availability from 100 % to 75 % since the capacitive assignment requires a quarter of the working time.

Slot-Based Availability Determination

As a resource planner, you choose this method of availability determination for demands with short planned duration. For slot-based availability determination, the system searches for the longest related time period with 100% free capacity. It values the availability according to the size of this available time period compared to the demand duration. Since 100% availability is always a prerequisite in slot-based availability determination, the result of availability determination is 0% in the time period that contains a capacitive assignment.

Example Example

Consider a demand for a time period between 08:00 and 18:00 with a duration of four hours. The resource found has a lunch break between 12:00 and 13:00 and is already planned for two concrete assignments: one between 09:00 and 11:00 and a second between 15:00 and 17:00. The longest related time frame with 100% availability would therefore be between 13:00 and 15:00. The system determines an availability of 50% for the resource found since a maximum related time frame of two hours exists for the four hours required.

End of the example.
Capacity-Based Availability Determination

As a resource planner, you choose this method of availability determination for demands with long planned duration. For capacity-related availability determination, the system determines the average availability of the resource over the specified time period. It forms integrals over time and compares the result with the demand duration.

Overview of Availability Data for a Resource

In the scheduler workplace, you can activate and deactivate the display of the RU (Relative Utilization) and AV (Absolute Availability) columns by choosing   Extras   Settings   in the Visible Columns area.

The system uses the following values to determine the overview data:

  • Availability based on the available time allocations

  • Whether the system includes reservations and capacitive assignments depends on the relevant control parameters for availability determination under   Extras   Settings  

  • Whether you have chosen capacity-based or slot-based availability determination has no relevance when overview data is determined.

  • Absolute availability in hours: The system deducts the concrete assignments from the availability and any related reservations and capacitive assignments of the resource based on the available time allocations in the planning horizon.

    Example Example

    Based on the time allocations, a resource has an availability of 100 hours for the time period of the planning board. The system also includes reservations and capacitive assignments when determining the availability of the resource since you have defined this as the default setting for availability determination under   Extras   Settings  . This means that if 30 hours of the 100 hours for the resource are planned for concrete assignments, 10 hours for reservations, and 10 hours for capacitive assignments, an absolute availability of 50 hours remains for the current planning horizon.

    End of the example.

  • Relative utilization in percent: To determine relative utilization, the system compares the absolute availability with availability of the resource based on the available time allocations. For example, if absolute availability is 50 hours and availability without assignments 100 hours, relative utilization is 50 %.