Availability Tab
Availability information defines periods during which a resource is available and in what quantity.
To represent more complex resource availabilities, you can define multiple availability levels for a single resource using the Availability tab.
This allows you, for example, to model how seasonal changes in your staffing levels can affect the project schedule.
You can define multiple availabilities for a single resource. This allows you to create a detailed profile of availability that defines times when the resource is available, as well as periods of zero availability.
When you create a new availability for a resource, Open Plan automatically sorts the records in From Date order. This new order is displayed the next time the Availability tab is displayed for the resource.
Open Plan does not consider the To Date when sorting availability records. This is true even if multiple availability records have the same From Date.
The way in which Open Plan treats availability information depends on the resource type:
- Normal: Open Plan considers the quantity in the Availability column to be available for each default duration unit. Both the From Date and the To Date are required.
- Consumable and
Perishable: If you are defining the availability of a consumable or a perishable resource, Open Plan treats information in the
Availability,
From Date, and
To Date fields slightly differently than for normal resources.
- For normal resources, Open Plan considers the Availability quantity to be available in the period defined by the From Date and the To Date, both of which are required.
- For consumable resources, Open Plan considers the total Availability quantity to be delivered on the From Date and to be available until used up.
- For perishable resources, Open Plan considers the total Availability quantity to be delivered on the From Date and any quantity remaining to be no longer available after the To Date.
- Resource Pool: Open Plan ignores availability for a pool.
Interpreting Zero Availabilities
For any particular resource, there will be certain periods in which the availability is zero. The way in which these periods are entered in the resource definition has ramifications during resource scheduling.
Open Plan defines two types of zero availability: hard zeros and soft zeros. In the case of hard zeros, a zero availability is treated as an absolute, indicating that the resource is not available during that period under any circumstances. In the case of soft zeros, the availability can be exceeded when necessary during time-limited resource scheduling.
- In Open Plan, the gaps between specified availability dates can be treated as either hard zeros or soft zeros depending on whether the hard zeros processing option is in effect during resource scheduling.
- Open Plan treats a specific availability of zero as a soft zero, allowing the resource to be scheduled during that period if necessary.
This tab displays information about the availability of each resource. The selected resource is identified in the following two fields:
- ID: The identifier of the selected resource.
- Description: A label associated with the selected resource ID.
Since pools derive their availability information from the availabilities of their members, you can enter availability information only for individual resources.
Grid
Use the fields and options to configure the Availability tab of the Resource Details dialog box.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Availability |
The availability of each resource is defined as the number of resource units available each period for a specified span of time. Open Plan interprets the availability by examining the calendar assigned to the resource. For example, if you define the availability of a labor resource as 1 unit and the availability calendar defines each working day as comprising 8 hours, then 8 labor-hours (or 480 labor-minutes) of the resource are available each working day. Note, however, that the interpretation of the calendar depends on the calendar file that is assigned to the resource file. |
| From Date |
The first date on which the resource is available. |
| To Date |
The last date on which the resource is available. |
| Calendar |
A calendar specifies that the resource is available only for valid working times in that calendar. The list of calendar names displayed comes from the calendar file associated with the resource file. If no calendar is specified for the availability, the resource is assumed to be available according to the definition of the default calendar for the resource file. The resource calendar is ignored for consumable resources. In certain cases, it may be impossible to schedule an activity if its calendar differs from that of one or more required resources. Attention: For more information about how calendars affect resources, see "Resource Scheduling Calculations" in the Deltek Open Plan Developer’s Guide.
|
| Project |
Selecting a field in this column displays a list of projects stored in the same data source for which the resource can be reserved for the date range. If you do not specify a project for a particular period, Open Plan reserves the resource for that period to the project specified on the General tab of the Resource Details dialog box. |