Block downtimes shifts how to insert with block planning

[former_member584840]

Hi gurus,

We are using block planning, which at its core captures the end times of each block and then you can move them around.

But if your block is 5 hours long, and you insert a downtime over the top of it, the block then goes to zero productive time, so the next time you move any blocks, that block that was 5 hours, then goes to zero (or 1 second)

So in effect, when we try and put in downtimes and shift changes, it messes up all the block productive times and reduces many blocks to zero.

The only work around that we have found that is useful is that we insert a MASSIVE "maintenance block" which covers ALL the current month, using enhanced block maintanance, and this pushes ALL the other blocks into the future, keeping their internal commited times consistent, and then we adjust all our shifts and downtimes, which then only messes up the "maintanance block", and then we delete this block in enhanced block maintenance and all the real blocks then come back into the current time period keeping their size consistent (eg then our 5 hour original block will stretch over the downtime, but keep its 5 hour productive time consistent)

The planners hate this work around, but we can't find anything else useful.

Any ideas????

thanks

[Darshani · Accepted solution]

Is note 521674 implemented in your case?

[former_member584840 · Accepted solution]

Hi Darshani,

Thanks for the idea, but there is not really anything tehcnically wrong with any program.

It is more a process gap.

If the user puts all the downtimes in and then sets up the blocks, all OK.

But if the user sets up all the blocks as required, then inserts a downtime, then the blocks

that are underneath the downtime get wiped out.

So how to "remember" what the blocks were when the downtime is added? And then reset blocks to the same size.

eg what kind of technical solution may work?

1. When maintaining downtimes, there could be a tick box "reset any blocks on this downtime to keep the same internal size as it had before"

2. Or a heuristic that said "stretch out all the blocks taking into account the downtimes that were just entered so that the blocks stretch out over the downtimes.

(It only needs to deal with the downtimes just entered, as any older downtimes would have been accounted for when the blocks were adjusted/built last time)

Thanks

John