schedule output to excel

[davyre]

Hi,

I am new to MS Project, and wondering if it is possible for me to get output of a list/schedule for every resources(people)
I already created report "Who Does What When", but I need more detail than this

I need a real schedule, like

|         | Mon 8 Jul          | Tue 9 Jul         | Wed 10 Jul | Thu 11 Jul | Fri 12 Jul | Sat 13 Jul |
|Andre    |8.00-12.00 Task C   |8.00-10.00 Task C  | etc
|         |13.00-15.00 Task C  |10.00-15.00 Task O | etc
|Brody    |8.00-12.00 Task B   |8.00-11.00 Task B  | etc
|         |13.00-15.00 Task B  |11.00-15.00 Task S | etc

so it is detailed until working hours per task.. Is it possible to get this out of Ms Project? Anyone can help? Thank you

 

[SkipVought]

Hi,

I would would want a table exported like...
[tt]
Resource
Task
Task Start
Task End
Actual Start
Actual End
Actual Percent Complete Estimate.
[/tt]
From that you ought to be able to generate any sort of data analysis or report.

If you merely got a pivot, like your example, your data analysis capability would be severely hampered in Excel or any other similar tool.

But what I don't know is what Project can export. I just know what I'd need.

Skip,

_{Just traded in my old subtlety...
for a NUANCE!}

 

[JulieInMaine]

I'm afraid not in that format. There are not any existing reports in a cross tab format such as the Who Does What When report that are going to give that level of detail. However, the Resource usage view can be modified to add assignment start and finish as well as work. It will be laid out in a linear set up - not spread horizontally as you have in your sample. That can easily be printed to a pdf format. You can also certainly export the data through code. If you have some skills with VBA see:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/office/ee355231(v=office.12).aspx

for some sample code working with time phased data.

 

[davyre]

thanks all.
I guess ms project is not right for my need, or is it? What I need is a software to create a schedule on a factory per week/ per month.
What I have are lists of people(resources), machine(resources), and sets of tasks to manufacture units..and with that raw data, I want to create a schedule that
possibly maximize outputs given these resources.
I do not know if MS Project can help me with this..

 

[johnherman]

Project can be used to do this. It seems that your scheduling situation is mostly a DURATION based project. You need to set the option for all tasks to be Duration based. Next, decide if you want your lowest time element to be hours or days.

Then, work on the Project Calendar. Mark off non-working days (or hours if you go with hours). Tben, go to the resource sheet and enter in your machines and people. It is possible to have a separate calendar for each resource, so if machines have scheduled downtime, each machine should have its own calendar. People, too, can have separate calendars.

However, it can't think of any easy way to manage the capacity of the machines. That calculation you'll need to do yourself.

====================================
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man. - George Bernard Shaw

 

[davyre]

Yes, that is true, my project is heavily based on duration. I have set all the resources with its own calendar (some people have different working time i.e full timer vs part timer).
What I'm still confused is the machine resources, as it only allows me to define its working time rather that its capacity..
and if I have sets of tasks to do several units, is MS Project able to re-arrange the schedule to ensure the production line is doing its maximum capacity with maximum efficiency? What I get at the moment is if I placed a task at the first row, it is always being set as the first task to do by default.
So for example to build unit A I need to do task 1,2,3. To build unit B I need task 1,4,5, of course with taking constraints into account. Can I get the most efficient way to build two units in the shortest time possible using MS Project?

 

[JulieInMaine]

There are a couple of tools you can use in Project to help:

Build the required processes: if Unit A requires 1,2,3 in that order then create the predecessor/successor relationships between 1,2,3. If B needs 1,4,5 build those relationships. Assuming the correct number of resources, can 2 & 3 from Unit A occur at the same time as 4 & 5?

Project cannot be set for 'capacity' other than max units. If you only have one machine that can accomplish the work for Unit A & Unit B and you assign the machine - Project will show the machine as overallocated. You can certainly use the resource leveling command to spread the work out - but Project will NOT optimize work through leveling - only delay until the resource is available.

I hope this helps.

 

[SkipVought]

Wouldn't this need to be a project that goes on indefinitely? Is that practical? Maybe it is. Julie?

Certainly you would not want to build separate projects for different products all sharing the same resources, or for different periods of time, as the performance data across resources and time are a valuable corporate asset that needs to be available in toto for analysis and reporting.

Maybe I'm missing something.

I'm a data bully (I push data around) in a large machine shop that builds gear boxes and transmissions for aircraft, so maybe my perspective a myopic.

Skip,

_{Just traded in my old subtlety...
for a NUANCE!}

 

[JulieInMaine]

I think the way that using Project makes the most sense if it the OP is doing custom (variable) production projects. I agree that using Project for ongoing production scheduling is likely not the best option but Project has certainly been used for multi-year projects. Possibly using a Resource pool and multiple sharer files might work best. Once the project (sharer) file is complete, it can be disconnected from the pool to keep the file sizes reasonable.

 

[johnherman]

When I stated "Project can be used to do this", I was implying that projects, by definition, have a start and end date. So, production schedules for factories are generally not meant to be done in Project. In fact, there may be some inexpensive or free scheduling apps somewhere out there on the web. The capacity of each machine will need to be handled separately, but if you name and schedule each machine separately, the the Resource Sheet can be used to multiply the hours/days for each machine by its capacity. You could also create a custom column to calculate the production.

But again, MS Project is not designed for production scheduling. There are probably better products on the market, but maybe not as inexpensive as Project.

====================================
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man. - George Bernard Shaw

 

[johnherman]

Here are a few scheduling sites:

http://production-scheduling.com/

http://www.tuppas.com/Production Scheduling.htm

http://www.keyvak.com/

http://www.jobpack.com/realtimescheduling.htm

http://www.softwareadvice.com/manuf...-scheduling-software-comparison/?layout=var_c

====================================
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man. - George Bernard Shaw