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Finished goods production is made possible with resources, e.g. tools, machines, and people. For many businesses, resource capacity is the constraint when planning production runs. 


Each resource has its capacity which measures the capability of the resource to produce some amount of finished good. Knowing the capacity of the resource, it is possible to calculate how much time and when it is required to produce this or that finished good. Thus, adding a resource and calculation of its capacity define the timelines for the production. Capacity Planner is used to keep track of available, allocated and consumed resource capacity. 


NOTE: Production Resources are an advanced manufacturing feature. You will need to add the advanced manufacturing module to your DEAR base subscription to use this feature. See Getting Started with the Advanced Manufacturing module for more information. 


Prerequisites

  • Set up the Factory Calendar (required)
  • Set up Locations and Bins (required)
  • Set up the Logistics Path (recommended)
  • Advanced manufacturing module subscription required. 
  • Users will need the Capacity Planner permission in order to edit resources in production menu settings. 
  • Users will need the Inventory: Products & Families permission in order to edit service costs.  


Table of Contents


Set up Resources

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Resources for production can be set up from the Production Settings: Main Menu → Production → Settings → Resources.


A Resource may contain from 1 to any number of individual resources (e.g. Oven, Fridge, Labour). An individual resource is a resource unit which can be detached as a separate unit. 


Users can choose to view all business resources, or only currently operational resources by checking/unchecking Only Operational (check the box to view only operational resources; uncheck to view all business resources). 


Each Resource can be utilised for many Work Centres depending on the operation to which it is assigned.


A Resource can be deleted from the Production Settings page if it has not been used in any Production BOM. If it has been used in a Production BOM, it can no longer be deleted but can be set to non-operational. It is also possible to change any Production BOM using the Resource, which will allow the Resource to be deleted. 


Set up Services

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Service products are used to define resource costs. See Product and Service Management for detailed information on creating products and services.


Create a new service:

  1. Create a new service by navigating to Inventory → New → Product/Service or to Inventory → Products and clicking +.
  2. Fill in the service details (learn more about the different fields in Product/Service details).
    • Ensure Type is set to Service.
  3. Use the Price Tiers tab to set the costs for the service product. You will be able to choose which Price Tier to use when setting Resource Costs.
    • NOTE: Resources are billed in production operations according to their unit of time, e.g. time that corresponds to a cycle rotation of a machine. This cycle of rotation can be converted into a Unit of time (the time for which the cycle is executed). The Price should correspond to the Unit of time. We recommend making the Unit of the service also reflect the Unit of time for clarity. 
  4. Save your changes. 


In our example, Labour: Woodwork varies in price between two locations. By entering two prices using Price Tiers, this can be used to specify the right costs for a resource.



Add a new Resource

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Once you have set up services for your costs, you can assign them to production resources. Add and manage your resources from the Production → Settings → Resources screen.

The Resources list view in Production Settings is not editable except for the Resource State field, which can be changed from/to Operational to/from Non-Operational, in the drop-down list that appears by the click on the field. In this case, the flow described for setting the resource to non-operational interval is applied.


Add a new resource:

  1. Click the + button to add a new resource.
  2. Enter the general data for the resource.
    • Resource Code (mandatory field) – a unique code for the resource. The resource code must be unique.
    • Resource Name (mandatory field) – the name of the resource.
    • Tags – add one or more tags to classify the resource.
    • Infinite Resource – infinite resources have a cost but do not have capacity limitations and do not affect the scheduler (e.g. water, electricity).
    • Type (mandatory field) – a drop-down menu with 3 values (Labour, Machine, Other). 
      • Machine – This type of resource is linked to fixed assets in your inventory (coming soon).
      • Labour – This type of resource is linked to system users in your organisation. 
      • The name field is a drop-down field with all active DEAR Inventory users. This is needed to connect this exact user to the Resource to give this exact user access to the operations for this resource in the production module mobile application (coming soon).
      • Other – This type of resource cannot be linked to fixed assets or users.
    • Allow the Use of all available resources for Production Order completion – when checked, this box allows the operation to occupy all available capacity for this resource regardless of the quantity set in the product BOM. If not checked, the individual resource number specified on the BOM will be used when capacity planning. 
      • Example: There is a resource Oven. There are 5 individual resources within the Oven resource. The quantity of an individual Oven resource for the operation in the product BOM is 1. There is an order for finished goods quantity production on 1 individual Oven resource which will take 5 days. At the time of release, the other 4 Oven resources are free. So, if 'Use of all available resources' is checked for the Oven resource, then the order will be executed on all available individual resources of the Oven resource and the order will be completed in 1 day.
      • Example: There is a resource Labour. There are 5 individual resources within the Labour resource. The Production BOM specifies 1 unit of labour for the operation Wood Carving, which takes 2 days. This is a one-person job, and assigning more people will not complete the task faster. 'Use of all available resources' is left unchecked, and the operation takes 2 days using 1 unit of labour.



Resource Operational Hours and Capacity

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The first Resource tab, Capacity, is used to set the operational hours for the resource at each location. These hours will be used to determine the capacity for that resource. Resource capacity is calculated based on the number of individual resources and operational hours. 


NOTE: The Capacity tab is not available for Infinite Resources – infinite resources are not constrained by capacity but still have a cost.


  1. By default, the default operational hours set up in the Factory Calendar are applied to this resource in all locations. It is possible to add custom operational hours by pressing +Add custom hours in the grid to set up custom hours for each location.
  2. Each resource can be used in many locations. Locations are limited to locations set as Shop floors in the Locations and Bins setup. All Shop floor locations are listed automatically.
  3. Select if Working on holidays or Working on weekends is allowed. This will influence the calculation of Production Order timelines.
    • If Working on weekends is checked, but there are no operational hours set for weekends, the weekend days appear in the Capacity setup table to set the operational hours for missing days.
  4. If Custom Operational Hours has been selected, click Edit Custom Hours to set the operational hours for the resource. Operational hours are valid for all individual resources at this Shop floor location unless altered at the individual resource level. 
  5. Add individual resources by clicking the Number of individual resources field for a location. This will allow you to set custom operational and non-operational intervals for the resource. It also allows individual resources to be mapped to users and fixed assets.
  6. This will open a popup window where you can add individual resources. Click + or Add more items to add a new individual resource. 
  7. You will be prompted to fill in the following fields:
    • Name: Enter a name for the resource. 
      • If Resource Type is Labour, the name field is a drop-down field with all active DEAR Inventory users. This is needed to connect this exact user to the Resource to give this exact user access to the operations for this resource in the production module mobile application (coming soon).
    • Operational Period: Dates between when this resource will be operational. In case if 'Operational to/from' is not set, this means that the individual resource is operational for ever except for the non-operational periods specified.
    • Non-Operational interval: Dates between when this resource will be non-operational. If 'Non-operational from' is set but 'Non-operational to' is not set, this means that the individual resource is non-operational for ever.
  8. Save changes to finish. 
  9. X deletes the individual resource.


Editing Resource Capacity (Resources)

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Editing the following will cause changes in the Scheduler, Capacity Planner, Production Orders and Production Runs:

  • operational hours/working on weekends/working on holidays
  • number of individual resources
  • changing a resource between finite and infinite
  • allow/disallow the use of all available resources for the production order.


Any changes in resource capacity only affect new orders; already created orders are not subjected to the changes (not re-planned).


Operational hours/working on weekends/working on holidays

When the operational hours are changed for the resource, the resource capacity is re-calculated and re-planned to check if the new capacity is enough to execute all allocated production orders. This includes enabling/disabling working on weekends, working on holidays, and editing a non-operational interval.


Number of individual resources

When the number of individual resources is changed for the resource, the resource capacity is re-calculated and re-planned to check if the new capacity is enough to execute all allocated production orders.


Changing a resource between finite and infinite

Checking/unchecking the Infinite Resource box causes changes in capacity planning, Scheduler, Production Orders and Production Runs. When a resource is finite, it should be planned because it is a constraint. When the resource becomes infinite, it is no longer a constraint for the production, but its costs still need to be considered.


When a resource becomes infinite instead of finite, it no longer has capacity. It is no longer treated as a factor when planning capacity.


NOTE: When a resource becomes infinite instead of finite, consumed capacity is hidden from the Capacity Planner, but it is not deleted, because it is impossible to delete the records about resource costs, the transactions that are already completed and recorded in the general ledger or any inventory/financial/stock report.


Allow/disallow the use of all available resources for a production order

Checking/unchecking the Use all available resources box causes changes in capacity planning, Scheduler, Production Orders, Production Runs.


Resource Production and Downtime Costs

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Next, set the resource cost per production operation. The cost per operation is calculated based on the cost set up for a Unit of Time. The cycle duration of an operation defines the default time for this type of operation. The cycle duration affects the costs of the resource but has no effect on resource capacity and scheduling. 


Each resource cost per Unit of Time is defined by a service product (transactions where no physical goods are transferred to the customer, e.g. labour, electricity, water). Users can assign multiple service costs to each resource if required. 


Downtime costs for planned an unplanned downtime are also set here.

  1. Enter a Unit of Time for the resource. 
    • The format dd:hh:mm is used to define the default time from the beginning to the end of some process. This time is considered for cost calculation only and doesn't define the operation time in the production of the finished good. If the value for hours or minutes input is more than 24 or 60 respectively, this value is recalculated. For example, 28 hours is 1 day and 4 hours: 01:04:00.
    • The Unit of Time of the operation is used to calculate the actual cost of the resource used in the operation. This will affect cost calculations in Production BOMs and Production Orders but does NOT affect capacity planning or scheduling.
  2. Click to add a cost (service) to the unit of time. Costs must already be set up as service products before they can be added to the resource as described in Set up Services above. 
  3. Select the Accountto be debited for each cost. 
    • Select an Inventory account to distribute and assign the costs to the produced goods. 
    • Select an Expense account to exclude costs from the cost of goods.
  4. Select a Price Tier for Production cost, Planned Downtime cost and Unplanned Downtime cost. This will pull in the Price values for those tier from the product details page to the Amount fields (in your base currency). 
  5. The cost of the resource per unit of time is displayed at the bottom of the screen for confirmation. 
  6. Save your changes.


Resource cost per unit

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For some production processes, it is more relevant to specify the cost of a resource in terms of its cost per unit of finished product. The cost specified on this tab can be applied per unit of finished product in that finished product's production BOM. If this is the case for a resource, we recommend making the unit of time for that resource as close as possible as the time to produce one unit for clarity when setting costs. 


In a production BOM, you will be able to specify whether the cost per resource is applied as Cost per Unit of time or Cost per finished product. Costs can only be edited from the resource page, resource costs cannot be edited from the production BOM. 


Editing the Unit of Time and Costs per Unit of Time

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Editing the Unit of Time influences the costs calculation for the resource in the Production Order. The cost for the resource is recalculated for all operations that are not completed. Any transactions executed before editing the costs (completing the order, operations, Put Away) are not subject to the changes. A warning message will appear informing you which orders will be affected.


Editing the Price Tier (and thus, the Amount per Unit of Time) causes the recalculation of the costs for the resource the same way as editing the Unit of Time. Editing the Price from the service product details screen also causes the same recalculation of costs. 


NOTE: Editing the Unit of Time and cost per Unit of Time does not affect capacity planning or scheduling. 


A service product for costs per Unit of Time can be replaced with another service. In this case, the changes are applied to Production Orders. The cost for the resource is recalculated for all operations that are not completed (the Complete button for the operation is not pressed). Any transactions executed before editing the costs (completing the Order, operations, Put Away) are not subject to the changes. A warning message will appear informing you which orders will be affected.


If the Account is changed, all transactions made after the change will be recorded to the new account. It is impossible to change already recorded transactions.


Resource Attachments and Remarks

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The Attachments tab is intended for attaching any instructions or documents that are needed for this resource. 


Drop files in the specified area or click to upload them. The attachments size is limited to 32 Mb. All file formats are accepted except executable files: .exe, .msi, .app, etc.


When the file is uploaded and processed, it is displayed in the grid which contains the following fields:

  • Name – by default, it is the name of the uploaded file.
  • Date (a read-only field) – the date when the file was added into DEAR Production.
  • Attached by (a read-only field) – the username of the user who uploaded the file.


The deletion of an attached file causes the deletion of this file from the Production Order – Order instruction field.


The Remarks tab is intended for adding any remarks on the resource. Type the remark into the table and click Add to save the remark. The remark is added into the grid with an indication on who added the remark and the date of adding. The Cancel button cancels the adding of the remark.


Remarks can be neither edited nor deleted.

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