Build Out Short Interval Plans
Use Case
The work planner breaks work activities from the CPM schedule down into the steps required to perform the work in the field. He then allocates resources to each step, giving the team visibility into resource utilization for the next several weeks.
This section covers how to use the InEight Schedule Short Interval Planning View to manage field activities and resources.
SIP Overview
InEight Schedule includes a module for building out short-interval or look ahead schedules, found in the Short Interval Planning view. This view gives you a digital version of a whiteboard with sticky notes, giving the field team a familiar, easy to use tool for detailing out day to day tasks and allocating resources. The interface provides clear visibility into daily resource usage, making it easy to identify overallocations.
A unique feature of this tool is that the short interval plan is within the context of the overall project CPM schedule. This fosters alignment between field planners and the scheduler, as the view can indicate key milestones and when resources are allocated outside of planned CPM activities.
In the example below, note the milestone for completion of mobilization represented by a blue diamond. Also note there is a breach, where daily work is going beyond the scheduled mobilization activity a couple of days (outlined in yellow).
Add Resources to SIP
As a scheduler, you have the option to create SIP resources for your contributors to use for planning in the field.
The following example walks through how to add a SIP resource.
Step 1
Select the Schedule Configuration view from the main menu.
From the SIP Resources tab, click Add resource.
Note: You can also add a resource while building your activity step in the SIP view.
Step 2
In the dialog box, name the resource, then click Save.
Add Activity Steps and Resources
The Short Interval Planning view includes the activities from the current active CPM schedule, which you can then break down into steps and add resources to as needed to plan out your field work.
Let’s walk through an example of how to break a CPM schedule activity into steps on a short interval plan.
Step 1
From the Short Interval Planning view, create steps by selecting the Add icon on the row of the activity being planned out.
Repeat this process until all the required steps are completed.
Step 2
After steps are added, select the step to add a resource and fill in information (SIP Resource name, UOM, units and color) for the task to be completed.
This imports the entire cost structure into your Control budget (CBS).
Once the steps have been built and resources assigned, they will appear in the calendar side of the screen.
CPM schedule activity bars represent working days and non-working days. The thicker segments indicate working days in the activity’s calendar and thinner segments are non-working days.
The colored “sticky notes” squares are the days that step is being worked. As a Planner you can click and drag the squares along the timeline to adjust the start date and end date of the step and add or delete days for the step.
Access the following links to learn more: