MS Project - scheduling similar but unrelated activities

L

LWW

I want to schedule tasks that are generally similar in nature but are from
different sub-projects, and I can't figure out how to do this. One
constraint is that the different tasks involve the same resource. Some
examples might help:

1. On a construction project there are activities, like laying foootings,
the base for a road etc. These are different sub-projects but, for this
example, not on the critical path. Concrete ready-to-lay is delivered to the
site regularly, so I would want concrete laying to be scheduled when the
concrete is on site (i.e. the trigger for the activity is the arrival on-site
of the concrete). I could do this by dependencies, but then I have to figure
which delivery of concrete they are going to be associated with.

2. In an operating theatre, best practice is to schedule operations so that
within each allocated session 'clean' operations are done before 'dirty'
ones. Overall, scheduling depends on the actual type of operation and
allocation to any specific session is dependent on its duration and the
availability of resources (i.e. normal dependency-based scheduling). There is
some flexibility in which operations are done but, only one 'dirty' operation
is allowed per session.

3. In a kitchen it's best to get the pastry work done before the main
kitchen starts getting busy (and hot). In a small establishment there are
limited resources (which means there is no separation between pastry chef and
grill chef etc). Making up the pastry is a different sub-project from
prepping, grilling, assembly of the dishes etc. Ideally I want pastry tasks
scheduled earlier in the day without constraining the projects by, for
example, specifying 2 hours of pastry work each day in the calendar.

Hopefully this gives an idea - I've been trying to get my head round the
solution without success. I see it as defining affinities between types of
tasks to get a more natural goruping of activities.

Any ideas gratefully received.

LWW
 
S

salgud

I want to schedule tasks that are generally similar in nature but are from
different sub-projects, and I can't figure out how to do this. One
constraint is that the different tasks involve the same resource. Some
examples might help:

1. On a construction project there are activities, like laying foootings,
the base for a road etc. These are different sub-projects but, for this
example, not on the critical path. Concrete ready-to-lay is delivered to the
site regularly, so I would want concrete laying to be scheduled when the
concrete is on site (i.e. the trigger for the activity is the arrival on-site
of the concrete). I could do this by dependencies, but then I have to figure
which delivery of concrete they are going to be associated with.

2. In an operating theatre, best practice is to schedule operations so that
within each allocated session 'clean' operations are done before 'dirty'
ones. Overall, scheduling depends on the actual type of operation and
allocation to any specific session is dependent on its duration and the
availability of resources (i.e. normal dependency-based scheduling). There is
some flexibility in which operations are done but, only one 'dirty' operation
is allowed per session.

3. In a kitchen it's best to get the pastry work done before the main
kitchen starts getting busy (and hot). In a small establishment there are
limited resources (which means there is no separation between pastry chef and
grill chef etc). Making up the pastry is a different sub-project from
prepping, grilling, assembly of the dishes etc. Ideally I want pastry tasks
scheduled earlier in the day without constraining the projects by, for
example, specifying 2 hours of pastry work each day in the calendar.

Hopefully this gives an idea - I've been trying to get my head round the
solution without success. I see it as defining affinities between types of
tasks to get a more natural goruping of activities.

Any ideas gratefully received.

LWW

I'm not clear why you'd be mixing kitchen operations with construction
projects. Construction is most definitely a project, operating a kitchen is
most definitely not. This is going to cause serious problems in scheduling
in general, and with CPM in particular. I suggest you rethink your
approach.
Hope this helps in your world.
 
L

LWW

Thanks for the thought salgud - the examples were to illustrate my problem.
It's not a single project I'm scheduling as I too would question mixing
concrete, kitchens and an operation!

LWW
 
S

salgud

Thanks for the thought salgud - the examples were to illustrate my problem.
It's not a single project I'm scheduling as I too would question mixing
concrete, kitchens and an operation!

LWW
Ok.
As far as the construction project goes, and I have a lot of experience
with that, I don't know of any simpler way to create that schedule than to
simply put in the links, because only you know what those dependencies are.

Given that, there are fast and slow ways to put in links. Entering them one
at a time in the "Predecessors" or "Sucessors" fields, as many do, is
intolerably, for me, slow. One of the fast ways to put in links is to start
at the top of the task list, and click on one of the earliest tasks or
better yet, the "Project Start" milestone. Then control click on the first
sucessor to that task that you come to in the list. Then control click on
that sucessor's sucessor. And so forth. When you have a path selected,
click in the "Link" icon. Link a bunch of tasks at one time. Then repeat
the procedure on another path. You may not be able to link all tasks on a
long path, because the number of links you can create this way is limited
by your computer's memory. If you're out of memory while doing this, it
just won't select an additional task. Click the link icon, and start from
the last task selected in the previous linking for the beginning of the
rest.
While this is much quicker than doing the links one at a time, I invariably
miss some of the "side" links this way. Links that are not on any "main"
path through the project. I use a special version of the Network Diagram to
to this. I simplify the ND by removing all fields except the Name field
from the boxes and make the boxes smaller and closer together. I use a copy
of the ND to do this so I can save it to the global.mpt file so I'll have
it any time I need it. This way I can see many boxes at at time, much more
of the tasks than can be seen on the standard ND. I then cruise around,
looking at each task and making sure all of it's predecessors and sucessors
are properly linked. I look for missing links, extraneous links (if there
are many of these, you need to turn off "Autolink tasks" in the Options
box), and unlinked or partially linked (task has a predecessor but no
sucessor or vice versa) tasks and fix them.
This is a time consuming exercise. But I know of no other way to get a
meaningful schedule, and the time invested will pay back many times the
input effort if you use this tool to it's full capabilities.

I hope this helps in your world.
 

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