SAP Field Service Management offers a flexible framework for semi-automated and fully automated planning and optimization that caters to the individual requirements of a company.
Semi-Automated Scheduling
Dispatcher can utilize the Best Matching Technician feature in order to support them with their planning activities. The feature yields the list of technicians suitable to perform a job in descending order. Semi-automated scheduling can be executed via the FSM Planning & Dispatching application using either the “planning widget” or “find matching technicians” feature.
Semi-Automated Scheduling: Planning Widget
One or many activities can be auto scheduled by dragging them to the planning widget (maximum of 40 activities can be planned at one time).
On selecting the “Schedule Now” button, the activity is assigned to the best matching technician.
Dispatcher can use Semi Automated tool for automatically schedule activities in the same logic like using option “best matching technicians” but activities will be assign to technician automatically after drag and drop activity to below queue.
Semi-Automated Scheduling: Find Matching Technicians
A search for best matching technicians for a specific activity can be executed by right clicking on an activity from the unplanned activities list.
Assign the activity to a technician via the “Assign_Activity” button.
To enable semi-automated scheduling it is necessary to set the following company settings to “TRUE”. Path: Settings and Configuration → Administration → Companies (choose Your company) → Company Settings
Automated scheduling
Automated Scheduling is executed periodically by automated business rule. Once scheduling is triggered it will attempt to automatically assign activities to a suitable technician.
When activating automated scheduling, it is advisable to set company setting: “CoreSystems.ResourePlanner.BestMatchingTechnicianWithPlugins” value to “true”.
In addition a scheduled optimisation business rule must be implemented and enabled (please find an example business rule in the attached file).
Steps for set-up of the business rule:
First, a new Client must be created: Path: Settings and Configuration → Administration → Clients
Important! During “Client” creation you will receive the Client Secret ID only once, it is not possible to access the client secret ID again after saving. So, it is essential to record and save the Client Secret ID in safe location.
The next steps involve creation/update of the scheduled optimization business rule. Path: Settings and Configuration → Administration → Companies (choose Your company) → Business Rules
Note: the presented business rule is an example only. For each customer the logic within the auto scheduling business rule can be different and should be aligned per project!
After you have uploaded the business rule, put it into Edit Mode.
In the “Trigger” section click on the “Variables” icon. Here you can adjust the select statement to specify which jobs (activities) are sent to the optimizer to be scheduled. The select statement in the example business rule is quite simple. It will pick activities that are linked to specific service call types and which are ready to be planned.
As required, you can introduce additional selection criteria here, like due dates, priorities, etc.
Scroll down to “Action #0”.
Enter your Client ID.
Enter your Client Secret ID.
Activity IDs: No change required.
Optimization Plugin. Here you can choose which of the standard optimization plugins that the automated scheduling should use, e.g.: Skills and Distance.
The Optimization Horizon can be changed by modifying the Start & End dates.
Partitioning Strategy Skills: N/A (optional entry, can be used to partition the jobs per skill regions etc).
Release on Schedule: used to specify if scheduled activities should be automatically released/pushed to assigned technician (for testing switch to off).
Include Internal Persons: set to true for internal technicians to be considered for planning.
Include Crowd Persons: N/A (optional, set to true for external technicians to be considered for planning).
Technician IDs: N/A (optional, should you require an option to include or exclude certain technicians from optimization).
Update (Save) the business rule. Then you can validate or execute it.
The result of execution of the business rule are new jobs assigned on the planning board.
Result of execution business rule contains information about successfully and unsuccessful scheduled activities. ( In future SAP will provide more detailed information about issues with unsuccessful scheduled activities).
Also note that when Automated Scheduling is completed via execution of the business rule, the results will be shown on the planning widget (limited to 40).
Further information provided by SAP can be found at: SAP Website - Scheduled Planning