This article gives a short overview of calendars and full time equivalents (FTE) in Meisterplan and helps to define different configurations.
- Basics
- Calendar
- Managing Calendars in the Resource Pool
- Default Calendar / FTE
- Resource Availability/Capacity
- Resource Capacity Calculation
- Example 1: One Full Time Calendar and Reduced Availability for Part-Time Workers
- Example 2: Full-Time Calendar and Part Time Calendars for Part Time Workers
- Part-Time Calendar and Availability
The basic calendar behavior and full time equivalent calculation are described in the Full Time Equivalent (FTE) article.
Basics
Calendar
Meisterplan supports a hierarchical calendar structure with calendar exceptions (holidays). Calendar exceptions are inherited by derived calendars.
The default calendar is automatically assigned to each resource to which no other calendar has been assigned.
Managing Calendars in the Resource Pool
You can view and edit calendars and calendar exceptions and set the default calendar in the resource pool:
See the Managing Calendars article for details.
Default Calendar / FTE
The duration of 1 FTE depends on the weekly working hours of the default calendar and its calendar exceptions. 1 FTE refers to the amount of working hours in the considered period and can equal a different amount of hours in different weeks.
Resource Availability/Capacity
The basic availability or capacity of a resource is defined by the number of hours in that resource's calendar.
You may change the availability of a resource for any period by entering a percentage of the resource's original capacity in the Absences tab of the resource's detail view in the resource-pool.
This can only be done in the plan of record and also applies to all scenarios.
Resource Capacity Calculation
The green line in a resource's histogram displays the calculated capacity in FTE. The resource's capacity is displayed in relation to the standard FTE in any time range (e.g., one week or one month).
Resource Capacity FTE (time range) = Resource Capacity in Hours (time range) / Default Calendar's Working Time in Hours (time range)
If there is only one calendar which is therefore the default calendar and is used by all resources, then every resource has a base capacity of exactly 1 FTE.
Resource capacity in hours = default calendar's working time in hours
The resource capacity in hours for a certain time range is calculated by the resource's calendar and the resource capacity factor in that time range.
In all time ranges for which you have not entered a different capacity/availability, the capacity factor amounts to 100%.
Resource Capacity in Hours (time range) =Working Hours from the Resource's Calendar (time range) * Resource Capacity Factor
There is one calendar defined as default.
Default Calendar's Working Time in Hours (time range) = Working Hours from the Default Calendar (time range)
Example 1: One Full Time Calendar and Reduced Availability for Part-Time Workers
Changing the availability by entering a capacity factor other than 100% is one possibility to define a non-standard working time.
You can change a resource's availability in the Absences tab of that resource's detail view in the resource pool or via the context menu of the resource view.
Changes of the resource availability have a start and end date and may be entered for any period. It is also possible to assign different capacity factors for different periods to any one resource.
Full-Time Worker
Only one calendar is used. This calendar is the default calendar, so 1 FTE in a week without any exception corresponds to 40 hours. In case of a single holiday in a week, 1 FTE would correspond to 32 hours.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
Denise is a full time worker. Her availability is 100% of the default calendar's hours on each day. Let's see the calculations for a common week without any exception:
The resource capacity factor is 100%, because the resource availability is not changed.
Denise's capacity in hours in this week is therefore also 40: 40 * 1.0 = 40
In a week without any exceptions, the default calendar's working time in hours is 40.
Denise's capacity in FTE in this week is 1: 40 / 40 = 1.0
Part-Time Worker (by Availability)
Robin is a 50% worker. Her availability is set to 50%. Let's see the effect on the calculations:
The resource capacity factor is set to 50%.
Due to the 50% factor, Robin's capacity in hours in a week without exceptions is less than 40: 40 * 0.5 = 20
Robin's capacity in FTE in this week is 0.5: 20 / 40 = 0.5
The availability was used to reduce Robin's capacity. You can use this way to change the capacity of resources if you can work with only one calendar and there is no need for different calendar exceptions (holidays) for different resources.
Example 2: Full-Time Calendar and Part Time Calendars for Part Time Workers
Using different calendars is another possibility to define a non-standard working time.
Part-Time Worker (by Calendar)
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Jane is a 50% worker. Her calendar is an inherited calendar with reduced working hours for each day. Her availability is not changed. Let's see the effect on the calculations:
The resource capacity factor is 100%, because the resource availability is not changed.
Jane's capacity in hours in this week is 20: 20 * 1.0 = 20
In a week without any exceptions the default calendar's working time in hours is 40.
Jane's capacity in FTE in this week is 0.5: 20 / 40 = 0.5
Part-Time Worker (by Calendar with Calendar Exceptions)
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
John is a 50% worker. His calendar is an inherited calendar with reduced working hours for each day. His availability is not changed. Let's see the effect on the calculations:
The resource capacity factor is 100%, because the resource availability is not changed.
We assume it is a week with a holiday on Monday.
John's capacity in hours in this week is 14: 14 * 1.0 = 14
In a week with one calendar exception (i.e., one holiday) the default calendar's working time in hours is 32.
John's capacity in FTE in this week is 0.4375: 14 / 32 = 0.4375
Note: Because of different length of working days, the capacity in FTE can be different from 0.5 FTE.
If Tuesday was a holiday, the value would be 16/32 = 0.5 FTE.
If Thursday was also a holiday, the value would even amount to 20/31 = 0.625 FTE.
Part-Time Calendar and Availability
The examples above show two ways to change a resource's capacity. Of course, you also can combine both variants.
The capacity of a resource may be temporarily or permanently raised or lowered by entering capacity changes in the Absences tab of that resource's detail view in the resource pool.