When it comes to resource planning, it is important to be able to search for the availability of resources. IFS/Maintenance and IFS/Service Management provides a free time search facility with which you can search for the availability of either a single resource or a combination of resources. A resource is an employee or tool-and-facility.
The search can be performed in one of the following ways:
In both types of searches, a limited number of results will be displayed. A single result will contain the details related to the search, i.e., the employee, tool-and-facility, or both. The results are ranked according to how soon the resource can complete the particular task. From the results, you can create one or more new work orders or modify existing work orders.
For both types of searches, you can create a connection between the operation lines and the tool-and-facility lines included in the search result, provided that one or more of the following criteria are met:
The connection will be reflected in the work order.
It is worth while to note that for maximum utility of the free time search facility, you need to have some basic knowledge on what you want to search. Information such as the site on which the work is to be carried out, the resources needed for the execution, the time period the resource should be free, the approximate time needed for the resource, etc., will help to ensure that you receive the most suitable results.
The availability of an employee is checked against the schedules of IFS Human Resources (if installed). If the schedules are not available, you will not receive any results. The schedules can be excluded from the search if required. In such cases, the employee is considered to be available twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.
If IFS Human Resources is not installed, the employee's availability will be checked against the schedules of IFS/Enterprise Asset Management or IFS/Service Management. The schedules are equivalent to the work time calendar of the maintenance organization to which the employee is connected.
Entering information such as the craft and employee ID will help to narrow down your search. Furthermore, you can connect additional qualifications to the search criteria, thereby utilizing the competencies and licenses defined in IFS Human Resources. Qualifications can also be connected to individual rows (of the Employee resource type) in a combined search (described below). Note: Competencies and licenses are connected to HR job IDs which in turn can be connected to a craft. The qualifications connected here are in addition to those connected to the HR job ID.
The availability of a tool-and-facility is checked against the work time calendar of the maintenance organization to which the tool-and-facility is connected. This schedule can be excluded from the search if required. In such cases, the tool and facility is considered to be available twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. Entering information such as the tool-and-facility type and tool-and-facility ID will help to narrow down your search.
The Combined Free Time Search makes it possible to find available time for complex tasks; where several people with different crafts have to be involved and where different kinds of tools and facilities have to be used. The work within such tasks may have a logical execution order (i.e., one task has to be completed before another one can be started). This sequence of tasks must be considered when performing the search.
Consider the following example. The damage to the coachwork must be corrected before the lacquer work can start. In order to complete the different tasks, several employees with different crafts would be required. In addition, these employees will be using different kinds of tools and facilities in their work. Therefore, the required tools and facilities should also be available at the same time as the employee.
The Sequence in the Free Time Search window makes it possible to search for the available time of the resources, according to the logical order of the tasks to be performed. The table below illustrates such an order:
| Sequence | Resource Type | Craft | Tools and Facilities | Hours |
| 1 | Employee | Body Worker |
— |
8 |
| 1 | Tools and facilities |
— |
Leveling bench | 8 |
| 2 | Employee | Lacquer |
— |
6 |
| 2 | Tools and facilities |
— |
Spray painting plant | 24 |
| 3 | Employee | Mechanic |
— |
4 |
Another way to enter search criteria for a Combined Free Time Search is to connect separate standard jobs prior to searching. Once connected, the details related to the employees and tools-and-facilities will be displayed as the search criteria. Make sure that the standard job you are connecting contains the relevant details. Connecting a standard job which does not have information on employees and tools-and-facilities will not display any details. You can connect any number of standard jobs to the search. Once the details are displayed, you can assign the sequence as required, and perform the search.