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Siebel Field Service Guide > Scheduling Using Siebel Scheduler >
Creating Constraint Sets for Schedules
Service businesses must operate under numerous union, legal, or business constraints. For more information, see Examples of Constraints. These constraints include the following types:
- Hard constraints. The ABS and Optimizer cannot violate hard constraints. Activities that do not fit these constraints are not scheduled. Consequently, the engines quickly find solutions, but fewer solutions are obtained. The solutions result in higher costs for service.
- Soft constraints. The Optimizer can weigh the cost of using or violating a soft constraint when calculating solutions for a schedule. Compared to hard constraints, soft constraints result in longer optimization times (lower performance of the Optimizer), more solutions, and lower costs for service. Violating soft constraints can result in a more costly schedule.
Schedules that violate hard constraints are discarded even though they might be better than other solutions. The Optimizer can use solutions that violate soft constraints, but it assigns a penalty to these violations that can make a solution less favorable than another solution. The calculated cost function for each solution includes the penalties for violating soft constraints. For more information, see Defining Cost Functions for the Optimizer.
To create constraint sets, perform the following procedures:
This task is a step in Process of Administering Schedules Using Siebel Scheduler. Examples of Constraints
The following constraints limit work hours:
- Union agreements stipulate that no person work more than 10 hours of overtime in a week.
- Laws regulating worker safety restrict employees from working more than 12 hours a day.
- To keep costs down, management specifies that no service manager can authorize more than forty hours of overtime for each week for all of their employees.
- An engineer cannot work more than 45 hours for each week.
- An engineer cannot engage in an activity type (for example, working with hazardous materials) more than 4 hours in each day.
- Total workload must be less than 95%.
- Total workload must be greater than 60%.
- An engineer cannot travel more than 4 hours a day.
The following constraint limits timing of an activity: All waste disposal activities must start before 8:00 P.M. Predefined Constraints
Table 10 describes the predefined constraints for the ABS and Optimizer.
Table 10. Constraints for the ABS and Optimizer
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Appointment Booking Activity Time |
Limits the time of day an activity of a specified type or priority can start or end. |
Appointment Booking FSE Limit |
Limits the number of activities of any type or of a specified type, or time that any employee or a specific employee spends on activities. Or, limits the number of activities or time spent on activities for a specified service role (for example, Installation or Preventive Maintenance). |
Appointment Booking Schedule Activity Type |
Limits the number of activities of any type or the time spent on activities of a specified type for a whole schedule. |
Optimizer Activity Time Hard |
Limits when an activity of a specified type or priority must begin or end. This constraint is a hard constraint. |
Optimizer Activity Time Soft |
Limits when an activity of a specified type or priority can begin or end. Also, specifies the penalty for violating this soft constraint. |
Optimizer FSE Limit Hard |
Limits the following values for any employee or a specific employee during a specified period:
- Workload percentage
- Number of activities of any type or of a specified type
- Total hours of travel time
- Total work hours
This constraint is a hard constraint. |
Optimizer FSE Limit Soft |
Limits the following values for any employee, a specific employee, or a specified service role (for example, Installation or Preventive Maintenance) during a specified period:
- Workload percentage
- Number of activities of any type or of a specified type
- Total hours of overtime
- Total hours of travel time
- Total work hours
Also, specifies the penalty for violating this soft constraint. |
Optimizer Fairness |
Promotes an equal distribution of the following values for workload, specified as a percentage, for all employees or for a specified service role (for example, Installation or Preventive Maintenance):
- Number of activities of any type or of a specified type
- Total hours of overtime
- Total hours of travel time
- Total work hours
Also, specifies the penalty for violating this soft constraint. NOTE: Optimizer Fairness is a leeway constraint because it is based on a percentage and not an absolute value. Because this number is approximate, the Optimizer can achieve acceptable schedule assignments within acceptable times.
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Optimizer Schedule Activity Type Hard |
Limits the following values for a whole schedule in a specified period:
- Hours of work time for activities of a certain type
- Number of activities of a certain type
- Percentage count of activities of a certain type
- Percentage hours for activities of a certain type
This constraint is a hard constraint. |
Optimizer Schedule Activity Type Soft |
Limits the following values for a whole schedule:
- Hours of work time for activities of a certain type
- Number of activities of a certain type
- Percentage count of activities of a certain type
- Percentage hours for activities of a certain type
Also, specifies the penalty for violating this soft constraint. |
Optimizer Schedule Overtime Soft |
Limits the hours of overtime in a specified period for a whole schedule. Also, specifies the penalty for violating this soft constraint. |
Optimizer Travel Time |
Limits the travel time between activities for all employees, specific employees, or a specified service role (for example, Installation or Preventive Maintenance). This constraint can be a hard or soft constraint. |
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