Build a sorting and matching procedure set

1. From the Main Menu, select Administration > Application Setup > Scheduler Setup > Sorting and Matching > Procedure Sets.
2. Click New or select a procedure set and click Edit or Duplicate.
3. To remove a procedure set, select the procedure and click Delete. Click Yes to confirm.
Caution: If you delete a procedure set that is in a location profile, the system deletes it but does not display a warning message.
3. Enter a Name and (Optional) Enter a Description.
4. In the Context drop-down box, select Priority Scheduling Engine. Note that you cannot edit the context (see Contextual notes) after a procedure set has been saved.
5.  In the Step column, select one of the following procedures:
Note:  To enable the Priority Scheduling Engine audit for a step, select the Audit checkbox. Note that PSE audits use large amounts of storage space in the database. To minimize search time, enable audits for the minimum number of steps needed.
• Assign Only — By employees, by shifts, or sorting shifts by employee preference
• Conditional Unassign
• Reassign — By employee, by shifts or sorting shifts by employee preference
• Unassign Only
6. After you select a procedure, predefined parameters are populated. To use these predefined parameters, click Save & Return. To customize the parameters, do the following:
   1. In the Parameter columns, select all of the required rule sets that sort employees, sort shifts, or match shifts and employees.
   2. To define another step, click Insert a new row. Repeat the options. A PSE procedure set can contain up to 20 steps.
   3. To remove procedures, click Delete this row. Click Yes to confirm.
   3. To change the order of a step, select the radio button and click the up or down arrows as needed.
   Caution: The order of steps significantly affects performance. Define the procedure set logically to avoid unnecessary processing, a slowed system, or an endless processing loop. Examples: An Unassign step after an Assign step undoes the results of the Assign step. A procedure set can loop on a list that adds items to itself. If the system suffers an endless loop, close Scheduler. Edit the procedure set.
   4. Click Save and Return. After a procedure set is saved, you cannot edit the context.

The PSE completes the steps in order from top to the bottom as shown in the following example.

• Make sure that the procedure set generates the desired results. If not, adjust the rules, rules sets, and procedure sets. Test again.
• Complex configurations can require thorough testing. The objective is to provide procedure sets that quickly generate accurate and efficient schedules.

You cannot select the context in a predefined procedure set. After a procedure set is saved, you cannot edit the context.

The PSE completes the steps in order from top to the bottom:

Example PSE procedure set

Employees:

• Full time, hire date 2004
• Part time, hire date 2014
• Part time, hire date 2012, Operator certification
• Full time, hire date 1999, Operator certification
• Full time, hire date 1995, Operator certification
• Per diem, hire date 2010
• Full time, hire date 2004, Operator certification

Open shifts:

• Maintenance, Line-2, 630a–3p, 8 h
• Supervisor, Line-1, 630a–4p, 9 h
• Assembler, Line-1, 7a–330p, 8 h
• Assembler, Line-1, 730a–4p, 8 h
• Tester, Line-1, 730a–430p, 8.5 h
• Packager, Line-1, 930a–5p, 7 h

Action and results:

1. Select the locations and time period.
2. Select Actions > Run Priority Scheduling Engine.
3. Select the procedure set.
4. None of the employees have assigned shifts. To unassign shifts from employees, select a procedure set that unassigns the shifts first. For example, this process can “bump” or reassign employees.
5. Click Start.
   1. The process starts with the employees and the open shifts.
   2. The procedure set uses sorting employee, sorting shift, and matching rule sets to assign shifts. The Sorting Employee Rule Set sorts the employees:

Rule set	Rules
Employee	The first sort is the most important. Sort by Worker Type in alphabetical order from Full time to Part time to Per diem (contractor). Sort by Hire Date from earliest to most recent. Sort by Certification for licensed equipment operators. This sort breaks a tie between two full-time employees who were hired in 1994.

Result of employee sort:

• Full time, hire date 1995, Operator certification
• Full time, hire date 1999, Operator certification
• Full time, hire date 2004, Operator certification
• Full time, hire date 2004
• Part time, hire date 2012, Operator certification
• Part time, hire date 2014
• Per diem, hire date 2010

The Sorting Shift Rule Set sorts the shifts:

Rule set

Rules

Shift

Sort by Location sorts for Line-1 and Line-2. This sort separates shifts for Line-1 which is in production, from shifts for Line-2 which is shut down for maintenance. Sort by Start Time from earliest to latest. Because the most senior employees tend to prefer the earliest shifts, this sort ranks the shifts so that they match first with the earlier shifts. Because Line-2 maintenance needs only one shift, this sort affects only Line-1 shifts. Sort by Duration from longest to shortest. Again, the most senior employees tend to prefer the longer shifts. This sort breaks a tie between shifts that start at 7:30 a.m.

Result of shift sort:

• Supervisor, Line-1, 630a–4p, 9 h
• Assembler, Line-1, 7a–330p, 8 h
• Tester, Line-1, 730a–430p, 8.5 h
• Assembler, Line-1, 730a–4p, 8 h
• Packager, Line-1, 930a–5p, 7 h
• Maintenance, Line-2, 630a–3p, 8 h

The Matching Rule Set matches shifts to the employees:

Rule set	Rules
Matching	Match by Availability: Preferred at 50% Available at 100% Unknown = not allowed Unavailable = not allowed Match by Employees’ primary or transfer jobs. If matching a transfer job, match by Job Preference >= 1.

For each matching rule, the PSE:

1. Compares the first employee to each shift in order.
2. Assigns the employee to the first available shift if all matching rules are met. For example, the PSE assigns the first employee to the first assembler shift because both the preferred time and the primary job match the shift.
3. Compares the second employee to each remaining shift in order.
4. Assigns the employee to the first available shift if all matching rules pass.
5. Continues comparing and matching until all employees are matched, all shifts are matched, or the remaining employees or shifts do not meet all matching rules

Final result of the matching rule set:

Employees	Shifts
Full time, hire date 1995, Operator certification	Assembler, Line-1, 7a–330p, 8 h
Full time, hire date 1999, Operator certification	Assembler, Line-1, 730a–4p, 8 h
Full time, hire date 2004, Operator certification	Tester, Line-1, 730a-430p, 8.5 h
Full time, hire date 2004	Supervisor, Line-1, 630a-4p, 9 h
Part time, hire date 2012, Operator certification	Maintenance, Line-2, 630a-3p, 8 h
Part time, hire date 2014	Packager, Line-1, 930a-5p, 7 h
Per diem, hire date 2010	no shift available

If the PSE cannot match an employee with an open shift, it does not assign a shift to that employee. Instead, it moves to the next employee in the list.

If open shifts remain, either:

• Accept the proposed shift assignments. Run the PSE again, but select a different procedure set to assign the remaining open shifts.
• Reject the proposed shift assignments. Run the PSE again, but select a different procedure set.