This article explains how to use the Time Schedule Workorder tab in the Planning module of Next Project to manage and visualize work order schedules. It covers creating Gantt-based schedules from work orders, setting up dependencies between activities, and monitoring hours worked against calculated budgets.

This article walks you through how to use the 'Time schedule workorder' tab in the Planning module.

Creating a Schedule

The 'Time schedule workorder' tab in the Planning module lets you work with a simple schedule for your project. Follow these steps to create a new schedule:

1. Start by creating a project with work orders. Make sure you specify a 'Production start date' and 'Production end date' for each work order in the Work order module.
   

   Work Order tab showing production start and end date columns highlighted by arrow.

   
   
   
2. Head over to the Planning module and open the 'Time schedule workorder' tab. Click the 'Create Gantt Tasks' button.
   

   Time Schedule Workorder tab with 'Create Gantt Tasks' button highlighted.

   
   
   
3. A planning view will appear, showing activities from your work orders along with the dates you specified in the Work order module.
   

   Time Schedule Workorder tab showing Gantt chart with task timeline and date range.

   
   
   
4. From here, you can move activities around by clicking on a planning record and dragging and dropping it to a new position. The dates will automatically update in the Work Order module to reflect the change.

Creating Dependencies Between Activities

You can also set up dependencies between activities to link them together. Here's how:

1. Hover over a schedule item and click on the white dot at either end of it.
   

   Selected row indicator — note the active highlighted state in the list.

   
   
   
2. Drag from that white dot to the white dot on the schedule item you'd like to create a dependency with.
   

   Gantt view showing a task dependency link tooltip; note the From/To relationship indicator.

   
   
   
3. The schedule record will move to align with the end and start dates of the linked activities. You can still move activities around and adjust dates as needed.
   

   Timeline/Gantt view showing task scheduling; note the highlighted gap between task bars.

   
   
   

Show Hours Worked

The 'Time schedule workorder' tab makes it easy to see how much of the calculated time has been spent on your activities. Follow these steps to view time spent:

1. First, enter the calculated hours on your work orders. You can do this in the Work order module under the 'Order lines' tab.
   

   Order Lines tab showing the Calculated Quantity column highlighted for user attention.

   
   
   
2. Go to the Planning module, open the 'Time schedule workorder' tab, and select 'Show hours worked / budget'.
   

   Time Schedule Workorder tab showing Gantt chart with 'Show worked hours / budget' dropdown highlighted.

   
   
   
3. Your schedule items will now show in dark green how much time has been spent on each work order relative to what was calculated. If you hover over or click on an item, you'll see the percentage of calculated hours that have been used.
   

   Gantt tooltip popup — note the task start, end dates, and completion percentage.

   
   
   
4. If more hours than calculated have been spent on a work order, that work order will be highlighted in red.
   

   Task tooltip popup — note the overdue completion percentage indicator.

   
   
   
5. Schedule items that appear completely light green either have no hours reported on them, or have no calculated hours entered in the Work order module.
   

   Time Schedule Workorder tab showing Gantt chart; note the arrow indicator on a task bar.