Resource leveling: this short article explains resource leveling in a practical way. Next to what it is, this article also highlights methods and techniques, examples and tips. Enjoy reading!
Resource leveling: this short article explains resource leveling in a practical way. Next to what it is, this article also highlights methods and techniques, examples and tips. Enjoy reading!
Resource leveling is a technique used to optimize the allocation of resources over time, for example in project management. It is also known as resource allocation or resource smoothing.
In short, resource leveling means that the planning of project activities is adjusted to avoid overloading or misallocation of resources. Overloading and misallocation of resources can cause resources to be used less efficiently.
The goal of this technique is to ensure that available resources are always in the right place, are optimally distributed and utilized throughout the project and that project costs remain within limits.
This takes into account as many factors as possible, such as the availability of:
Resource leveling helps project managers reduce peaks and troughs in resource requirements. This ultimately leads to better planning control and increased productivity.
Ultimately, the available resources are better deployed and it helps to minimize conflicts resulting from misallocation of resources. This can result in team members becoming overloaded, which in turn can lead to quality reduction or project delays.
Resource leveling involves various techniques and methods, such as rethinking resources and activities, changing the order of tasks, allocating additional resources, or rescheduling work. The ultimate goal is to use the resources in the most favorable way possible.
Below you will find an overview of the most well-known techniques and methods in which resource leveling is an important part.
The Critical Path Method (CPM) helps to identify the critical path in a project. The critical path is the sequence of activities that takes the longest time to complete the project. Resource leveling is used to ensure that resources are distributed evenly among the activities on the critical path. This is important to prevent delays and bottlenecks.
Resource smoothing is a technique that involves allocating resources in such a way that peaks and troughs in resource utilization are smoothed out. This means that the duration of certain activities is adjusted in order to add capacity to the balance sheet and to prevent overload.
In some project management methods, such as Scrum, resource leveling is used in sprint planning. The team determines together which activities can be performed with which available resources in order to maintain a balance in both resources and workload.
In the Theory of Constraints (TOC), identifying the weakest links in a system is emphasized. Resource leveling can be applied to optimize resources for deployment and reduce constraints. This improves project throughput and performance.
Here are three short examples in real life:
Imagine a software development team working on different functions and modules of an application.
To apply resource leveling, the workload is distributed among the developers according to their availability and skills.
If some developers are already overloaded, some tasks can be rearranged or reassigned to developers with a lighter workload to balance resources and avoid delays.
In a construction project, there are different teams and resources involved, such as contractors, craftsmen and equipment.
By applying resource leveling, the workload and schedule of the different teams can be aligned with their availability.
If a particular team is overworked, project management can decide to allocate additional resources or redistribute the workload to ensure project progress is smooth and no bottlenecks arise.
In a hospital environment, it is important to ensure that the right healthcare professionals are available at the right times, taking into account their availability and skills.
Resource leveling is used to balance the schedules of doctors, nurses and other employees. This takes into account variables such as working hours, holidays and competences to ensure quality of care is maintained and workload is evenly distributed.
These examples illustrate how resource leveling can be applied in different situations to ensure that available resources are used effectively and efficiently, achieving balanced workload and smooth project execution.
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