Special Function: Understanding Task-Quantity Planning

As part of its planning and budgeting processes, an agency defines the tasks it will perform during the year and the amount of work those tasks will require. The Quantity fields on a Planning Task record enable agencies to: 1) estimate the amount of the task the crew will complete each month; and 2) gather data on the amount they actually accomplished. The information below explains your options for setting task quantity estimates and the methods Lucity uses to calculate actual work figures and other totals.

More information about Task Quantity fields and formulas 

Agency input: Monthly Task estimates

The Task Asset Units figure (in the Setup section of the Planned Task form) establishes the amount of work involved in that task. The next step in a department's work-planning process is to determine how it plans to complete that task over time. The Quantity section of the Planned Task record includes three sets of monthly fields: [Month] Est %, [Month] Est Amt and [Month] Act Amt. The first two enable a department to set its task quantity estimates.

When developing task-quantity estimates, you may either:

1. Enter values based on the amount of the task you expect crews to complete in specific months.
   • Advantage: This strategy allows you to consider how other factors may affect the timing of the work, like crew availability, seasonal weather conditions or the resource demands of other department tasks. (Examples: Planning mowing (seasonal) or accommodating scheduled repairs for a critical piece of equipment.)
   • Method: Enter an estimated percentage (Est %) or estimated amount (Est Amt) for each month. Lucity automatically calculates the companion (Est % or Est Amt) field using the appropriate formula:
     • [Month] Est % = [(Month) Est Amt / Task Asset Units] x 100
     • [Month] Est Amt = [(Month) Est % / 100] x Task Asset Units

   OR

2. Let Lucity distribute the task evenly across all months.
   • Advantage: This strategy is useful when you don’t expect outside factors to affect the work. (Example: Interior painting performed by a dedicated crew.)
   • Method: Check the Even Monthly Distribution option, then set the Total Estimated Percentage (Total Est %) or Annual Estimated Amount (Ann Est Amt). When you enable this option, the monthly estimate fields become inactive/read only.

Whichever strategy you choose, Lucity uses the resulting task quantity estimates to produce summary calculations that compare work plans to reality.

Lucity output: Actual monthly Task data and summary calculations

Lucity automatically calculates certain fields in the Quantity section, such as those that track the actual amount of the task a department completes, and those that compare planned work with actual work. These calculations depend on data you enter in the Setup fields and on Resource data gathered from matched Work Orders.

See the Special Function: Linking Work Orders to Planned Tasks topic to learn the steps you must take to view accurate actual task quantity data.

More information about Quantity fields and formulas