A Process is any operation that is performed to complete a job. The Process may be a Pre-Press operation, Copying, Printing or a Post-Press operation. But not a non-active status such as waiting for artwork or waiting for the proof to come back in or any kind of hold.
Some Processes require a resource such as press or a laminator. A Process that is in the Bindery (Post-Press) Department may use a resource that is defined in several ways. For example the Bindery operation Laminate 5.5 x 8.5 and the operation Laminate 8.5 x 11, may have a different price but will use the same Resource, the Laminator. You may have a press such as the Speedmaster SM 52-4-H which you have defined with three different price structures, one for commercial, one for quick print and one for high volume customers. The three press definitions will each show up as a Process in the schedule but they will all three use the same Resource and will all be in the same Department.
A Resource may be a press, a cutter, a computer or even a person. When the program displays production load, it knows which Resource is being used for various Processes. It can then display load for that Resource, using the Resource View menu selection, for any day or a range of days to facilitate load balancing. One Resource may be defined in many different ways to represent different Processes and different prices for using that Resource. A Resource may be used for only a specific number of hours in a 24-hour period. For example, a press running two shifts can run a maximum of 16 hours in a 24-hour day. The number of hours it may be used in a 24-hour period is defined as Max Hrs. The program calculates the load over all jobs scheduled for that day and will alert you when you have exceeded Max Hrs.
A Department can contain many Resources and therefore many Processes. When the program displays production load, it knows which Resources are in a Department. It can then display the load for that Department for any day or a range of days to facilitate load balancing. A Department will have a finite number of people available in a normal 24-hour period. This can be the limiting factor in the number of hours of production that may be available in a 24-hour period. The limiting factor may be the equipment or Resources in the Department or a combination of equipment and personnel. The program will alert you when you have exceeded that number defined as Max Hrs. This number is not intended to be an absolute value, but more of a probable average with the actual limit being totally controlled by the type of jobs being performed. Therefore the alert that Max Hrs has been exceeded does not mean an absolute bottleneck is pending.
"Default Departments (used for SPECIAL or undefined processes):"
If you choose SPECIAL in the Pre-Press or Post-Press selections, the SPECIAL Option may not be associated with a Resource or a Department. The option, with the description you enter for it, will show up in the Default Department you select here.