How to view the Capacity Load in Business Central?
In standard Business Central, the planning lines capacity load on the expected capacity load on planning lines are not included in the works and the load report, but it’s actually there and that would be nice to use if you do other apps or BI reports to do your capacity planning.
This is what happens in the video
In standard Business Central, the expected capacity load on planning lines is not included in the work center load report. The data exists in the system as allocated capacity entries on planning lines, but the standard report only shows the load from released production orders. If you build BI reports or use other apps for capacity planning, you can extract these planning line entries and get a much more complete picture of how your capacities will be loaded.
This article walks through where to find the capacity load on planning lines, why the standard work center load report leaves it out, and how you can use the allocated capacity entries to improve your MRP and low-level code planning.
How the work center load report works in standard Business Central
When you open a work center, for example the machine department, you can navigate into the load and get a clear overview of the capacity load on the right-hand side. In this example, going back to around 29 July shows the first load, and by the middle of July the work center is more than 200% loaded.
You can also run the Work Center Load report, either from within the work center or directly from the menu. There is a corresponding Machine Center Load report as well. If you run it from 1 June across 30 weeks, the period stretches into the next year. By setting the work center load percentage filter to more than one, you only see the dates where there is actual allocation. In this example, the entries run into August, which is the last date with any load shown in the report.
Why the capacity load on planning lines is missing
The work center load report only reflects load from released production orders. It does not include the expected capacity load that already exists on your planning lines. That means if you have done a lot of planning in the planning worksheet, none of that capacity shows up in the standard load report, even though the system has the data.
Where to find the allocated capacity on planning lines
Open the planning worksheet, where you may have a large amount of planning. Take a planning line with a starting date in the middle of October, for example. From that specific planning line you can navigate into the routing, which the MRP system calculates when it runs. Navigate further into the routing and you can see the allocated capacity.
This means the system already holds allocated capacity entries for your planning lines. These entries are valuable because they tell you how your capacities will be loaded if you carry out the action messages from your planning run.
Using the entries for low-level code planning
These allocated capacity entries are especially useful when running MRP planning, and in particular low-level code planning. Being able to extract the entries lets you see how your capacities will be loaded before you commit to the action messages on a given low-level code.
A strong planning approach combines several steps. You run a low-level code planning, look at the resulting capacity, adjust the planning lines, look at the capacity again, then carry out the action and move on to the next low level. Because the data is there, you should use these entries rather than relying on the standard work center load report alone.
Q&A
Does the standard Business Central work center load report include planning lines?
No. The standard work center load report only shows load from released production orders. The expected capacity load on planning lines is not included, even though the data exists in the system.
Where can I find the expected capacity load on a planning line?
Open the planning worksheet, select a planning line, and navigate into its routing. From the routing you can see the allocated capacity entries that the MRP system calculates when it runs.
Why are the allocated capacity entries on planning lines useful?
They show how your capacities will be loaded if you carry out the action messages from your planning run. This is especially helpful for low-level code planning, where you want to see the capacity impact before committing to the actions.
How can I include planning line capacity in my capacity planning?
Extract the allocated capacity entries from the planning lines and use them in BI reports or other apps. This gives you a more complete view than the standard work center load report, which leaves these entries out.