Userfields

Userfields

An introduction to userfields

Activities in Safran Project are not limited to the primary information fields (Activity ID, description, duration, etc.). They can be enriched with a diverse range of additional values and information, thanks to the flexible userfields.

Userfields empower you to add project or company-specific information to the activities in your plan for reporting and presentation purposes. Each userfield you create is available to use for every activity, and they are accessible as columns in the Barchart Editor or as fields in the different tabs of the Activity Information panel, giving you the flexibility to customize your view.

With userfields, you have the control to group, filter and present information on categories such as project phase, discipline or responsible engineer, depending on how you choose to set up your userfields. This level of control ensures your data is presented exactly as you need it.

Userfields can inherit values from other userfield sets. This is very useful in large organisations where you want to have some userfields standardised across all projects for reporting purposes. In that kind of scenario, you can create a master userfield set that can hold the standard fields and values and you can link the userfield sets for all your projects to the master userfield set for the fields you need to standardise.

Safran Project lets you define up to 290 unique userfields, ensuring you have the capacity to handle all your data needs. These are spread out over eight field types depending on the data type for which you need to use the field. The categories available are:

• Reference
• Text
• Date
• Flag
• Decimal
• Duration
• Outline codes
• Computed fields

To view and set up userfields for your project, follow these steps: Go to DATA > Userfields > Userfields…

Reference fields

Reference fields hold predefined values that you can select from a drop-down list.

Each value comprises a short code, a description and a sort field. You can add new values to the list through the Userfield Setup window. Adding a new value directly in the Barchart Editor is impossible. This ensures consistency where standardised values are needed, such as coding systems for project phases, contractors, areas, etc.

There are 60 Reference fields available, and each of them can hold an unlimited amount of values.

Some examples of reference field usage are:

• WBS – Work Breakdown Structure
• Discipline
• Contractor codes
• Level 4 code
• System
• Department
• Section
• Area
• Project Phase
• Engineer/PM responsible

To set up a new reference field or configure an existing one, enter the Userfield Sets window via DATA > Userfields > Userfields. Under the Userfields tab, you will find tabs for every field type. Selecting the Reference tab will give you a list of the existing reference fields from R1 to R60. When you choose a reference field from the list on the left, the values specified for that field will show in the bottom half of the window.

To add a new reference field, select one of the fields that aren't active or in use and set the checkboxes to Visible and Enabled and give the field a name in the label box. The first five fields are active by default.

Select the reference field from the list to edit values in a reference field (R1-R60). You will find the selected field values in the window's bottom half. From here, you can add new values or delete a value by using the buttons 'New' or 'Delete' at the bottom of the window. When deleting a value, make sure you have selected the right one before clicking the button. The sort field can specify a custom sorting order by numbering the codes in the order you want.

You can also import lists of codes from text files using the import button or export lists to edit in Excel or share with other projects using the export button.

Text fields

Text fields are editable with free text and are commonly used to keep notes and comments for activities.

There are 40 text fields available. Each field allows a maximum of 1000 characters. You can type any information in these fields, but Safran Project will always recognise them as text. That means entering numbers will be recognised as text, so you cannot use text fields for calculations. See the userfield type number for more on this.

To add a text field, make sure the Text tab is selected in the Userfields window, choose one of the fields that aren't active or in use, name the field in the label box, and set the checkboxes to Visible and Enabled. The first five fields are active by default. After a field has been activated, it is available in the Barchart Editor.

Flag fields

A flag can only hold two different values. If you think of a flag as a checkbox, then the values are checked or unchecked. Flags are used to store information for situations such as yes/no, true/false, exist/doesn't exist. Flags are typically used to show the state of an activity or if the activity has any extra requirements. There are 20 flag fields available.

To add a flag field, select the flag tab, specify a label description, and mark the visible checkbox to make the field available for use.

Decimal fields

Decimal fields hold numbers. The first ten fields (N1 –N10) are assigned for numbers with decimals, and the rest (N11-N20) are for integers (numbers without decimals). The default setting in Barchart Editor for decimal fields is that only one decimal will be shown. You can edit this in VIEW > Columns > Default Field Formats on the Decimal tab if you want to show more decimals. If you need to edit one column, you have shown it in the Barchart Editor. You can right-click on the column, select properties and set the number of decimals you want.

To add a new decimal field, go to DATA > Userfields > Userfields… and click the Decimal tab. Select a field from the list on the left, specify a label description and mark the visible checkbox to make the field available for reporting and updating.

Duration Fields

Duration fields differ from number fields as they consider calendars and non-working periods. A duration field can be specified as w (week), d (day), h (hour), or m (minute), depending on the calendar used. The system will use the default calendar unit if you do not provide any specifications such as w/d/h or m. There are ten duration fields available.

To add a duration field, select the Duration tab, specify a label description, and mark the visible checkbox to make the field available for reporting and updating.

Outline codes

An Outline code is a hierarchical tree structure. Each level of hierarchy details your project in a deeper way. There are 30 outline codes available in Safran Project. Outline codes can be used to build hierarchical structures, typically a WBS (work breakdown structure), OBS (organisational breakdown structure), and location codes (Country – Region – Plant – Department – Floor – System).

As you define your outline codes, you create a lookup table that makes entering or assigning outline codes for each activity straightforward.

When you create an outline code, you define the number of levels in your code structure and the coding for each level. The size of the project and the degree of control required would, in most cases, determine the appropriate number of levels defined.

To add an outline code field from the Userfield window:

· Make sure the Outline Codes tab is selected

· Select a field to use from the list on the left, specify a label description

· Mark the visible checkbox to make the field available for reporting and updating

· Set how many levels your code needs in the Max Leves field (from 1 to 25 levels)

· Select the Edit Data tab in the lower half of the window

· Click the "Add node" button

· Double-click the newly created node to add code and description for the selected level

· Continue until you have created your structure

Other available buttons on the right side of the edit data view are Delete node, Copy node and Paste node. Click on the Configuration tab to change characters and the length of the field or add a separator.

Computed Fields

Computed fields are used to perform calculations. Unlike the other userfields, you cannot manually enter data into a computed field.

When you set up a computed field, you must define its type. The field type depends on what output you want from your calculation, and you can choose between Decimal, Date, Text, Flag and Duration. Safran Project has 50 computed fields.

After defining a new computed field, you can click the Formula button to set up your desired calculations.

To add a computed field from the Userfield window:

• Make sure the Computed tab is selected.
• Specify a label description.
• Mark the visible checkbox to make the field available for reporting and updating.
• Choose the field type in the Field Type drop-down.
• Click the Formula button and add a formula (see next paragraph for more info on formulas)

Userfield Formulas

Safran Project lets you specify formulas for Text, Date, Flag, Decimal, Duration and Computed userfields. The formula feature is found on each tab in the Userfields window for the fields mentioned above and is located on the lower half of each tab.

For normal userfields, you can select whether the field is for manual input or a calculated value, for computed fields, this will always be set to calculated. When you choose Calculated Value, the Formula button is activated and lets you define the calculations you want for the selected field.

To create a new formula, click the add button. This creates a line that holds one formula, and by default, this formula will be calculated for all activities. You can calculate this formula for some activities only by selecting WHERE from the Include Activities drop-down menu. Doing this will activate the filter button and let you specify a filter for the activities for which to calculate the formula. In the Include Activities drop-down menu, you can also select 'THEN WHERE' or 'REMAINING' and set up complex criteria for what activities to perform and what calculations to do. If you go for complexity, it is a good idea to comment in the Remarks field what each line is for.

When you have created one (or many) lines for formulas, you must click the Formula button to set up the calculations you need for every line. The formula setup lets you add lines and build a calculation. You can choose from Safran Project system fields or userfields in a drop-down menu, enter numbers or text manually, set operators (+,-,*,/, power of) and add parenthesis to parts of your formula.

To apply a formula to a userfield:

• Select the userfield or computed field you want to set up a formula for
• Click the Formula button (check that the Calculated Value button is checked)
• In the Userfield Formula window, check that you have the correct userfield in the Userfield box in the upper left corner of the window.
• Click the Add button to add a new line and choose which activities to perform the formula on

• Click the Formula button to set up your calculation.

• Enter your formula in the Userfield Formula window using the Add/Insert/Delete Row buttons and Expression, Parenthesis and Operator fields.

• If you have selected 'WHERE', 'THEN WHERE' or 'REMAINING' in the Include Activities drop-down, press the Filter button to set filters for each line you have created.

• Add a filter in the Filters window using the Add/Insert/Delete Row buttons and Field, Expression, And/Or Parenthesis and Operator fields. You may also choose a saved filter from the Filter drop-down.

• Click OK