Form Help - Finishes Schedules
The Finishes Schedule, Door Schedule, and Ironmongery Schedule form an inter-related suite of forms and reports to streamline the often tedious process of scheduling.
Creating a new Finishes Schedule
Before starting to create a new Finishes Schedule for a Project, ensure that the Project is in the Projects List and the Company whose Schedules you wish to create (generally 'My Company') is a Project Company in the Project Directory.
From the Home Page, select Finishes Schedules which will take you straight to the Finishes Schedules view with one of the existing schedules visible. Select the pull-down Project list in the grey banner at the top of the form and confirm that the Project is not already listed.
Type in the Project Number then press the 'Return' key. A dialogue box will appear asking whether you wish to Select a Project for which to create a new Room/Finishes Schedule? . Select Yes . You will be presented with a list of all the Projects. Select the correct Project and this will be inserted, in red text, into the box in the grey banner.
You must then add some information into the first line of the Schedule to 'fix' the new Schedule. We suggest you insert the Room Number into the relevant column. Don't worry if this is incorrect, you can always return and edit the information later.
Return to the Home Page, reselect Finishes Schedules and the new Project Number will appear in the selection list at the top of the form.
Data constraints
In the early days of developing PlanChest there was some debate as to whether Schedules should be based on A4 or A3 size paper. Although both sizes had advantages, we took the view that A4 was a better compromise than A3 and PlanChest was developed on the basis that all Schedules would be printed on A4 paper, landscape format. We give you this background information here as it affects the maximum number of characters that can be inserted in some of the fields. If you prefer to use A3 paper, we are happy to reconfigure your version of PlanChest under our Consultancy Services.
Header Information
Project: This information will have been entered when you Created a new Finishes Schedule.
Revision: The use of this field is dealt with below.
Number Format: The use of this field is dealt with below.
Notes: A text field, intended to refer to the whole Finishes Schedule. Often used to provide more information about the specific Revision, e.g. Room 1123 deleted, Room 1124 added.
Room Numbers and Names
Prefix: An optional (text) field with a maximum of 5 characters. If you use an all-number system, this field will generally be left blank. If you use a B/G/F/S/etc. numbering system, e.g. G/101 is the first room on the Ground Floor, we recommended that you insert the floor code letter in the Prefix column and use the Sort Order to force the schedule into the correct order.
Number: A required number field. You must insert a number into this column. Refer also to Number Format
Suffix: An optional (text) field, generally left blank but may be used to deal with multiple entries for one room, e.g. G/101/A, G/101B, etc.
Name: Try to be consistent across the whole project as it will make future searching and Filtering much easier, e.g. all Disabled WC, not some Disabled WC and others WC Disabled.
Floors/Skirtings/Walls/Ceilings
Base: A text field with a maximum of 7 characters, allowing the insertion of a typical NBS specification reference, e.g. M20:120.
Finish: A text field with a maximum of 10 characters. Try to be consistent across the whole project as it will make future searching and Filtering much easier, e.g. all Emulsion, not some Emulsion and others Paint.
Spec: A text field with a maximum of 7 characters, allowing the insertion of a typical NBS specification reference, e.g. M60:111.
Colour: A text field with a maximum of 2 characters, allowing you to devise a colour code for each finish.
Notes and Sort Order
Notes: A text field with a maximum of 20 characters.
Revisions: A text field with a maximum of 2 characters. The use of the Revision field is dealt with under Frequently Asked Questions.
Sort Order: A number field. The use of the Sort Order field is dealt with below.
Displaying and Sorting Schedules
The information in this section may, at first sight, seem over-complicated but the way in which PlanChest works is based on nearly five years of experience on real-life projects. You may be able to devise a perfectly satisfactory Room Numbering system that works well for you, but what happens when the system is imposed by others, generally your Client? We may not have thought of everything, but we believe we're a long way to solving most situations within one consistent interface.
Number Format
PlanChest provides a optional facility to force all Room Numbers to display as a consistent number of digits. For example you may wish to always use four-digit numbers, starting at 0001 and finishing at 9999. If you wish to use this optional facility insert the number of digits required, as zeros, in the No. format box in the grey banner at the top of the page.
Sort Order Field
The Finishes Schedule is based on the assumption that a number-only system is used throughout, e.g. 1001 is the first room in the Basement, 2001 is the first room on the Ground Floor, 3001 is the first room on the First Floor, etc. If this is your numbering system, you should not need to force the Schedule to sort correctly.
If, however, you have chosen to use a B/G/F/S/etc. numbering system, e.g. G/101 is the first room on the Ground Floor, you will need to use the Sort Order Field to force the Schedule to sort correctly. Insert a number in the Sort Order column, based on the order in which you wish the Schedule to sort, e.g. all Rooms with a '1' in the Sort Order will display before all Rooms with a '2', etc. You will generally select a Sort Order number to correspond with a Floor, e.g. all Rooms numbered B*** will be given a Sort Order of '1', all Rooms numbered G*** will be given a Sort Order of '2', etc.
The Sort Order does not print on the Reports nor does it directly affect the way in which information is displayed on the Reports. This is controlled solely by the Prefix:
No prefix: The Finishes Schedules will display as a continuous list with no forced breaks.
Prefix: Inserts a page break between each prefix, e.g. you will get a page break between 'B' and 'G'.
Filtered Reports display as a continuous list with no page breaks in all cases.
As each Project will be different, you may wish to consult our free online Technical Support for specific advice.
Reports
For general information on Reports, refer to the PlanChest Guidance page.
Finishes Schedule: A fixed-format A4 landscape list which may be printed as a Filtered Report.
Finishes Schedules - Frequently asked questions
How do I copy-and-paste information from floor-to-floor?
Where floors repeat, with identical information except for the Room Number, it's useful to be able to copy-and-paste all the information from a typical floor to similar floors. Always use Datasheet View to copy-and-paste. Highlight the complete set of records using the Record Selector then use normal Windows copy-and-paste commands.
How should I record revisions in Schedules?
Revisions to the complete Schedule are recorded in the header. PlanChest stores only the latest information and does not store historic information. If, for example, you wish to record the content of the 'Notes' field for each revision you will need to print and keep hard-copy reports each time the schedule is revised.
Revisions to individual records (each row) should be recorded by inserting the latest revision letter of the complete Schedule in the column on the far right-hand side of the form. This should be updated each time the record is revised but PlanChest doesn't retain historic information, e.g. if a particular record is shown as Revision 'G', there is no way of knowing whether it was revised in one or more of Revisions A to F. If you need this information you will need to keep hard-copy reports of each revision.
PlanChest does not provide any facility for recording exactly what information has been revised in each record. This is intentional as we consider that the management implications of trying to record every individual change are too onerous. We believe that directing third parties to the revised records (by inserting the latest revision letter in the relevant column), and then letting them search for the revised information, is all that you should be expected to provide.