DCM Boards (Daily Capacity Management)
DCM Boards provide a visual time-grid for daily capacity planning. Resources (people, equipment) are arranged as rows, time slots as columns, and tasks are placed as colored blocks on the grid. This gives shift leads and team leaders an instant view of who is doing what, when, and whether capacity is fully utilized.
The module is inspired by the physical capacity boards used in lean manufacturing, digitized for real-time collaboration and historical tracking.
Overview
Daily capacity management is a core discipline in operational excellence. Without visibility into who is assigned to what, teams experience bottlenecks, idle time, and missed commitments. ProBeya's DCM module solves this with a digital grid that supports drag-and-drop task assignment, utilization heatmaps, and reusable task catalogs.
Getting Started
- Navigate to your board and open the DCM panel.
- Click New DCM Board and configure the date, shift type, and time range.
- Set the slot duration (e.g., 15, 30, or 60 minutes).
- Add resources (rows) — each resource has a name, role, and available minutes.
- Add tasks (blocks) — assign them to resources at specific time positions.
- Use the utilization view to spot over- or under-allocated resources.
How It Works
Board Structure
Each DCM board represents a single date/shift combination with configurable parameters:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Date | The calendar date for this capacity plan |
| Shift Type | Morning, afternoon, or night shift |
| Start/End Hour | Configurable time range (e.g., 06:00 to 14:00) |
| Slot Duration | Time granularity in minutes (e.g., 15, 30, 60) |
Resources
Resources are the rows of the grid. Each resource represents a person or equipment unit with:
- Name — resource identifier
- Role — functional role (e.g., "Operator", "QC Analyst")
- Available Minutes — total capacity for the shift
- Sort Order — display position on the board
Tasks
Tasks are the blocks placed on the grid. Each task is positioned by:
- Resource — which row (resource) the task belongs to
- Start Minute — offset from the board's start hour
- Duration — length in minutes
- Color — visual category coding
- Status — tracking completion within the shift
Tasks can be moved between resources and time positions via the moveTask procedure, enabling real-time capacity rebalancing.
Task Catalogs
Frequently recurring tasks can be saved in a task catalog scoped to the organization. Catalog entries store a default name, duration, color, and category. When adding tasks to the grid, users can pull from the catalog to avoid retyping common assignments.
Utilization Analytics
The getUtilization procedure calculates per-resource utilization:
Utilization % = (Assigned Minutes / Available Minutes) x 100
This powers a capacity heatmap showing which resources are over-allocated (red), optimally loaded (green), or under-utilized (yellow).
Configuration
DCM boards are linked to a parent ProBeya board. Multiple DCM boards can exist for the same parent board (one per date/shift). Time parameters and slot duration are set per DCM board.
Permissions
| Action | Required Role |
|---|---|
| Create a DCM board | Board manager or shift lead |
| Add/move/remove tasks | Any board member |
| Add/remove resources | Board manager |
| Manage task catalog | Organization admin |
| View boards and utilization | Any board member |
Board creation and deletion are logged to the audit trail.
Tips & Best Practices
Invest time upfront in creating a comprehensive task catalog with accurate default durations. This dramatically speeds up daily planning and ensures consistency across shifts.
The utilization heatmap should be reviewed at the start of each shift. Flag any resource above 90% utilization as a risk — they have no buffer for unplanned work.
Assign consistent colors to task categories (e.g., blue for production, red for maintenance, green for training). This makes the grid scannable at a glance.
Related Features
- Shift Handover — capacity context complements shift handover communication
- TIER Meetings — review daily capacity during TIER stand-ups
- KPI Boards — track utilization and capacity KPIs over time
- Action Log — create actions for capacity gaps identified during planning