Time Out in the User Action Node

Here's what we did to disregard weekends/holidays for workunit escalation:
1. Created a calendar (for the year) in Lawson complete with dates of holidays.
3. Create a 4GL that calculates for number of hours until the next working days if the
following day(s) is a weekend or a holiday(legal).
4. Update the WAIT-HOURS,REASSIGN-HOUR,TIME-OUT-HOUR in WFWUQUEUE with the new
calculated hours.
4. Listing of all updated workunits is provided to the admin.

Previously we created three flows scheduled at night on Fridays,Saturdays and Sundays just to
update the escalation hours by 72, 65 and 41 hrs.

Thanks Sam, maybe I've overlooked the wait hours, sure will give it a try...Part that puzzles me, most of the WorkUnits would great, but its a few that don't, its like they never got updated...

Just remember : IF REASSIGN=Y then update only the WAIT-HOURS1 and TIME-OUT-HOUR else
update all three fields.

Here is what I did to skip weekends and holidays for workunit escalation/reassignment. All the coding is done process flow, and without updating any data in process flow tables.
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1. In the START node, create a variable for the number of days/hours to escalate.
Example: Integer DaysToEscalate = 4 (our default is to escalate after 4 days).
2. In the USER ACTION nodes, enter the variable 'DaysToEscalate' for the time-out variable.
3. Add a SQL QUERY node with a SQL command (copy & paste the SQL command below) to get various dates, such as
the current date and day of week/date of major holidays for the current year, including:
a. current date (SYSDATE1 & SYSDATE2)
(e.g., SYSDATE1 format=mm/dd/yy & SYSDATE2 format=MAR18.)
b. current day of week (e.g., DAYOFWEEK format=FRIDAY)
c. day of the week for major holidays: XMAS & 4THJULY. NEXTNEWYEAR
(Where the day of week changes every year).
d. date for other major holidays: MEMORIALDAY, LABORDAY, and THXGIVING.
(Where the day of week is the same every year).

4. Add a BRANCH node to see what the current DAYOFWEEK is (in the SQL command above).
In our case:
- if the current DAYOFWEEK is MONDAY or TUESDAY, then DaysToEscalate = 4.
- if the current DAYOFWEEK is WEDNESDAY or THURSDAY or FRIDAY,
then DaysToEscalate = DaysToEscalate+2. (This skips Sat & Sun)
- if the current DAYOFWEEK is SUNDAY,
then DaysToEscalate' = DaysToEscalate+1. (This skips Sun)

5. Add another BRANCH node to check if a major holiday falls on a weekday. For example:
For holidays that are on the same day of the week every year:
MemorialDay: If SYSDATE2 = MEMORIALDAY (e.g, does MAR18=MAY30 ?)
then DaysToEscalate=DaysToEscalate+1.
LaborDay: If SYSDATE2 = LABORDAY (e.g, does MAR18=SEP05 ?)
then DaysToEscalate=DaysToEscalate+1.
Thxgiving: If SYSDATE2 == THXGIVING (e.g, does MAR18=NOV24 ?)
then DaysToEscalate=DaysToEscalate+2. (Skip Thr & Fri)

For holidays that are on a different day of the week every year:
4thJuly: If 4THJULY = MONDAY or TUESDAY or WEDNESDAY or THURSDAY or FRIDAY
then DaysToEscalate=DaysToEscalate+1.
Xmas: If XMAS = MONDAY or TUESDAY or WEDNESDAY or THURSDAY or FRIDAY
then DaysToEscalate=DaysToEscalate+1.
Next New Year: If NEXTNEWYEAR= MONDAY or TUESDAY or WEDNESDAY or THURSDAY
or FRIDAY
then DaysToEscalate=DaysToEscalate+1.
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SQL QUERY node to get various dates/days of week:
select TRUNC(SYSDATE) "SYSDATE1",
to_char(sysdate,'MONDD') "SYSDATE2",
to_char(sysdate, 'FMDAY') "DAYOFWEEK",
to_char(to_date('01-JAN-'||to_char(to_number
(to_char(sysdate, 'YYYY')+1))), 'DAY') "NEXTNEWYEAR",
to_char(to_date('25-DEC-'||to_char(sysdate, 'YYYY')), 'DAY')
"XMAS",
to_char(to_date('04-JUL-'||to_char(sysdate, 'YYYY')), 'DAY')
"4THJULY",

CASE --MEMORIALDAY--
WHEN to_char(to_date('31-MAY-' ||
to_char(sysdate,'YYYY')),'FMDAY')='MONDAY'
THEN 'MAY31'
WHEN to_char(to_date('31-MAY-' ||
to_char(sysdate,'YYYY')),'FMDAY')='TUESDAY'
THEN 'MAY30'
WHEN to_char(to_date('31-MAY-' ||
to_char(sysdate,'YYYY')),'FMDAY')
='WEDNESDAY'
THEN 'MAY29'
WHEN to_char(to_date('31-MAY-' ||
to_char(sysdate,'YYYY')),'FMDAY')='THURSDAY'
THEN 'MAY28'
WHEN to_char(to_date('31-MAY-' ||
to_char(sysdate,'YYYY')),'FMDAY')='FRIDAY'
THEN 'MAY27'
WHEN to_char(to_date('31-MAY-' ||
to_char(sysdate,'YYYY')),'FMDAY')='SATURDAY'
THEN 'MAY26'
WHEN to_char(to_date('31-MAY-' ||
to_char(sysdate,'YYYY')),'FMDAY')='SUNDAY'
THEN 'MAY25'
ELSE 'NONE'
END "MEMORIALDAY",

CASE --LABORDAY--
WHEN to_char(to_date('01-SEP-' ||
to_char(sysdate,'YYYY')),'FMDAY')='MONDAY'
THEN 'SEP01'
WHEN to_char(to_date('01-SEP-' ||
to_char(sysdate,'YYYY')),'FMDAY')='TUESDAY'
THEN 'SEP07'
WHEN to_char(to_date('01-SEP-' ||
to_char(sysdate,'YYYY')),'FMDAY')
='WEDNESDAY'
THEN 'SEP06'
WHEN to_char(to_date('01-SEP-' ||
to_char(sysdate,'YYYY')),'FMDAY')='THURSDAY'
THEN 'SEP05'
WHEN to_char(to_date('01-SEP-' ||
to_char(sysdate,'YYYY')),'FMDAY')='FRIDAY'
THEN 'SEP04'
WHEN to_char(to_date('01-SEP-' ||
to_char(sysdate,'YYYY')),'FMDAY')='SATURDAY'
THEN 'SEP03'
WHEN to_char(to_date('01-SEP-' ||
to_char(sysdate,'YYYY')),'FMDAY')='SUNDAY'
THEN 'SEP02'
ELSE 'NONE'
END "LABORDAY",

CASE --THANKSGIVING--
WHEN to_char(to_date('30-NOV-' ||
to_char(sysdate,'YYYY')),'FMDAY')='MONDAY'
THEN 'NOV26'
WHEN to_char(to_date('30-NOV-' ||
to_char(sysdate,'YYYY')),'FMDAY')='TUESDAY'
THEN 'NOV25'
WHEN to_char(to_date('30-NOV-' ||
to_char(sysdate,'YYYY')),'FMDAY')
='WEDNESDAY'
THEN 'NOV24'
WHEN to_char(to_date('30-NOV-' ||
to_char(sysdate,'YYYY')),'FMDAY')='THURSDAY'
THEN 'NOV23'
WHEN to_char(to_date('30-NOV-' ||
to_char(sysdate,'YYYY')),'FMDAY')='FRIDAY'
THEN 'NOV22'
WHEN to_char(to_date('30-NOV-' ||
to_char(sysdate,'YYYY')),'FMDAY')='SATURDAY'
THEN 'NOV28'
WHEN to_char(to_date('30-NOV-' ||
to_char(sysdate,'YYYY')),'FMDAY')='SUNDAY'
THEN 'NOV27'
ELSE 'NONE'
END "THXGIVING"
from DUAL
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All excellent ideas and ways of getting past the weekend escallation...
I may be useing this in a slightly different fashion than some of you.
I'm using the Take action part not the Reassign function in the user action node.....I'm plugging in a variable into the numeric part of the entry and hrs in the 2nd part.....I am plugging in Reassign in as the action though...In the workqueue If the timeout action is reassign, then I add 24 hrs to the time-out-hour field....So on fri and Sat nights, holidays as welll, in the scheduler, a flow simply adds 24 to the time-out-hour field.....But it always doesn't work....Wondering if its more system related than a programming bug...

When the "Reassign" action is taken, rather than add 24 hrs to the field in the work unit queue named 'timeOutHour', you could use an ASSIGN node to add 24 hours to your variable for the "Time Out - After x Hours" field in the USER ACTION node. That way, you don't need to directly update data in the process flow tables.

M graham, that would be a super good way to do it... But the flow is mjust sitting there doing nothing, its on a User Action node, hanging out, waiting for a user to make a choice....Thats why I need another flow...The problem is, its not always working for ther rcds that have the REassign in them for an action....Its like some of the rcds didn't get updated with the 24 hrs, but they did....Wondering if anyone knew how Pflow internals knows when the timeout has expired... It doesn't decrement the TimeoutHour, so it must have another filed somewhwere it is incrementing and comparing it to the timeout hour......

We did the same thing - but basically used an assign node just before the user action to calculate what day and time it was, and then how much of today's time was left, added how much time before the start of the next business day and stored that timeout hours in the variable. Then simply used that variable in UA timeout. Java function was not really that difficult to build....

AH, I see, thats a good way indeed....See if I can trip ya up on this one...How do you add in the hrs for holidays......Maybe an external flag?

Your way is great, I kind of ran out of room on the screen and we already had a flow that did the updasting on fri and sat and holidasys Via scheduler....If the flow would have been smaller and I would have thought of it, I would have done it the way you did though...Clean and done, one swipe....I like it..