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Tarun-Bhatia's avatar
Tarun-Bhatia
Regular Visitor
5 years ago
Solved

Creating a Shift Column from Date-Time

Hi There

 

Need help in creating Shift column in PowerBi Desktop using Date-Time(READY_DATETIME) column.

Shift 1: 6am - 2pm

Shift 2: 2pm - 10pm

Shift 3: 10pm - 6am

 

 

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Need Help
  • amitchandak's avatar
    amitchandak
    5 years ago

    @Tarun-Bhatia ,

    Try a new column as

    New column ?
    var _hr á hour([readydatetime])
    Return
    switch(True(),
    _hr<6 && _hr >22 , "Shift 3",
    _hr < 14 , "Shift 2",
    "Shift 1"
    )

3 Replies

  • amitchandak's avatar
    amitchandak
    Super User
    5 years ago

    @Tarun-Bhatia ,

    Try a new column as

    New column ?
    var _hr á hour([readydatetime])
    Return
    switch(True(),
    _hr<6 && _hr >22 , "Shift 3",
    _hr < 14 , "Shift 2",
    "Shift 1"
    )

    • Tarun-Bhatia's avatar
      Tarun-Bhatia
      Regular Visitor
      5 years ago

      Thanks amitchandak 

       

      I guess small issue here, Its not showing correct Shifts based on hour (Shift 1 should be between 6am - 2pm, Shift 2 between 2pm - 10pm).

      Wondering If thats because ready_datetime column shows AM/PM Instead of 24 hour?

       

      Thanks

  • edhans's avatar
    edhans
    Community Champion
    5 years ago

    Hi Tarun-Bhatia - can you push this back into Power Query? Custom columns there will generally perform better than calculated columns in DAX. See links below for explanation.

     

    If you can, use this formula in a new Custom Column in Power Query:

    let
   varTime = DateTime.Time([Date])
in
if varTime >= #time(6,0,0) and varTime < #time(14,0,0) then "Shift 1"
else if varTime >= #time(14,0,0) and varTime < #time(22,0,0) then "Shift 2"
else "Shift 3"

    It returns this:

    You'd then just need to change the data type of the [Shift] column to Text before closing and loading to the Data Model. The varTime variable I created just simplifies data entry. You could also just type this:

    if DateTime.Time([Date]) >= #time(6,0,0) and DateTime.Time([Date]) < #time(14,0,0) then "Shift 1"
else if DateTime.Time([Date]) >= #time(14,0,0) and DateTime.Time([Date]) < #time(22,0,0) then "Shift 2"
else "Shift 3"

    Same result, just slightly harder to read and edit imho.

     

    In general, try to avoid calculated columns. There are times to use them, but it is rare. Getting data out of the source system, creating columns in Power Query, or DAX Measures are usually preferred to calculated columns. See these references:
    Calculated Columns vs Measures in DAX
    Calculated Columns and Measures in DAX
    Storage differences between calculated columns and calculated tables
    SQLBI Video on Measures vs Calculated Columns