Project Resource Calendars for onshore and offshore (different working hours)

Question

Advice please.
As with many companies we use Project 2010 with onshore and offshore resources.
Facts are as follows:
Onshore resource – 09:00 – 17:00 – 35 hour week
Offshore resource – 08:00 – 18:00 – 40 hour week
These resources are in different time zones; however that element is not an issue.
The problem seems to be with resource calendars.  Resource calendars are setup as per above and assigned to appropriate resources in EPM/Project Server 2010 - however could be local for same issue. 
The problem is that work is reflected correctly in hours or days but not both.  
So looking at Task usage table. 
For example:
Typing in hours for Onshore and Offshore resources on any task is correct. 
So 7 for onshore and 9 for offshore.  However when you can the work view in options so that work is entered in days, its incorrect for offshore. 
Same hours for both but incorrect days.  Basically the resource calendar does not seem to have an impact.
The Plan default working times can be set to either schedule but either way one or the other type of resource is out.
For instance :  Offshore resource 9 hours should equate to 1day. However it equates to 1.29 days. 
Which would be correct if that resource was on an onshore cal.
My assumption is as follows:
Set the Project default hours to 08:00 – 18:00 – 9 hour days, 40 hour week.
This allows offshore to work there hours as the project plan is effectively open for business.
Onshore resources should then be restricted to their resource calendar meaning that they only work 7 hours per day regardless of the plan indicating 9 hour days.
Hope that makes sense...
Any thoughts would be much appreciated…..
-CL.

Answer 1

Hi,
Everything you write is right, and your confusion only stems from the misunderstanding of how Project defined the "day" as a time unit.
Matter of fact, Project uses for its calculations only ONE time unit which is the MINUTE.
Of course, that implies the HOUR is a usable unit as well - an hour being 60 minutes isn't questioned by anyone.
OTOH, your post illustrateds tha a definition for  day is not so obvious; Project's definition is that a day is always equal to an hour times the parameter "hours per day" in the options. So what a day is, is totally independent from any calendar, Project,
Resource or Task calendar. Within that definition the values you see are "right".
But the good news is that your other assumption,quote:
Onshore resources should then be restricted to their resource calendar meaning that they only work 7 hours per day regardless of the plan indicating 9 hour days.
That is true. Work is planned according to available working time in the appropriate calendar.
My advice is to not use the day as planning unit in any view: the hour will better allow to understand how Project is planning the tasks.
Greetings,