Human capacity, like machine capacity, is a constraint and is often less manageable. Shift scheduling ensures that the workforce required by the production plan is in the right place at the right time, within legal and social constraints.
Scope
Shift patterns: Single, double, or triple shifts; continuous and intermittent work schedules; weekend and night shift regulations.
Workforce requirements assessment: Personnel needs derived from the production plan, based on work center and competency.
Skill matching: Defining which personnel are skilled enough to operate which machine and structuring the plan accordingly.
Multi-skill personnel management: Planning personnel who can work at multiple stations as a flexible resource. The competency matrix is the most cost-effective source of capacity flexibility.
Integration of leave and absence records: Reflection of human resources data in the plan; deducting personnel on leave from capacity.
Legal restrictions: Maximum working hours, rest periods, overtime limits, and night work regulations.
Work schedule planning and cost: The cost impact when additional capacity is met through overtime.
Shift handover: At the end of the shift, a structured transfer of ongoing work, issues, and notes to the next team.
Attendance and productivity tracking: Monitoring performance differences on a shift basis.
The power of the competency matrix
In most facilities, a significant portion of capacity loss is not due to a shortage of machinery, but rather to the absence of personnel capable of operating that machinery during that shift . When the competency matrix is defined in the system, planning can predict which stations will be idle during which shift.
This visibility also translates into a training plan: which additional skills should each employee acquire to maximize flexibility?