Overtime: A Grab-Bag of Information

If you manage a shiftwork operation or if you are a Human Resource manager in a shiftwork operation or if you are a shift worker then – Overtime is a big deal Based on my 30 years of experience working with shift workers and shiftwork operations, I consider myself to be an overtime expert.  I … Continue reading “Overtime: A Grab-Bag of Information”

5 Things You Should Know About Overtime

Quantity Matters.  If your workforce is complaining about overtime, don’t assume that it’s always because there is too much.  It may be just the opposite.  In most workforces, about 20% of your workforce will avoid all overtime.  At the same time, about 20% of your workforce will work all the overtime they can get.  The … Continue reading “5 Things You Should Know About Overtime”

The best way to schedule your maintenance crew in a 24/7 operation

Maintenance Managers, you know the drill – Keep the equipment running and still, somehow, get your maintenance done. On a 5-day schedule, this typically means Maintenance “maintains” during the week and “repairs” during the weekend. When a plant shifts to 24/7 operations, the first thought of maintenance people is β€œWhere do we go now?”  The … Continue reading “The best way to schedule your maintenance crew in a 24/7 operation”

Overtime: Fact V. Fiction

It is not unusual for a company to contact us with the following idea: “If I can just put in the right schedule, I will save a ton of money on overtime.” There is really just one condition where this is absolutely true.  If your current schedule has too many people at one part of … Continue reading “Overtime: Fact V. Fiction”

Staffing, overtime and your schedule

One of the most common and misunderstood issues surrounding schedules is the relationship between staffing, overtime and the schedule itself. The reality is that a schedule has no impact on the quantity of overtime your site is experiencing. Overtime is a function of (1) How much work is there to do and (2) How many … Continue reading “Staffing, overtime and your schedule”

Is Overtime Really a Problem?

I recently participated in an online forum about the “Evils of Overtime.”Β  I was surprised at how uniformly overtime is seen as something to be avoided.Β  Its as if overtime was a measurement of how poorly you were managing your workforce.Β  Here was one of my comments: Overtime is only a problem if you see … Continue reading “Is Overtime Really a Problem?”

The impact of overtime on salaried personnel

Since President Obama signed (28 May 2016) legislation raising the minimum bar for salaried people to qualify for overtime, I have been getting two questions: (1) What does this mean and (2) How does it affect my shiftwork operation. The answer to the first is fairly straight forward. Β If you have a salaried person at … Continue reading “The impact of overtime on salaried personnel”

When is high overtime appropriate?

We are typically asked about ways to lower overtime. It is clear that most companies view overtime as a necessary evil. They try to get it as low as possible and consider all overtime reduction as cost savings. In many instances, they are right. However, just as often, they are wrong. From a pure tangible … Continue reading “When is high overtime appropriate?”