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12 unexpected insights ―When it comes to shiftwork, do you know what you don’t know?

All companies are unique. We found this to be true while working with hundreds of organizations across multiple industries. However, commonalities do exist. The following 12 insights tend to be universally true in a broad sense. Interestingly, some of these insights may run counter to your intuition. There are always variances, exceptions to the rule; … Continue reading “12 unexpected insights ―When it comes to shiftwork, do you know what you don’t know?”

12 most frequently asked questions from business leaders before undergoing a schedule change

Once Operations and Human Resource Managers realize that some pain points may have a common root-cause, they may put their heads together and come to an agreement – their shift schedule may be causing many of their biggest problems.  Some proactive steps must be taken. As an exploration gets underway, questions arise from seemingly every … Continue reading “12 most frequently asked questions from business leaders before undergoing a schedule change”

12 Symptoms You May Not Know Are Connected

Business Leaders and Managers regularly scan the health of their organizations. Even the most well-run businesses are embedded in a complex eco-system, one with many influencing factors. Certain sub-optimal signals and symptoms may show up from time to time.  When this happens, managers first look for the root cause which is often buried among multiple … Continue reading “12 Symptoms You May Not Know Are Connected”

Seasonal and Unbalanced Scheduling: A Case Study

Operation Managers and Human Resource Managers know that if your workload has seasonality, then you need a plan to deal with it.  Maybe your strategy is to maximize gains or maybe its to minimize lost opportunities.  Whatever your priority is, we can help you develop a staffing and scheduling strategy to achieve it. The case … Continue reading “Seasonal and Unbalanced Scheduling: A Case Study”

Shiftwork Solutions Survey System

Shiftwork Solutions uses surveys to engage the workforce as well as to find out what is really going on from their perspective. This process facilitates the identification and implementation of the ideal shift schedule solution.

Why Your 12-hour Schedule is More Attractive than You Think

If you are a Human Resources Manager, then you are well aware of the difficulty in finding quality employees in today’s tight labor market.  You and everyone else in your local area are competing for an ever-shrinking pool of potential employees.  You have a 12-hour schedule and, at first glance, this seems to be putting … Continue reading “Why Your 12-hour Schedule is More Attractive than You Think”

“I Need a Nap!” — It’s time to sleep on shift.

Recently I was meeting with a team of union leaders and managers to discuss their shift schedules and our process for evaluating shift schedules and finding better alternatives. One of the things I often do during the introduction part of the meeting is to ask people to tell me what they want to discuss over the … Continue reading ““I Need a Nap!” — It’s time to sleep on shift.”

When should your shifts start?

As a Plant Manager or Human Resources Manager, in a shiftwork operation, you’ve certainly heard “Everyone that I know wants to start the shifts at such-and-such a time.”  You hear this but the question is – What do you do about it? Should you survey the workforce and let them choose?  Do you have your … Continue reading “When should your shifts start?”

Is Your Shift Schedule Lean?

There are many aspects to the concept of Lean Manufacturing and Lean Thinking.  One of the fundamental goals of applying lean concepts is to eliminate waste in the process.  What can we do to minimize waste in shift schedules?  In no specific order, here are some places to look: Match the coverage to the workload … Continue reading “Is Your Shift Schedule Lean?”