| Over budget, overwhelmed, and overworked - | | | | caliber of person is hard to find and |
| that is our health system. Talk to any | | | | maintain in a routine job like scheduling. |
| healthcare worked today and they will tell | | | | Now the question arises how are you going to |
| you. | | | | build & maintain finite capacity scheduling |
| | | | models and perform scheduling that is: |
| Errors in the health system, begins with | | | | |
| stressed, overworked and unsatisfied | | | | - Unbiased schedules and rosters |
| employees. Imagine scheduling an employee | | | | |
| pool of 50 to 2,000 employees in a 24/7 | | | | - Up to the minute equalization - using |
| facility - with a slender or no profit | | | | several factors |
| margin. Add variable job start and end times, | | | | |
| rotating patterns, overtime assignments, | | | | - Build finite capacity scheduling models and |
| seniority rights, equalization, different | | | | using advanced tools |
| classes of employees, multiple departments | | | | |
| and crews, all the absentee conditions you | | | | - Maintain those models and you will no |
| can imagine along with regular requests for | | | | longer have to worry about losing your |
| time off and ongoing shift swapping requests. | | | | investment in the tools or the models when a |
| Assume employees each have from one to 40 or | | | | key scheduler changes jobs |
| more unique job qualifications, as well as | | | | |
| preferences for certain jobs. | | | | - Instantly being able to access the best |
| | | | qualified people in the field |
| One nurse calls in sick. Another nurse runs | | | | |
| late on a job. Still another discovers they | | | | - Guarantee improvements in asset |
| have been overbooked. One of your nurses is | | | | utilization, working capital and customer |
| stuck in traffic and is going to miss the | | | | service |
| first part of her shift. At the same time, | | | | |
| two new patients come in that require | | | | - Determine the frequency that you want to |
| immediate care with in next four hours or | | | | reschedule then send a file electronically, |
| will result in chaos and possible fatality. | | | | in a matter of minutes |
| How should the schedule be adjusted to | | | | |
| compensate for all of these conditions? This | | | | - Electronically send shift changes, rosters |
| is just an average day for many, in-charge | | | | and schedules files to managers/employees |
| nurses, dispatchers, schedulers or | | | | |
| supervisors, and they usually have some | | | | - Have a dedicated 24/7 scheduling line for |
| interesting ways to solve the problem. Not by | | | | all sick, vacation, floats and switches. |
| following a simple set of rules, typically, | | | | |
| but the ability to make trade-offs between | | | | - Detailed schedules, down to the unit |
| different options. The problem is that as the | | | | operation, by hour/minute with a planning |
| options grow more complex and there are more | | | | horizon of several weeks to a year |
| factors to consider and they can only handle | | | | |
| so much. Subdividing nurses, housekeepers, | | | | - Decreased stress levels and improve |
| technicians and dispatchers to territories | | | | efficiency |
| can help, but that simplification does not | | | | |
| allow for optimization across the facility. | | | | Credit Valley hospital has used a system |
| How can the trade-offs between schedule | | | | called ProScheduling, that tackles all those |
| attainment and productivity be managed? | | | | problems and the results are direct cost |
| Summing it all up scheduling becomes the job | | | | savings, fewer errors, and information that |
| from hell. | | | | allows the facility and its operations |
| | | | management to increase efficiency. This is |
| In these scenarios when facing last-minute | | | | what Gary Raycraft had to say about it "Since |
| changes or other swings in staffing | | | | using ProScheduling, our day to day |
| requirements even a skilled scheduler is | | | | scheduling issues have been eliminated. We |
| unable to optimize the allocation of the | | | | now have up to date equalization information |
| entire workforce. In an era when computers | | | | and we have significantly decreased |
| can handle almost everything, why does the in | | | | scheduling errors. The system validates all |
| charge scheduler still rely on spread sheets, | | | | relevant data and becomes a simple process |
| clipboards, 3X5 cards and lots of arm | | | | that the scheduler can use to capture what |
| twisting? It's not unusual to find that | | | | has happened. The flexibility of the system |
| managers have a difficult time keeping good | | | | allows it to handle the complexities of |
| people in the largely thankless job of | | | | maintenance and operations departments while |
| scheduler. | | | | it also can be deployed organization-wide to |
| | | | handle time entry needs of every kind." |
| Often, hospitals and other large institution | | | | |
| compartmentalize scheduling. Different | | | | The scheduling of employees is both a dynamic |
| supervisors handle it for different | | | | and critical element of business planning. |
| departments or crews, sometimes using very | | | | The ability to create employee schedules that |
| different interpretations of the rules and | | | | meet staffing requirements, in a way that |
| policies. Like sweeping things under the | | | | optimizes the process of matching available |
| carpet, this seems to work, however there is | | | | and qualified employees - while minimizing |
| no way to coordinate and review the | | | | labor costs through a combination of lowered |
| scheduling needs of the entire facility. | | | | absence rates, turnover, payroll costs, |
| Inevitably, there are errors. | | | | waste, reliance on premium labor, and |
| | | | downtime, and increasing the quality and |
| Scheduling is a very complex and tedious task | | | | timely delivery of patient services - will |
| that changes as often as the business | | | | take on a real, strategic significance. |
| strategies change. The new tools require the | | | | Companies need a reliable, flexible, and |
| person in-charge of the schedule to be | | | | robust workforce management solution to be |
| computer literate and experienced in how to | | | | competitive in today's marketplace. The |
| convert business strategies into a computer | | | | results will be a leaner, more efficient, and |
| model that automates the strategies. This | | | | more competitive enterprise. |