NEWPORT BEACH, CA (September 1, 2009) – Tugboat Software, a recognized leader in labor scheduling automation, today announced the launch of Shift Rotation Software™, a new solution designed to automate the process of generating and administrating crew schedules for large operations which utilize combinations of concurrent 24/7 shift schedules with different on-off work patterns.
In a range of industries, companies operating for extended hours use combinations of multiple shifts and on-off work patterns to balance the impact on human resources and run their operations in an optimal manner. Some patterns cycle through different numbers of weeks and start days over extended calendar periods and can become very complex. “Staying on top of who is on the active crew, who’s coming off one, who’ll be on the next crew, who is out on vacation and who’s available for call up or overtime can give managers a migraine,” says Tugboat founder and president Patricia Schilling.
“Our Shift Rotation Software automates the administration of any combination of crew scheduling systems,” she says. “It simplifies the management of shift rotation systems by automating the entire process, making the crewing system easier to view and report, regardless of how complex the mix.” She says managers are better able to predict their available resources, and their administration costs drop when they have tools for making better-informed decisions. In addition, employee satisfaction improves with better predictability and human errors eliminated.
According to Shilling, Tugboat’s Shift Rotation Software was developed specifically for defining and managing concurrent work plans for crews on combination shifts with 8, 10 or 12 hour lengths, fixed or staggered, and with various on-off work patterns. Slow, rapid, oscillating or partial rotation schedules and combinations of these are supported. She says the new Shift Rotation Software is integrated with Tugboat’s comprehensive labor scheduling application which includes automated overtime, skills inventory management, leave management, vacation scheduling, alerts and an employee self-service interface.
September 1, 2009