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What if I have a multiple-week scheduling cycle - for example, rotating weekends off? The calculator assumes a 7-day cycle of work shifts - that is, that each employee works the same days and times each week. If you use a multiple-week cycle, calculate off-day combinations on a weekly basis, then set up a rotation manually in which each employee works each combination in turn. How do I tell the calculator how many people I have available? You don't. Instead, you tell the calculator how much work you have, and the calculator replies by telling you how many employees you need to get it done, and how best to allocate their days off. How do I handle varying workweek lengths? Rerun the calculator for each workweek length. For example, if some of your employees work 5 days a week and others work 4 days a week, run the calculator once for those shifts worked by 5-day employees, then a second time for shifts worked by 4-day employees. Similarly, if you have multiple shifts with separate groups of employees (for example, one group on the day shift and a different group on the night shift), rerun the calculator for the group working each shift. Who developed the calculator? Schedule me! is a consulting firm that specializes in developing employee schedules. Most of our work is in the public transit industry. Why is the calculator freeware? Not only does the calculator help us in our work, but it has brought new consulting clients our way. Do you have any scheduling software that might apply to my situation? Can you customize the calculator for me, and/or write a special program to meet my needs? No. In our consulting practice, we specialize in applying HUMAN expertise to solve tough employee scheduling problems. We sell our services, not software. But I specifically want software. The calculator is NOT intended to be comprehensive employee-scheduling software. Although the calculator includes extensive reporting features, it is designed specifically to solve days-off problems. The calculator does not figure payroll, track sick leave, schedule vacations, etc. There are many generic employee scheduling programs. Google and Download.com are good sources for locating such software. For an excellent introduction to shift scheduling in general, see 911Dispatch.com, which focuses on call centers, police and fire departments, and the like, but is a very good source of such information for any type of business. I need technical assistance with the calculator. Because the calculator is freeware, we can provide only limited technical support. We will (at our sole discretion) give you a reasonable amount of free assistance in the mechanics of using the calculator. If you are looking for custom schedule development, beyond the calculator's capabilities, Schedule me!, the firm that developed the calculator, might be able to assist you. If your request for technical support is of a nature that would require custom schedule development, we will so inform you. There is a charge for custom schedule development; however, you are under no obligation unless Schedule me! has given you a price estimate and you have agreed to it. We provide technical support by e-mail only. We support only the current versions of the calculator: Version 5.1 for Windows, Version 5.1 for Mac, and the current Web version. Most questions related to the Windows and Mac versions are answered in the help file provided with those versions. Please check that before contacting us. If you do contact us, you must specify which version of the calculator (Windows, Mac, or Web) you are using. May I have the source code, and/or the algorithm you use to optimize days off? No. Those are proprietary. I have a suggestion for improving the calculator. The calculator is NOT intended to be comprehensive employee-scheduling software. Although the calculator includes extensive reporting features, it is designed specifically to solve days-off problems. The calculator does not figure payroll, track sick leave, schedule vacations, etc. - nor will such features be added in the future. Your comments, questions, and suggestions for other possible improvements to the calculator are always welcome; feel free to contact us. However, we cannot compensate you for these. All such input becomes our property. Would you be a distributor or retailer of my scheduling software package? No. Our specialty is the application of HUMAN expertise to solve scheduling problems. We do not use any software more sophisticated than a spreadsheet. We sell our services, not software. Would you prepare a customized schedule for my work crew? At present, our workload prevents us from taking on any new clients outside the public transit industry. If you are in the public transit industry, we would be very interested in talking with you. I run a Web site that lists freeware programs. Would you submit a listing for the calculator? No. You are welcome to add the calculator to your site, or update a listing of a previous version as appropriate, but as a matter of policy, we do not do these sorts of submissions ourselves. Thanks for reading the above. If we may assist you, please contact us, being sure to specify which version of the calculator (Windows, Mac, or Web) you are using. NOTE: We CANNOT assist you with support issues unless you specify which version of the calculator (Windows, Mac, or Web) you are using. info@DaysOffCalculator.com |