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Employee Scheduling F.A.Q.

Why should I use this utility?

For many businesses, worker payroll is a significant expense, so scheduling them efficiently (by minimizing overtime and idle time) can have a positive impact on your bottom line. This utility will do the difficult work of generating a schedule that matches as closely as possible the workload that needs to be covered, while meeting conditions such as avoiding overtime, scheduling off-days, etc.

Before proceeding, however, please read this important disclaimer.

Why does it take so long to generate a schedule?

Finding a solution to scheduling problems is a computationally complex task, given its many variables that are subject to entangling constraints. Furthermore, the server that runs this utility is a modest one, resulting in a non-trivial wait time, depending on the size and complexity of the particular scheduling instance, and the load the server is under at the time.

Does this utility stop working on generating a schedule once all the user-specified constraints have been met?

No, even after it has generated a schedule that meets all the conditions you specify, it will continue to try to improve the schedule by reducing workload overages (when the number of employees on duty exceeds the minimum workload specified) and more closely meeting the specified preferences. The utility stops working and returns the best schedule it can after a doing pre-defined amount of work.

What do I do if the utility generates a schedule that violates one or more of the scheduling conditions I've specified?

When this occurs, either the conditions you have specified are too stringent to meet the specified workload given the number of employees available, or the conditions are not too stringent but the utility nevertheless failed to generate a compliant schedule.

The best thing to do is double-check all the conditions as well as workload values you've set. Take a look at what conditions were violated in the schedule's results report for hints, though note that just because a particular condition is violated, it may be due to conditions that are too tight elsewhere. Try loosening some conditions and regenerating the schedule. If that doesn't work, you may simply not have enough employees to cover the workload.

What if a schedule with all conditions met is generated, but I don't like the schedule for one reason or another?

Why am I limited to 99 employees and a 14 day time period in this utility?

This limit was imposed due to the complexity & run time issue discussed above.

What if, after using a schedule generated by this utility, or making any sort of business or financial decision based on the output generated by this utility, I incur some sort of monetary or other loss for any reason. Do you claim any responsibility for this, and will you make any sort of restitution, which may include paying damages?

No, absolutely not. The owner(s)/author(s) of this website have provided this utility for entertaining use only, and make no guarantees as to the accuracy of the results.

For more information, please read this important disclaimer.