#scheduling

Marco Juarez

Daylight Savings on a Submarine

It’s been a number of years since I left submarine duty. What a lot of people may not realize is that every ship in the Navy, including submarines, are fully staffed by shift workers. Daylight Savings Time as a shift worker can be another day of getting the short end of the stick – even in the fall. While most people are comfortably getting an extra hour of sleep when the clock “falls back”, night shift workers often find themselves at work for an extra hour – or a half hou

Frank Pereira

That's what I call "a buen Camino"!

When my daughter Victoria graduated from college two years ago, we were able to spend three days together on the Camino de Santiago. “The Camino” is one of the oldest pilgrimages in the Western World, with roots stretching back to the early middle ages and the time of Charlemagne. Most pilgrims start in Southern France and take over a month to complete the journey. But since Victoria was about to start her first job as a project engineer, she had not earned any paid vacation

Rebecca Bugas

An Expert's Take on Modern Workforce Management

In the modern world, most companies are challenged with optimizing an increasingly difficult supply chain with an evolving workforce. Lean principles, demanding customers, limited inventories and stingy capital investments have forced manufacturers to increase flexibility. At the same time, workers across all age groups are demanding better work hours with more predictability and more flexibility. Matching employee desires with tough business demands is difficult, but not imp

Justin Dovenmuehle

How to Manage Millennials

The number one question I am asked as a workforce management consultant is how to manage millennials. Millennials, those born between 1981-1995, recently displaced Generation-X as the largest generation in the workforce, and they have a reputation for being difficult to manage. Words I've heard managers use to describe their millennial workforce include lazy, needy, self-absorbed, and entitled. Unfortunately for managers, complaining about perceived employee traits doesn't do

Jim Mertz

The importance of helping your child learn real world solutions.

This past summer I had the opportunity to bring my 11 year old daughter Sasha on a work trip. We visited one of Coleman Consulting Group’s food manufacturing clients in Northern California. The management team at Blue Diamond was very hospitable to Sasha and even took the time to show her how the plant processes their delicious, world famous almonds. After Sasha’s tour of the plant, it was time for our management team meeting – the real reason for the trip. As the Coleman an

Marco Juarez

The best shift solutions for the best in tile

I’ve been designing and implementing shift schedules for over 20 years. I get excited every time I have the opportunity to design something from scratch for a place that hasn’t even hired its first employee. In 2014, leading ceramic tile manufacturer Dal-Tile broke ground on its newest ceramic tile production facility in Dickson, Tennessee, and I was asked to work with the new management team to design shift schedules for the facility. The biggest challenge in designing the r

Rebecca Bugas

ER DOCTORS ARE SHIFT WORKERS, TOO

My daughter recently dislocated her kneecap during PE and the high school called frantically to let me know she was on her way to the emergency room. When I arrived at the hospital, my daughter’s knee had been popped back in place, but she was still in terrible pain, and the swelling was setting in. When the attending doctor came around to introduce himself, I asked if they had given her anything for the pain before I arrived. They had not (really???), so I asked for Advil an

Rebecca Bugas

Don’t Fall Behind on Sleep while Falling Back on Sunday

This weekend we will "Fall Back" once again for Daylight Savings Time. Every year, we hear the arguments for and against, and the debate has even made it to the ballot this year in California. Where you live in the country, what time you go to work, and your personal habits and lifestyle can all affect your positive or negative view of DST. So what are the issues surrounding DST, and why should we be paying attention? The reasons typically given in support of DST are energy

Marco Juarez

Are You Underpaying Your Employees?

Do you know if your company is in compliance with the provisions FLSA? In the last two years, 100 percent of the clients we have consulted are at risk of back pay – and they had no idea. In some cases up to millions of dollars. #HRonPurpose #HR #shiftlength #overtime #Business #scheduling #shiftwork #flsa #Humanresorces

Frank Pereira

How Does Fatigue Affect Your Employees?

At Coleman Consulting Group, we have surveyed thousands of employees across the country and around the world. The health and safety portion of the survey asks about sleep and fatigue relative to employee schedules. Our senior partner Frank Pereira talks about the implications of overworking your employees and how it directly affects your business. #Sleep #HR #shiftschedule #shiftlength #employeescheduling #scheduling #Humanresorces #Business

Marco Juarez

More Capacity – More Days Off – Happy Employees – Win, Win Win!!!

I love it when we make a real difference for both the employee and the company! This story starts out like so many others in manufacturing plants all over the world. Demand for the product being produced grows, so a facility that might traditionally run Monday through Friday starts doing work on Saturdays. Demand grows further and suddenly production is happening seven days a week. This was the situation at Keystone Foods’ processing facility in Eufaula, Alabama. Growth was g

Marco Juarez

Ann Crowell Benefit Dinner

Gentle Beginnings Birth Center (GBBC), a past client of CCG, was the vision of Ann Crowell, a gifted and highly respected midwife. She made an amazing impact on her North Texas community and beyond. We lost Ann in August 2016, but Birth Texas (BirthTexas.org) and GBBC have continued to carry on her work. On April 20th, 2018 a memorial fundraiser for Birth Texas was held in her honor to raise funds to help midwives across the state of Texas offer Pro Bono services for low inco

Frank Pereira and Marco Juarez

A Healthy and Safe Schedule is About More Than Just Work

Is scheduling having an impact on workplace fatigue and accident rates?

Frank Pereira and Marco Juarez

The Power of the Right Schedule

Over the years, many of the employees I meet have said, “I work to live, not live to work.” I think that is true of most people. We work to earn money to feed our families, buy a house, and live a good life. For most people, this simple statement means that living life is more important than making money. Too often, however, I see companies use pay as a way to modify behavior. A common example is paying a “shift differential” to encourage people to work an undesired schedule

Marco Juarez

Most Time and Attendance Systems Put You at Significant Risk of Paying Back Wages and Fines

There are a number of time and attendance systems in use around the world, with only a handful of major players. Every one of the major players is capable of ensuring companies comply with the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). So why are so many software packages implemented in such a way that companies continually violate the work week provision of the FLSA? When employees are not paid correctly (the way outlined in the FLSA), the employer may be required to

Marco Juarez

What is the Best Schedule?

The question I am repeatedly asked as a shift schedule consultant is, “What is the best schedule?” I have an answer to that question, but most of the time I like to turn the question around and ask, “What do you think the best schedule might be?” The conversation usually progresses like this: Shift Worker: 8-hour shifts Monday through Friday! Me: So, if I schedule you for 8-hour shifts all the time Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, you would be happy? Shift Worke

Marco Juarez

What is a Shiftwork Schedule Consultant?

I have been changing people’s lives for over 19 years. I have to admit – I love my job. I get to help companies and employees from all around the world find new ways to work. I am a shift work schedule expert. I am one of only a handful of shift work schedule experts in the world. What does it mean to be a "schedule" expert? Let me explain. Technically speaking, I am an expert at designing and implementing systems for deploying capital and personnel, with employee buy-in, and

Frank Pereira

Does a "Best" Shift Length Exist?

Whether you work in the mining industry or the service industry one thing is certain, you work on a schedule. One of the defining characteristics about every schedule is shift length. Eight’s, ten’s, twelve’s, is one really better than the other? Is there a “best” shift length? The answer is it depends. The only way to achieve the most ideal shift schedule is to consider Business Needs, Employee Desires, and Health & Safety equally, as portrayed in Coleman Consulting Group’s

BEYOND YOUR TYPICAL SCHEDULING