What is a Generic Shift Template?

Some machines will be operated with only one shift during day-time. Others will be operated by two, three or even more shifts.

Since within one factory, multiple ‘shift patterns’ could be used, we start by defining these shift-patterns as templates so we can apply them to one or machines when needed.

Shift Templates

At least one shift template must be defined; you can define unlimited different shift-patterns as templates In the example below we see a three, two and one shift operation being defined as templates:

Shift Template Configuration

Besides a common ‘one-shift operation’, shifts tend to rotate: One week you would work in the early shift, the next week in the late shift etc.

So a two-shift operation has two shifts in one week, but takes two weeks to make a full rotation.

The first thing, after giving the template a name, is: How is this shift-pattern rotating. The vast majority will rotate within two or three weeks. But there are also shift-patterns that rotate within a certain amount of days.

For an extensive overview on existing shift-plans see: Existing Shift Plans

In case of doubt:

• Select [Work with Weeks]
• Select the start-day of the plan: This is the day where the first shift starts. So when you start with a nightshift at Sunday-evening you would start Sunday. When starting with the early shift at Monday, your template starts Monday.

Next, from the masterlist of Shifts (originating from your OEE Coach Shift masterlist), select the shifts that will be operated in this shift-plan.

Press [Next] when done

Building the Shift Template

Now the shifts can be placed within the (2) selected weeks of the shift rotation: Select a shift and click in the calendar to place the shift.

Assigning Teams to the Shifts

Which particular team will actually work later on is not known yet. However, we can assing a placeholder for a team. E.g. When Team Peter would start in the early shift, we already know how his team will rotate in the further weeks.

To define this add as much placeholders to the plan as there will be teams later (Ussually 1 per shift):

After creating the Teams placeholders, ‘stamp’ them into the schedule:

• Select a teams placeholder
• Click the shifts to assign a team to a shift:

Make sure that each shift has a team assigned: you will need this later.

Also make sure that the end and beginning of this team rotation match: this template will be used as a ‘stamp’ to stamp the shift-plan in the actual calendar later on.

When done: Save the shift-template.

Remember: A shift template is a generic template: it can be used and reused on multiple machines and even factories. In the next step we will assign the template to a specific machine.