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* E M P L O Y E E S C H E D U L E R * ver. 1.1 -- ALL RIGHTS RESERVED -- T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S Introduction ............................ 1 System information ...................... 2 Instalation ............................. 4 Getting started ......................... 5 Running *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* ............ 7 Altering *.INF files .................... 8 Changing the JOB list ................... 8 Changing the TASK list .................. 11 Establishing the WORK FORCE ............. 13 Setting up the DEFAULTs ................. 14 Entering employee information ........... 15 Printing information lists .............. 20 Creating a schedule ..................... 21 Obtaining statisical information ........ 23 -- EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER, ver. 1.1 -- I N T R O D U C T I O N *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* is a menu driven program for the single or dual drive IBM PC, the XT or compatibles. It promptly schedules up to five hundred employees and handles up to one hundred different jobs subdivided into one hundred different tasks. After you have provided *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* with details about your employees, it will place each employee in the highest paying position for which he is qualified and has seniority. *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* also takes into account shift preferences, job preferences and leave status; eg. whether on vacation, medical or personal leave. Such a task often requires hours of work, arranging and rearranging the work force, taking under consideration individual skills, union regulations, etc. Using *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER*, this time can be reduced to under five minutes! This manual will provide you with an overview of the capabilities of *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* and then provide detailed instructions on all functions required to operate the program. -- EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER, ver. 1.1, page 1 -- S Y S T E M I N F O R M A T I O N Before entering job and employee information, it is essential that to have a thorough understanding of the logic *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* employs to assign an employee to a JOB or position. *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* fills positions by following one of four available options available: 1) NO EXCEPTIONS ALLOWED 2) EXCEPTIONS GIVEN FOR SHIFT PREFERENCES 3) EXCEPTIONS MADE FOR ASSIGNED, AWARDED OR "BID" JOBS 4) BOTH #1 AND #2, eg. shift AND job preference With option #1 above, *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* will place the employee having the greatest seniority in the highest paying job for which he is qualified, PERIOD! It does so by looking for the highest paying spot on day shift, then swing and grave. If he is not qualified for that job or it has already been filled, the next job is checked out. If he is not qualified to fill any of the jobs which are open, he will be passed by. Option #2 directs *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* to verify whether the employee has a shift preference. If he does, it will scan for an available position for which the employee is qualified on the shift or shifts of his choice. If none are found or no preference has been entered into the employee's record, that employee will be placed as though option #1 were chosen. Option #3 forces *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* to first determine whether the employee's record shows that he has been awarded a particular position. If that job remains unoccupied when it becomes the employee's turn to be placed, he will be given that job even though he might otherwise have been -- EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER, ver. 1.1, page 2 -- assigned to another spot. If no job preference is stated in his record or if his preferred job has been filled by someone with higher seniority, *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* will behave as though option #1 were selected. Option #4 is the combines options #2 and #3. *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* will ascertain whether the specific job is available on the preferred shift. If so, the employee is given that job. If the job is not available, the computer will behave as though option #3 were chosen. -- EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER, ver. 1.1, page 3 -- I N S T A L L A T I O N Before *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* can create a work schedule, it must be provided specific information about what type of work your company does and who are employed to do the work. You will create and develop four computer files entering employee data, job information, and job orgainization within your company's structure. It is necessary at this time to define three key words and how they will relate to *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER*: JOB, TASK and WORKFORCE. A JOB is the basic unit of work in your company. It may be driving a forklift, being a secretary, quality control inspector, janitor, machine operator, etc. One person is usually assigned to one job. The various functions of your business may be divided into TASKs. A TASK is made up from a combination of JOBs. You will create a list of TASKs, giving them names, assigning their shifts, which JOBs are required by that TASK and how many people will be needed for each JOB. Once you have defined your JOBs and organized them into TASKs, the next logical step in creating a schedule would be the definition of the WORKFORCE by simply designating which TASKs will be performed during any particular period of time. This is easily accomplished by indicating which TASKs will be required for that period. Once this is done, *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* will calculate the exact number of positions required on each shift for the proposed WORKFORCE, which JOBs will be needed, and the labor costs involved. Finally, you will need to create a record for each employee. This record will contain the employee's name, seniority, hire date, phone number, job qualifications and job and/or shift preferences. -- EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER, ver. 1.1, page 4 -- G E T T I N G S T A R T E D The *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* diskette will initially contain four programs: STARTUP, SCHEDULE, SCHEDWF and SCHEDPRN. The very first time you use the program, it will be necessary to establish five data files (all with an .INF extension) which will be described later. To do this, type the word "STARTUP" and wait for the prompt. The program will ask you which disk drive you will want to hold *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* in the future. Enter the letter of the drive, followed by a colon (eg. A:). You will then be prompted to enter the subdirectory where *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* resides. If you are not using DOS 2.0 or higher, simply hit <ENTER>. If you are using DOS 2.0 or higher and have a Fixed (hard) Disk system (or have sectioned your floppies into subdirectories), enter the name of the directory which contains *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER*, preceded and terminated by backslashes (eg. \LABOR\SCHEDULE\). STARTUP will then determine whether you have *.INF data files already created on the subdirectory of the disk drive you specified. If so, you will be warned that if you proceed, those files will be wiped out. If no *.INF files exist, you will be prompted for the drive and subdirectory to which you wish to record your *.INF files. This can be the same drive that contains *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER*, another, a different subdirectory on the same disk, etc. Your choice. -- EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER, ver. 1.1, page 5 -- After entering this information, *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* will set up *.INF files on the disk and subdirectory you just specified, and return you to the DOS prompt. It will also build a file called DEFAULT.INF on the same drive as your main program, permanently recording the information entered at STARTUP. Later, you will be shown how to further modify this file. -- EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER, ver. 1.1, page 6 -- R U N N I N G * E M P L O Y E E S C H E D U L E R * To begin *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* from DOS, enter the word "SCHEDULE". After a few seconds, the names of the *.INF files will flash across the top of the display as they are being read into memory and/or sorted. Soon the Main Scheduler Menu will appear, offering five selections. The Main Menu looks like this: + - - - - + * MAIN SCHEDULING MENU * Alter *.INF files Print out *.INF files Change employee information Schedule the work force Quit *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* altogether + - - - - + Note that the first letter of each selection is highlighted. As with all other menus, a choice is made by typing the first letter (the highlighted letter) of the selection desired. The program will not allow you to make a mistake. Typing the letter "M" after a prompt at nearly any place within the program will return you to this first menu. If you have changed any files, they will be altered in memory only. No permanent changes will have been stored to disk. We will now go through each selection, one by one. . . -- EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER, ver. 1.1, page 7 -- A L T E R I N G * . I N F F I L E S By typing the letter "A", the following menu appears: + - - - - + * SELECT FILE NAME TO BE ALTERED * Joblist Tasks Work force Defaults MAIN MENU + - - - - + C H A N G I N G T H E J O B L I S T Now type "J". If you have just initialized your disk, you will see the following display: + - - - - + * Changing JOBLIST.inf file * Bracket Description Base Wage 1) 0N VACATION 2) 0N MEDICAL LEAVE 3) 0N PERSONAL LEAVE (Page 1 of 1) Quit ~ Home ~ End ~ PgUp ~ PgDn ~ Chg ~ Del ~ Ins + - - - - + This is the initial Job list to which you will add the numerous individual JOBs required to carry out your business. The three items listed are permanently stored and can not be altered. They are used to indicate whether an employee is temporarily out of the work force. -- EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER, ver. 1.1, page 8 -- Beneath the job list is the page number you are currently reviewing or editing. *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* will allow up to 100 different jobs, filling as many as eight pages. By using the cursor keys as indicated, you can easily move through the various pages. A new job is recorded by typing "I" (insert). *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* will display a new line and prompt you for a two digit assignment called "Bracket". The bracket is never used within the program, but is offered to you as a means of assigning internal codes. Either hit <ENTER> to skip it or enter a code. Next, you will be prompted for a Description of the JOB. You are allowed thirty characters here to describe the job by title and/or function (eg. MACHINE OPERATOR, MAIN FACTORY SUPPLY ROOM ATTENDANT, etc.). Lastly, you will be asked to enter the base hourly wage for this position. Be sure to include the decimal point but not the dollar sign. IMPORTANT NOTE In general, *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* assigns the highest paying job to the employee with the greatest seniority. Therefore, the joblist is always maintained in a sorted format with the highest paying jobs listed first. Whenever you enter a new position or change an existing wage, *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* sorts the job list by pay and then displays the sorted list. Because of this, the permanent job number assigned by *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* may not be in sequential order after the job list has been sorted several times. This should not be a concern. To make changes and/or refer to a specific job at any other time, you only have to enter the assigned number. The procedure to obtain a printed copy of these numbers will be explained in another section. -- EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER, ver. 1.1, page 9 -- Typing the letter "C" will allow you to change data stored for an existing job. You will then be asked which job number you wish to alter. You must enter a number which is from the page currently displayed. If the job you need to change is not on the screen, use the cursor keys to "turn" the page until it appears. Now, you will be asked whether you wish to alter the Bracket, Description or Wage. Type "B", "D" or "W" and then enter your corrections in the space provided. Remember, if you change the Wage, the list may be rearranged as discussed above. Typing the letter "D" causes *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* to prompt you for the job number you wish to Delete. As above, the job must be on the page currently displayed. After entering the number, *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* will not eliminate that number, but will blank out the Bracket and Wage columns and give it the Description, "not used". Later on, when inputing new jobs, go to the last page and fill these unused numbers before Inserting new ones. In this and nearly all other sections of *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER*, typing "Q" will bring a prompt at the bottom of the display asking whether the changes you just entered should be written to the disk for storage. If you indicate negatively, the old data will be retrieved from disk. Other-wise, your changes will be saved. After this read-or-write sequence, *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* will return you to the menu entitled, "* SELECT FILE NAME TO BE ALTERED *" and await your next response. -- EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER, ver. 1.1, page 10 -- C H A N G I N G T H E T A S K L I S T If you type the letter "T", you will be allowed to review or change the TASK.INF file. If you have just initialized your disk, you will see the following display: + - - - - + * Changing TASK.inf file * 1) N to be determined (Page 1 of 1) Quit ~ Home ~ End ~ PgUp ~ PgDn ~ Chg ~ Del ~ Ins ~ Swap + - - - - + Again, you may enter up to 100 different TASKs and page through your list just as you would do when altering JOB files. A TASK is more general in nature than a JOB. It is a grouping of JObs combined in such a manner as to perform a specific function, such as an Accounts Receiving department, maintenance, receptionists, etc. It may use one or several JOBs per TASK, and one or several persons for each JOB. *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* will display your current TASKs, assign them a number, and indicate on which shift the TASK is found. Days, Swing, Grave, Releif or no shift is indicated by "D", "S", "G","R" or "N", respectively. The "N" before "to be determined" as seen above refers to the shift assignment. -- EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER, ver. 1.1, page 11 -- This first display is merely a listing of the various TASKs. To see details of a specific TASK (how many of which JOBs are assigned to the TASK), type the letter "C" and enter the TASK number you wish to change or review. If you have just initialized your disk, you will see the following display: + - - - - + * Changing Task: "to be determined" * Shift designation: None JOB DESCRIPTION NUMBER OF PEOPLE 1) 0 (PAGE 1 of 1) Change, Delete, Insert or Quit + - - - - + If you already have defined this Task, there may be from one to fifteen Job Descriptions listed. You can now enter a description and add many more or delete whichever you desire. Just follow the prompts. *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* won't allow you to make a mistake. You may also give a name and shift designation (or change an existing one) by typing "C" and then hitting <ENTER> at the prompt. A "Q" will return you to the first Task display. There, you are allowed to Delete or Insert whole Tasks, or rearrange their order by using the Swap command. Typing "Q" from this display exits the Task section and returns you to the "* SELECT FILE NAME TO BE ALTERED *" menu. -- EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER, ver. 1.1, page 12 -- E S T A B L I S H I N G T H E W O R K F O R C E Once you have established your lists of JOBs and TASKs, you are ready to tell *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* which TASKs will be required to conduct your business. This defines the WORK FORCE. Since your needs may vary from one day or week to the next, you will have already created enough tasks to cover any possibility (or if not, go back and create another). Now, all you have to do is type "W" to be able to define the current WORK FORCE. If you have just initialized your disk, you will see the following display: + - - - - + * To alter WORKFORCE, enter TASK numbers when asked below: * The following tasks are included in your current WORKFORCE : Quit ~ Add ~ Delete ~ Redo ~ Start from scratch + - - - - + You will initially see no TASKs entered. But with your listing of TASKs which *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* has printed for you, you can Add any TASK you wish by typing "A" and entering the TASK number at the prompt. Hitting <ENTER> after a prompt exits the Add mode and displays your newly created WORK FORCE. This display may be altered by Deleting entries or Adding further to the list. If you made a mistake, an "R" will redo the list its state before you entered this section. If you wish to completely change an existing WORK FORCE, "S" will wipe out all entries and Start you from scratch. Of course, "Q" leaves this section and give you a chance to save or throw out any changes made. -- EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER, ver. 1.1, page 13 -- S E T T I N G U P T H E D E F A U L T S Back in the "* SELECT FILE NAME TO BE ALTERED *" menu, typing "D" will allow you to change various DEFAULT parameters: + - - - - + * Changing DEFAULT.inf file * 1) Foreground Color: 7 2) Background Color: 0 3) Highlight Color: 15 4) Sound (Y/N?): N 5) Drive for Main Program: A: 6) Subdirectory for Main Program: \LABOR\SCHEDULE\ 7) Drive for data: B: 8) Subdirectory for data: \schedata\ 9) Type ahead (Y/N?): N Change which entry? + - - - - + By typing a number, you are allowed to change the individual parameters. You will note that numbers 5-8 contain the information you entered with STARTUP. This data may now be altered at any time to switch to different disks and/or subdirectories. In addition, you may change the shading or color of the characters dis-played on the screen by altering numbers 1, 2 or 3. Experiment. Color changes are made immediately after you hit <ENTER>. Number 4 enables and disables audible beeps which follows prompts and also after you have made an entry error. Upon initialization, Sound is off. Number 9 allows a person with considerable experience using *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* to type ahead, anticipating the questions which the program -- EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER, ver. 1.1, page 14 -- will ask. Up ot 15 keystrokes are allowed in this mode. Upon initialization, this function is disabled. When you have made all necessary changes, hitting <ENTER> by itself allows you exit this section, but not before having the opportunity to save or ignore your changes. You will once again find yourself in the "* SELECT FILE NAME TO BE ALTERED *" menu. Finally, typing "M" from this menu will return you to the original Main Menu which was displayed upon first calling up *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER*. -- EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER, ver. 1.1, page 15 -- E M P L O Y E E I N F O R M A T I O N Once the JOB, TASK and WORK FORCE files have been created, it is time to provide *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* information about each employee. It would be wise to collect this information before hand so that it may be entered in an efficient and concise fashion. *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* will ask for the following information for each employee. The asterik (*) indicates information which is critical to the program and cannot be omitted. + - - - - + ENTRY CHARACTERS ALLOWED EXAMPLE * Employee name 25 TAYLOR, WILLIAM Employee number 4 A246 * Seniority number 3 209 Date hired 8 11/29/83 Telephone number 14 (509) 555-1234 * Shift preference 4 [see explaination below] * Job preference 2 [see explaination below] * Jobs Qualified To Do 20 [see explaination below] + - - - - + The employee name must be LAST NAME, COMMA, SPACE, FIRST NAME...all capital letters. Although Shift and Job Preferences have asteriks, it is only necessary to place values here under special circumstances which will be explained later. If you do, Shift preference is indicated by entering the number of the shift or shifts preferred. Days=1, Swing=2, Grave=3, and Releif=4. If you enter "2", then *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* will look first for openings on Swing shift. If none are found, it will then look to the others , with an emphasis on the earlier shifts. If "23" is entered, Swing will be searched, then Grave, followed by Days and Relief. -- EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER, ver. 1.1, page 16 -- A Job Preference is indicated by entering the computer assigned JOB number at this position. *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* will then fill in the correct Job description. Since an employee cannot be assigned work for which he is not qualified, you must indicate which positions he is capable of carrying out. You will need to list out these JOBs by their computer assigned number. Having compiled the above information for each employee, type "C" while in the Main Menu. This will allow you to Change information on an Employee File or create a new one. You will enter the menu, "* Changing an Employee *", and be prompted to enter the identifying portion of the employee's name or to type "NEW NAME" in order to create a new employee record. If calling up an existing employee's record, you only have to type enough of his name (last name first, comma, space, first name) to single him out from among the remaining employees. *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* will locate his record and display it on the screen or let you know that it couldn't be found. -- EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER, ver. 1.1, page 17 -- To create a record for a new employee, type "NEW NAME" and *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* will do the rest. You will see the following display: + - - - - + * Changing an Employee * 1) Employee's name: ~ 2) Employee Number: ~ 3) Seniority Number: ~ 4) Date Hired: ~ 5) Telephone: ~ 6) Shift Preference ~ 7) Job Preference ~ 8) Jobs Qualified To Do ~ WHICH NUMBER ABOVE DO YOU WISH TO CHANGE? + - - - - + Data is entered for numbers 1-7 by typing the number and providing the information you had compiled earlier for each employee. Number 8 is called up the same way, but you will be prompted below for the Job NUMBERS for which he is qualified. You may enter up to 20 Jobs or finish at any time by hitting <ENTER> when asked for the next Job. When you have finished, you will need to instruct *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* whether you wish your listing of qualified Jobs to be sorted by wage (from high to low) or left in the same order that they were entered. The reason for this is because different jobs paying the same wages will be ordered in an unpredictable manner. Therefore, if your employee is qualified to do three jobs, X, Y and Z which pay the same, but you would like him to be assigned to Y before X, the only way to insure that arrangement would be to manually enter Y then X then Z and then tell *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* not to sort the list. -- EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER, ver. 1.1, page 18 -- A completed employee record may look like this: + - - - - + * Changing an Employee * 1) Employee's name: QUINCY, MYRTLE 2) Employee Number: 1234 3) Seniority Number: 24 4) Date Hired: 9/29/81 5) Telephone: (509) 555-4321 6) Shift Preference 1-Grave 2-Days 7) Job Preference SANITATION 8) Jobs Qualified To Do (see below) 4) AA LEAD PERSON 51) A MECHANIC 7) CONCENTRATE HAULER 55) FORKLIFT DRIVER 32) SANITATION 48) GENERAL LABOR 12) FILTER OPERATOR + - - - - + A record may be deleted by calling up that record and typing "D" when prompted at the bottom of the screen. You will have one chance to change your mind. When no more changes are desired, just type <ENTER> and indicate whether to keep the new information. You will be asked to enter another employee's name (or type "NEW NAME"). When finished, hitting <ENTER> will return you to the Main Menu. -- EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER, ver. 1.1, page 19 -- P R I N T I N G I N F O R M A T I O N L I S T S If you type "P" from the Main Menu, another program, "SCHEDPRN" will be loaded from the disk and the following will be displayed: + - - - - + * SELECT FILE TO BE PRINTED * Employee listing (EMPLFILE.inf) Job listing (JOBLIST.inf) Task listing (TASK.inf) Work force (FORCE.inf) Default parameters (DEFAULT.inf) Return to the MAIN MENU appear in alphabetical order or by wages, high to low. Both the TASK and WORK FORCE listings will give you hourly labor costs. It is essential to keep up-to-date JOB and TASK listings by your side. The numbers assigned by *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* to these files will be used to prepare most other files. Typing "R" returns you once again to the Main Menu. -- EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER, ver. 1.1, page 20 -- C R E A T I N G A S C H E D U L E Now that the JOB, TASK and WORK FORCE files are completed and you have built the file containing your personnel records, it is finally time to create a schedule. Typing "S" from the Main Menu will call up an entirely different program from the disk called "SCHEDWF". It will allow you to Quit the program altogether and return to the DOS prompt, Return to the Main Menu of SCHEDULE or proceed and actually Schedule the WORK FORCE. When you type "S" from this menu, you will be asked whether you wish to allow preference for an assigned (awarded or bid) Job and/or Shift. Finally, you must indicate whether the schedule should be printed out or only shown on the display. Having answered these three questions, *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* will: determine the actual number of jobs to be filled, call up the record of each employee (highest seniority first), see whether he is on vacation (or sick leave or personal leave) or not, examine his qualifications, take into account whether Shift and/or Job preferences are allowed, determine if the employee record indicate any such preferences, locate the highest paying job for which the employee is qualified, determine whether the job is vacant, and, if everything still looks good, assign that employee to the position for which he is entitled. If nothing works out, the employee is passed over. -- EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER, ver. 1.1, page 21 -- current Work Force you earlier established and details which employee was awarded which job. If some jobs remain unfilled, "-VACANT-" is written in that spot. At the bottom of the list is a short summary indicating how many jobs were filled and how many were left vacant. WITH A 300 MAN LABOR POOL, 75 SEPARATE JOBS AND 50 SEPARATE TASKS, YOU CAN ENTER YOUR NEW WORK FORCE AND HAVE A TYPE WRITTEN LIST FILLED WITH 200 JOBS WITHIN FIVE MINUTES! DO THAT BY HAND AND IT'LL TAKE 3-5 HOURS ! -- EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER, ver. 1.1, page 22 -- G E T T I N G S C H E D U L E S T A S T I C S After the schedule has been printed, hitting any key will return you to the SCHEDWF.EXE menu. Now you will note a new menu entry. Typing "G" enables *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* to Generate a few statitistics. First, a complete list of all employees assigned a job is offered, either by seniority or alphabetically. It provides you with the employee's seniority number, name, and shift and job assignment. This list may be printed out if desired. Second, you may ask for a list of all employees who were not assigned any work. *EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER* will list them out by seniority. With this list you can determine if any minor adjustments need to be made to the data you have entered earlier. Again, this list may be printed out. Typing "M" returns you to the SCHEDWF.EXE menu where you may create a Schedule using different parameters, return to the Main menu of SCHEDULE.EXE to make further changes to your data files, or Quit altogether and return to the DOS prompt. -- EMPLOYEE SCHEDULER, ver. 1.1, page 23 --