Rostima are committed to supporting our customer for all eventualities. Please
refer to this FAQ for general non-product related questions.
What are the parameters we can enter into Scheduler to generate a shift
pattern?
There are a number of different parameters that you enter to generate a shift
pattern, these are linked to the roles that employees have who can complete
the workload. These parameters include:
- Minimum, desirable and maximum hours per shift and roster period
- Minimum, desirable and maximum days on or off within a period
- The minimum time between shifts
- The number of start times allowed per roster period and the maximum time
difference between shift start times
- The proportion of full time to part time staff
- The maximum number of full time and/or part time staff
- The make up of teams that may be used.
How does the system cope with leave, training and sickness?
Leave, training and sickness can be entered for each employee and a count
is made per day of the number of staff that cannot work. Once this is applied
to a schedule you can view the histogram of workload against scheduled labour
to see the effect. You can then decide how to cover any workload that was
to have been done by those on leave etc. either by overtime, swapping shifts
or creating new shifts for alternative employees.
How can the shift pattern be published to rostered staff?
Once a schedule has been created a number of different reports can be produced
either by individual or for all of those who are on the schedule. These reports
can then be saved in a number of different formats and sent to the employees
as required. Currently within the software there is also the facility to automatically
create the schedule in HTML format and send it directly via an e-mail system
on the computer that Rostima is being run from.
How would the product be installed – what are its technical requirements?
The software is windows based and can either be installed on a server or
as a stand-alone product on the PC. The current Paradox version of the software
will need a Citrix installation on the server and the software installed on
each PC that will need to access the databases; we are in the process of creating
a thin client version under SQL and Oracle that will be implemented via .Net,
which will enable automatic installation from the server.
Should we have some consultancy days at the start?
This depends on the complexity of the scheduling problem that you face and
the experience of your staff. All implementations will require training of
the staff that will be using the Rostima software and this training is geared
towards the particular problems of those being trained. However it is often
the case that help is required in formulating the problem and, as all of the
Rostima consultants have a background in real life scheduling, including union
negotiations and schedule implementations as well as extensive experience
in using the Rostima software, there can be a huge benefit in some initial
consultancy.
Will we be able to adjust/change the pattern substantially ourselves without
consultancy input from Rostima?
Yes. Training in the system includes using the software to make any adjustments
and changes to schedules. Purchasing a licence to use the software however
also gives you access to a number of hours consultancy and help if you require
it.
How do we obtain patches and updates?
The purchase of a licence includes the automatic provision of any patches
or upgrades.
Can your software be linked to my existing payroll system and to other
systems such as HR and Time and Attendance?
Rostima has adopted the Best Of Breed approach to our software where we recommend
clients adopt the best software pieces for their business and we integrate
with those systems. We have written interfaces for exporting schedule information
to payroll systems to assist with paying of employees. We have also written
interfaces for exporting planned schedule information to T&A systems to assist
with the tracking of employees. For other clients we have written interfaces
(e.g. via XML) to import employee information from HR systems into our Scheduler
software.
How long does it take to train someone in the software?
We have two training courses. The first is a ‘super-user’ course, designed
to train an organisation expert in the software, for all aspects of operational
and strategic use. The second course is aimed at day-to-day users who will
be mainly updating daily changes to the rosters. The ‘super-user’ training
is five days classroom and five days practical application in the workplace.
The day-to-day user training is two days classroom and two days in the workplace.
What is the largest schedule you generated and how long did it take?
We have worked on some very large schedules for airport clients and some
of our clients roster over 2000 staff using our software. The largest single
schedule we produced was 355 lines for the Sydney Olympics. This schedule
was generated in eight minutes after evaluating approximately 1,500 potential
schedules. The hardware used to generate this schedule was a desktop PC with
a Pentium 3 processor and 64 MB of RAM.
Is support available after the software is implemented?
Support is available 24/7 from technical staff and consultants via the phone
or the Rostima Internet site. We maintain close contact with all clients and
carry out regular post-implementation health check visits to ensure that the
software is being used to it’s full potential.
If these haven't helped or you think a particular question should be included,
then email
us your questions.
General FAQs : Answering your common queries
