Shift planning in production

Intelligent planning despite complexity

In many manufacturing companies, shift planning is more than just an organizational chart with working hours. It's the backbone of smooth production processes, on-time deliveries, motivated employees, and ultimately satisfied customers. 

Shift planning is the silent pacesetter. But what happens when this rhythm falters?

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Challenges

  • Sudden changes in production processes: Machine downtime, material shortages, or additional orders require flexible and responsive shift planning.
  • Comply with legal and collective bargaining requirements: Employee protection laws or collective bargaining agreements often limit flexibility in planning.
  • Consider staffing shortages and qualifications: 
    Not all employees have the same technical skills, making it difficult to schedule the "right" resources at the right time.

  • Planning in silos - shifts and production out of sync: Many shift schedules are created on isolated platforms or in Excel, which hinders coordination with production processes.
  • Tension between employee satisfaction and operational efficiency: Taking employee preferences into account while simultaneously managing production pressure is a daily balancing act.

The result: inefficiency, lack of coordination, overtime, and dissatisfaction – and the feeling of constantly being in reaction mode instead of planning mode.

Why optimized shift planning is crucial for production

Inefficient shift planning not only leads to bottlenecks and downtime, but also to team dissatisfaction, overtime, and unnecessary additional costs. A new approach is needed: 
practical, intelligent, networked.

 

Modern manufacturing companies rely on solutions that not only coordinate shifts but also actively manage them.

The goal: to stabilize production processes, avoid bottlenecks, and create planning security – for both people and machines.

 

FELIOS Software optimiert Abläufe und steigert Effizienz im Airportbereich

Requirements for a future-proof solution

  • Transparency regarding capacity utilization and bottlenecks
  • Adaptation to changes in the production process
  • Consideration of qualifications, legal requirements, and individual employee specifications
  •  Integration of machine, material, and employee planning

Which solution fits your requirements?

If you are a decision-maker in the manufacturing environment looking for tools that solve precisely these problems, you have come to the right place. INFORM offers two powerful solutions with different focuses: WorkforcePlus and FELIOS | SPE. Both are specifically designed to make your planning efficient, agile, and flexible.

WorkforcePlus is AI-based software that focuses specifically on shift planning with the aim of optimizing duty rosters and staff availability.

workforceplus

FELIOS | SPE specializes in shift planning at the shop floor level – aligned with precise production specifications and capacities and closely integrated with production planning.

FELIOS | SPE      

FELIOS | SPE

FELIOS | SPE is the perfect choice for contract manufacturing companies that want to deploy their personnel at the right time, in the right place, and with the right qualifications – tailored to the actual production situation.

Ideal for: Small and single-series manufacturers as well as contract manufacturers with deep production structures and complex processes – where planning errors can quickly lead to downtimes or bottlenecks.

FELIOS Software optimiert Abläufe und steigert Effizienz im Airportbereich

Advantages FELIOS | SPE

  • Real-time synchronization of production and employee scheduling
  • Consideration of skills, machine capacities and material flow
  • Direct reaction to changes (e.g. machine downtime)
  • Seamless integration into ERP systems such as SAP
  • Focus on central planning responsibility (production manager, foreman) and decentralized data maintenance
  • Ideal for structured manufacturing with rigid layer models
More about FELIOS  | SPE

WorkforcePlus

WorkforcePlus is ideal for more demanding production environments. It combines the benefits of effective workforce planning with a clear focus on efficiency requirements in production.

Ideal for: Companies with high complexity in personnel planning, multiple locations or flexible working time models

FELIOS Software optimiert Abläufe und steigert Effizienz im Airportbereich

Advantages workforceplus

  • Flexible planning for part-time, rotating shifts, on-call duties
  • Consideration of individual requests (e.g. shift swapping via app)
  • Compliance with legal and collective bargaining requirements
  • Qualification matrix
  • Integration into existing systems such as SAP
  • Can be used across departments (e.g. warehouse, logistics)
  • Reporting and analysis via API interfaces
  • Time management
  • Employee engagement and self-service via app
More about workforceplus

Are you unsure which solution is right for your company?

Please contact our expert 

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