Expanding to 7 Day

In today’s global economy many plants operating on traditional 5-day production schedules are finding it difficult to compete. They may experience significant idle capacity or face the necessity of operating inefficiently with overtime or token crews on the weekends. Moreover, weekly start-ups and shutdowns only further reduce productivity and efficiency.

Sooner or later comes the realisation that something must be done and that more efficient utilisation of equipment and human assets must be obtained. This can best be accomplished by expanding the plant to a 7-day continuous operation.

Unfortunately, such conversions are extremely complex and filled with pitfalls that can have disastrous consequences if not properly planned and managed. To achieve all of the benefits of continuous operations requires major cultural, organisational and operational change. This is a huge adjustment for your production employees – the managers, supervisors and shift workers who will now be required to work through the weekends on a regularly scheduled basis. Many internal support groups are significantly affected as well. While the opportunity to reduce unit costs, achieve greater asset utilisation, defer capital expenditures, and better meet customer needs is alluring, the effect on the people throughout your organisation is dramatic. Many problems must be solved before the new ways of working can be accepted.

There are literally thousands of different work patterns in use today to cover working environments that operate around-the-clock and contrary to popular belief, there is no “perfect schedule” that surpasses all others.  The optimal work schedule for any facility consists of a balance between the business needs, the family and social needs of the employees and health and safety needs designed around human factors.

Employee participation in the schedule selection and change process is critical to the initiative’s success. In order for the work schedule to meet the goals of maximising productivity and safety of the workers and minimising the operational costs and risks of the facility, employee input must be solicited to ensure success in the process.

Studies confirm that facilities in which employees are given the opportunity to participate in the scheduling process, experience fewer accidents, improved morale, decreased absenteeism and turnover, and optimised production levels. Employee-driven scheduling processes, in which operational requirements, employee preferences, and physiological factors are rationalised, have proven to be the best approach for designing and implementing new shift schedules.

How CIRCADIAN AUSTRALIA can help you:

CIRCADIAN AUSTRALIA provides specialised assistance in planning and facilitating 5- to 7-day plant expansions. These technical and tactical support services are designed to help you realise the full benefits of the change, and achieve the desired return-on-investment. We provide:

• Expanding to 7 Day Operations – CIRCADIAN AUSTRALIA provides specialised assistance to plan and facilitate 5- to 7-day plant expansions. Based on over 27 years of hands-on field experience, CIRCADIAN’s support services will help you to realise the full benefits of the change, and to achieve the desired return-on-investment.
• Shift Schedule Optimisation – By working with employees, unions and management, CIRCADIAN AUSTRALIA develops schedule options that meet the business needs, satisfy worker preferences and are compatible with human physiology to promote health, safety and alertness. This ensures that the best possible scheduling solution will be achieved.
• Managing a Shift Work Lifestyle – This on-site training program provides critical information to help employee’s better deal with the unique challenges of working shift work, especially with night shifts, rotating schedules and long extended hours. This training includes practical information on fatigue, alertness, sleep, nutrition, health, family/social life and more. Studies confirm that this training not only provides substantial improvements in employee health, safety and performance, but also serves to maximise the overall benefits of the new or existing schedule.
• Fatigue Training Online - The premier online fatigue management training program for the 24/7 workforce. This web-based system offers specialised training programs providing workers with practical solutions to maintain altertness, productivity, safety and high performance on-duty and get better sleep off-duty.
• Educational Support Publications -  Educating safety-sensitive and quality-critical employees about fatigue and helping them be fully rested on the job is a non-stop challenge. To reinforce and maintain the benefits of employee training and/or scheduling changes or to simply provide practical information to help them better cope with the special challenges of shift work, support publications can serve a critical function. CIRCADIAN has developed a range of award-winning publications specifically written to sustain the benefits of its in-person consulting and training, as well as provide knowledge that will empower employees to take better control in improving their own health, safety and performance.