Set-Up Related Questions

Q: What is the difference between qualifiers and groups?

A: Qualifiers identify positions or capabilities personnel can fill within Scheduling. They can be used to determine who is eligible to fill an assignment and can also be used when creating Call Shift lists.

Examples of qualifiers may include:

• Captain
• Firefighter
• Paramedic
• HazMat
• Short Notice Staffing

Groups provide another way to organize personnel. They can be used to identify specific collections of users for communication or other organizational purposes.

Examples may include:

• A Shift
• Technical Rescue Team
• Acting Captains
• Volunteers

Q: What are boards used for?

A: Boards allow an organization to control which assignments are displayed together on the Shift Board. They can be used to organize staffing based on the structure of the organization.

For example, boards may be configured around:

• Stations
• Districts
• Battalions
• Divisions
• Temporary staffing assignments

Boards can make larger Shift Boards easier to manage by allowing users to focus on the assignments relevant to a specific operational area.

Q: What is the difference between Standard Rotations and Advanced Rotations?

A: Standard Rotations are intended for schedules that use a single recurring rotation pattern. Advanced Rotations allow multiple active rotation layers to exist within one rotation.

Each Advanced Rotation layer is associated with a configured timeframe and is evaluated independently. This allows an organization to use different recurring patterns for different portions of a shift, such as separate day and night periods.

Advanced Rotations use the same on/off interpretation as Standard Rotations and are dynamically represented on the Shift Board. They do not create stored shift records.

Advanced Rotations can also be used where Standard Rotations are supported, including Kelly Day generation.

Q: What are Personnel Movement Rules used for?

A: Personnel Movement Rules allow an organization to configure how personnel should be moved when filling required vacancies rather than relying exclusively on hardcoded movement behavior.

Movement Rules can be used to define:

• Movement precedence
• Assignment priorities
• Qualifier-based movement
• Shared group staffing requirements
• Movable personnel pools
• Tier restrictions
• Assignment-level exclusions

A System Default rule preserves existing movement behavior unless the organization chooses to configure its own rules.

Shift Board Related Questions

Q: What is the Shift Board used for?

A: The Shift Board provides the primary operational view for managing scheduled personnel, assignments, vacancies, and staffing changes.

Authorized users can use the Shift Board to review staffing and perform actions such as moving personnel, filling vacancies, managing unassigned personnel, and making other day-of-schedule adjustments.

The actions available to an individual depend on their Scheduling permissions.

Q: How do I move someone for a partial shift instead of a full shift?

A: Drag-and-drop movement generally assumes the timeframe associated with the destination assignment or available space.

When an individual needs to cover only part of a shift, selecting the partial vacancy and filling it manually provides greater control over the applicable timeframe. This is especially useful when a vacancy needs to be divided between multiple personnel.

Q: What is Off Roster used for?

A: Off Roster is used to document work that is not associated with a regular Shift Board assignment.

Common examples include:

• Meetings
• Training
• Classes
• Drill nights
• Inspections
• Administrative duties

An individual can have both a Shift Board assignment and an Off Roster entry. Depending on the circumstances, the system may require the entry to be forced when the individual is already fulfilling another role.

Q: What is a Snap Assignment?

A: A Snap Assignment is a temporary assignment that can be deployed when additional staffing positions are needed outside the organization's normal assignment structure.

Examples may include:

• Special details
• Training
• Academy sessions
• Temporary operational assignments

Snap Assignments can identify how many personnel are required, who is qualified to fill the assignment, and the timeframe during which staffing is needed.

Q: Can personnel sign up for open shifts?

A: Yes. When shift sign-ups are enabled, eligible personnel can sign up for vacancies they are qualified to fill.

Organizations can also configure the process so that a sign-up requires approval before the individual is placed onto the Shift Board.

Call Shift and Mandatory Related Questions

Q: What is a Call Shift?

A: A Call Shift provides a structured method for contacting eligible personnel to fill an open staffing need.

Eligibility and notification order can be affected by configured items such as:

• Qualifiers
• Call Shift Rules
• Rankings
• Availability
• Exclusions
• Personnel status

The exact hiring process depends on the organization's Call Shift configuration.

Q: What is the benefit of using the Candidate Method for Call Shifts?

A: The Candidate Method allows eligible candidates to be contacted simultaneously rather than waiting for each individual to respond before proceeding to the next person.

Candidates are provided a period of time to respond. The system can then use the configured ranking to determine which responding candidate should receive the vacancy.

This can reduce the amount of time required to fill vacancies while providing eligible personnel an opportunity to respond before the Call Shift closes.

Q: How are Call Shift rankings determined?

A: Call Shift rankings are determined by the ranking criteria configured by the organization.

Depending on configuration, ranking criteria can include factors such as:

• Accumulated hours
• Date of hire
• User-defined fields
• Original position
• Last worked
• Alphabetical order

When multiple criteria are configured, their order determines how the system evaluates candidates.

Q: What is Charge by Work Type?

A: Charge by Work Type allows ranking adjustments or charged hours to be applied based on the Work Type associated with the Call Shift.

The feature is configured under Scheduling → Setup → Call Shift Rules → Settings.

When enabled, a ranking adjustment or charge is applied only when the Call Shift's Work Type matches a Work Type configured to count toward Call Shift rankings.

Within the Work Type configuration, administrators can determine whether the Work Type counts toward Call Shift rankings and can include or exclude applicable subtypes.

Q: What is the difference between a Call Shift and Mandatory?

A: Call Shifts are used to contact eligible personnel to fill staffing needs according to configured Call Shift Rules and ranking criteria.

Mandatory provides a method for filling required staffing when personnel must be assigned rather than relying solely on voluntary acceptance.

Organizations can also configure Mandatory to use Call Shift Ranking, allowing the Mandatory process to reference the configured Call Shift ranking order.

Availability and Exclusion Related Questions

Q: How does availability affect Scheduling?

A: Availability allows personnel to indicate when they are available or unavailable for scheduling opportunities.

Availability can be managed from Scheduling → My Shifts. Depending on configuration and permissions, availability can include:

• Available
• Unavailable
• Assignment-based availability
• Auto-Accept periods

Availability information can then be used by Scheduling workflows when determining which personnel are appropriate for staffing opportunities.

Q: Can an authorized user manage availability for another person?

A: Yes. Users with the appropriate access can navigate to Scheduling → My Shifts, switch to another user, and manage that person's availability.

Availability can be entered for today or a future date and can include available, unavailable, assignment-based availability, and Auto-Accept periods where applicable.

Q: What are Scheduling Exclusion Rules?

A: Exclusion Rules allow an organization to define circumstances in which personnel should be excluded from Call Shift, Mandatory, or both processes based on Time Off-related conditions.

They are configured under Scheduling → Setup → Time Off Settings → Exclusion Rules.

Depending on the configured rule, exclusions can use an hour buffer around Time Off or evaluate qualifying Work Types and approved Time Off Types.

Personnel can also create applicable Shift Exclusions from My Shifts when that functionality is available.

Agency Staffing Related Questions

Q: What is Agency View used for?

A: Agency View provides a summarized view of daily staffing without requiring users to continuously scroll through a large Shift Board.

It is accessed through Scheduling → Agency View.

Depending on the organization's configuration, staffing can be displayed by Division or District. Users can review information such as:

• Scheduled rotation
• Current versus required staffing
• Understaffing indicators
• Assignment staffing
• Personnel information

This is particularly useful for larger organizations that need a high-level view of staffing across multiple operational areas.

Q: How is Agency View organized by Division or District?

A: The hierarchy displayed in Agency View is controlled through Scheduling → Setup → Grouping Configuration.

The organization can select Division or District as the grouping anchor and arrange how those areas should appear. A preview shows how assignments will be nested within the selected structure before the configuration is saved.

Time Off and Trade Related Questions

Q: How does Time Off Trading work?

A: Time Off Trading allows an individual to initiate a trade involving an approved Time Off request.

The user navigates to Scheduling → Time Off → My Time Off, selects the approved request, and uses the trade option to identify the recipient and applicable day. Notes can also be added before the request is submitted.

The resulting request can then proceed through the organization's configured review process.

Q: How are Time Off Trade requests approved or denied?

A: Authorized users can review Time Off Trade requests by navigating to Scheduling → Time Off → Review.

The reviewer can open the request details to review information associated with the trade, including the applicable balances at the time of the request.

To approve the request, select Approve, enter applicable notes, and confirm the approval.

If the trade should not be approved, select Deny, enter the applicable notes, and confirm the denial.

Once the action is confirmed, the system processes the selected decision.