Introduction
Are you ever frustrated by scheduling? Many variables shape a business schedule, affecting each employee and customer who interacts with the business. Difficulties in scheduling can lead to unsatisfied customers, cost overruns, and wasted time.
Scheduling does not have to be frustrating. Silverloom software provides a scheduling module that is customized to fit your method of scheduling and can seamlessly integrate with your business systems.
Silverloom’s capabilities make a practical difference for our customers. We asked Jake Zook from Zook’s Manufacturing if he would share his scheduling experience with other business people. [Note: This is an actual customer testimonial, but all names have been changed to protect privacy.]
Zook’s Manufacturing enjoys its customized scheduling software
A little bit about Zook’s
Zook’s Manufacturing handles both production and delivery. For years, they scheduled their work without software. With complex pieces to manage, scheduling for their six drivers (who deliver to multiple states) could have been a full time job. Looking back, it’s quite impressive how well Zook’s managed–without software–to coordinate drivers, permitting, jobs, routing, and more.
The old system worked well
Using old-fashioned ingenuity, Zook’s developed a scheduling system that served them well for years.
A 3′ x 5′ magnetic whiteboard with paper calendars hanging nearby was central to this system. The whiteboard had four weekly rows, each row containing five work days.
Since the schedule regularly shifted, Zook’s used 3″ x 3″ magnets to easily move jobs around on the board. Each magnet displayed the job name and other important scheduling information. When a job was initially scheduled, the scheduler placed the magnet at the correct spot on the calendar. If the job schedule shifted, he moved the magnet to a different day.
Jake Zook said that while this system was functional, it had some problems:
- They could only see four weeks at a time. Jobs scheduled for five or more weeks away were written on magnets but stored in a drawer. If someone asked to change something on one of those jobs, dispatch had to rummage through the drawer, find the right magnet, and update it.
- When a job was complete, they had to wipe the magnet clean and write the details of a new job on it.
- Tracking trip miles and other data required entries on physical calendars. Then, at the end of a month, staff had to tally and record them manually.
The new system works even better
The first software that CodeCrafters built for Zook’s Manufacturing was a quote system. Jake was pleased with the software and began to dream of a digital version of their existing scheduling system.
CodeCrafters caught his vision for the project. Collaborating with Jake, they designed a solution that retained the strengths of the manual system while eliminating its weaknesses. The resulting solution exceeded Jake’s expectations.
The core of the new system is a 43″ touchscreen monitor. Rather than physical magnets, digital “boxes” now contain scheduled deliveries and jobs. Zook’s no longer has to write and erase job information–instead, they can easily update the boxes. Jake described a few of the things he likes about his new system:
- Information auto-fills for customers who are already in the system.
- Drivers and equipment can be assigned using dropdown boxes.
- The job box can be tapped to indicate deliveries that need a load permit or an escort–each job characteristic visually flagged with a different color.
- Up to 15 jobs are shown per day by default. If the daily schedule grows, the row automatically expands to make room for new jobs.
- The current 3-4 weeks are visible, with the added capability of scrolling up to a year into the future.
- Deliveries and production can be scheduled on the same board while remaining separate.
- Miles and other key job details are tracked automatically.
- Monthly reports can be run without the need for manual entries.
Further thoughts from Zook’s
Two things (well, maybe three) stand out to Jake. One, he got the software solution he wanted without getting features he didn’t need or want to pay for. Two, he likes that CodeCrafters was able to build a digital scheduling system that improved his physical design–without making him adapt to a new way of scheduling.
The third thing? Oh yes, there’s that big touchscreen monitor. Even though he’s had it for a while now, Jake still loves to show it to visitors to his office and demonstrate how it works. It’s so unusual that he doesn’t get tired of it!
Does Zook’s scheduling challenge sound familiar?
Your business may not have identical needs to Zook’s, and that’s okay because we customized their software to fit their scheduling. Common scheduling problems exist for businesses–you’ve likely encountered some of them.
Lack of visibility
Whether you have an official scheduler or handle scheduling yourself, at least one person in your company knows what is happening. But it’s not always easy to share this information with everyone who needs to know it. You might have a customer meeting with your crew, and the crew is wondering if the job got scheduled as intended. Or maybe your crew is running late, and the customer is wondering if they are still coming. It could also be that someone within your company expects work to happen on a certain day, but they don’t have an easy way of checking the schedule.
Interconnectedness
Even if you have just one employee, many variables affect your scheduling accuracy. Your employee might call in sick, encounter traffic that prevents him from completing his route, or have the day’s first customer ask him to do extra work. Each of these bumps in the road can affect the schedules of other clients.
As soon as you start adding more employees, the complexity increases due to more schedules to coordinate. Complexity also increases with any dependence on outside vendors or need for internal inventory.
Work capacity
Have you ever considered how much work can be done by a certain number of people? Sometimes it’s difficult to know how much to schedule in a day. Schedule too little, you don’t use your full capacity. Schedule too much, and your employees get home late or you miss your deadlines.
This also ties in with knowing when you need to hire. You may want to hire someone to ease the current load, but you aren’t sure if you will have enough work to keep them busy in the future.
Lack of accountability
Without a clear picture of scheduling targets and completion, it’s difficult to know why deadlines are missed. With a clearer system, it becomes apparent where the bottlenecks in production are and what needs to change to fix them – whether it’s better training for a team member or ensuring adequate time padding for estimates.
Outdated technology
In the past, you might have survived using paper or a physical calendar to do your scheduling. You know how hard it is to make a major schedule adjustment on paper. Even with tools like spreadsheets, it can be difficult to ensure that information is updated correctly and in-sync.
Problems with standard scheduling software
Digital options are available for scheduling, but many of them fall short. Here are just a couple of problems that you may have experienced with scheduling software:
- Lack of integration
- Your scheduling software can’t connect with your client communication software to send automated updates to those who need to know.
- It can’t track your inventory to know when there will be a delay due to a parts shortage.
- It can’t predict when you will have a scheduling crisis with either too much work promised or too little work scheduled.
- Forced adaptation
- Scheduling software typically expects a specific workflow and forces you to adapt to that.
- Scheduling software often has standard scheduling logic that can’t be modified to take into account additional inputs.
- Scheduling software that is adequate today may not meet your needs when you wish to improve your scheduling logic and workflow.
Where Silverloom shines
We know that each business is unique, so why should each business use the same software? We’ve designed Silverloom to address the frustrations mentioned above. Not only can we customize Silverloom’s scheduling feature to operate like you do, but we also design it to integrate with your other software components and customer communication features.
Smooth-running scheduling software makes life easier for you:
- You save management and administrative time.
- You maximize production time.
- You have more peace of mind, because you know what’s going on.
- You experience fewer interruptions in your work.
- Your team is more content, having a reliable daily schedule and seeing their upcoming jobs.
- Your customers are happier because you meet your targets and they are better informed.
What does your business need?
Do you have scheduling challenges or a system that isn’t working well? Do you have a good system that could be better? In any case, we’d be glad to discuss your needs and explore solutions with you.
If scheduling is running smoothly, how are your other systems operating? Are they communicating clearly with each other? Reach out today to discuss how you can keep moving forward as a business.