Quick start for Planner coordinators
Use this guide to take a job from its first staffing need to a staffed crew, and plan the person's other activities in Year Plan. Start each day with the checklist below, then use the four steps when work changes.
Your access determines which actions you can use. If you coordinate people but cannot create or change jobs and demands, ask the person responsible for the job to complete steps 1 and 2.
Follow Job → Demand → Person
- Job: the work, with a reference, dates, customer and facility.
- Demand: how many people the job needs, in which role and shift, and for which dates. A demand is also called a staffing need.
- Person: someone assigned to fill that need.
Plan job work against an open demand. If no demand covers the required dates, role and shift, add or adjust the demand first. This keeps the job's staffing needs and its assigned people in step.
Plan everything that is not job work directly on the person in Year Plan, such as vacation, sick leave, training, travel or standby.
Choose the first demand's activity type carefully
The first demand sets the Activity Type for the whole job. Later demands inherit it, so you do not choose a different type for each role.
Choose the type that matches the work. The available types and their names depend on your organisation's setup. For example, two types of offshore work may have different rules for earning rest days.
Automatic 1/3 Off depends on both the activity type and your organisation's setup. Do not assume that every work activity earns rest days or that they are always created automatically. Check your organisation's planning routine before making the first demand.
Start each day in Staffing Needs
- Open Jobs › Staffing Needs.
- Check rows marked Missing today first, then upcoming gaps marked In N days.
- If dates or headcounts have changed, have the job's demands updated before assigning people.
- Choose Find personnel on a row that needs people. Check qualifications, availability and conflicts before assigning.
- Keep vacation, sick leave, training and travel up to date in Year Plan.
- Before the crew leaves for the job, check that the required periods are Fully staffed.
1. Create the job
Go to Jobs › Job List › Create Job.
- Fill in Essentials: Job Reference, Job Period, Customer, Facility and Job Type.
- Under Staffing Setup, choose Set up demand to create the first need with the job.
- Choose Activity Type, Demand Start, Demand End, Role To Fill First and the headcount for each shift shown. Keep the demand dates inside the job period.
- Check the summary and choose Create Job.
If staffing is not yet known, choose Add later instead, then add demands before staffing the job. See Create a job for the other fields and staffing options.
2. Add or adjust demands
Go to Jobs › Job List, open the job and select Demands.
- Choose Add Demand for a new staffing need.
- Set From Date and To Date within the job period.
- Choose Job Role when shown, and set the required headcount for each shift. Add separate demands when different roles are needed.
- Choose Create Demand.
Later demands inherit the job's activity type. To change an existing need's dates, role or headcount, open that demand and save the revised details. If people are already assigned, review their assignments against the changed need.
See Add a staffing need to a job.
3. Staff the job
Go to Jobs › Staffing Needs and choose Find personnel on the relevant row.
- Compare the ranked candidates' competency match, availability and conflicts.
- Choose Assign for a suitable person, or Review & assign when exceptions need review.
- Read any warnings and review the affected dates before confirming. Resolve blocking issues before trying again.
- Check the remaining staffing gap and repeat until the required periods are covered.
A high ranking is a starting point for your decision, not a guarantee that a person meets every requirement. See Find the best person for a demand.
4. Plan other activities in Year Plan
- Open Year Plan and find the person using Search person....
- Select the dates in the calendar and choose Add/Replace Activity.
- Choose Activity Type, check the dates and add a Comment when useful.
- Review any conflicts before saving. Check which existing activities would be replaced.
Use On/Off for changes to the person's working and non-working days. See Set on/off days and add activities.
Reserve a person only if your organisation uses Reserved
Reserved is optional and may have a different name in your organisation. If available, add it in Year Plan for work that is not confirmed yet. Name the proposed job in Comment so other coordinators know why the person is held.
A reservation does not fill a demand. When the work is confirmed, use the job's staffing need to assign the person. Review the reservation conflict and check the resulting plan, including any reserved dates outside the assignment.
Avoid these common mistakes
| Mistake | What to do |
|---|---|
| Planning people before the right demand exists | Add or adjust the demand's dates, role and headcount first. |
| Choosing the first activity type without checking it | Confirm the kind of work and the rest-day rules before creating the first demand. |
| Putting demand dates outside the job period | Correct the job period or keep the demand within it. |
| Treating a reservation as confirmed staffing | Assign the person to the confirmed demand and check coverage. |
| Confirming a candidate without reading warnings | Review conflicts and qualification gaps before proceeding. |
Terms you will meet
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Demand / staffing need | A job's need for people over a period, with a role and headcount per shift where applicable. |
| Staffing Needs | The page under Jobs where you follow up staffing gaps. |
| Activity Type | The kind of work or other activity planned for the person. |
| 1/3 Off | Rest days earned from eligible work when automatic rest is enabled in your organisation's setup. |
| Reserved | An optional activity used to hold a person for unconfirmed work. It is not a job assignment. |