Why is digitalising operations scheduling so important?

Operations scheduling is a business-critical function that determines operational and financial performance and accounts for a substantial proportion of OPEX costs (61% in a port). Optimising employee utilisation is essential to efficiency as it determines operational capacity. Effective employee scheduling requires proactive management of operational tasks and employee hours to balance workloads. This helps to minimise fluctuations that can result in underutilisation, staff shortages, or gaps in skills and competencies, while also reducing the need for excess overtime or reliance on contractors. 

Underutilisation leads to unnecessary staffing costs where employees are paid whilst not working and can lead to contractor and overtime costs later in the rota cycle. Additionally, insufficient staffing or skills can limit the port's operational capabilities at the end of cycles, negatively affecting efficiency and performance.