Managing Automation - November 2007 - (Page 42)

[ TRANSFORMATION ] Transformation Integration TechWatch home, trade shifts, or participate in job bidding. “The younger workforce does expect a more technically oriented environment, no matter what their job is, and self-service kiosks are a necessary part of that,” says David Erickson, vice president of product development at RedPrairie, which markets workforce management tools. “Whereas you had to sell the previous generation on the notion that software could evaluate what they were doing or make calculations on shift time and be applied fairly, today’s workforce has come to expect automation. They don’t want to be held to something manual and paper-based if the information is there and can be accessed from some type of system.” Training is another big demand by incoming workers. RedPrairie, Ultimate Software, and others offer integrated learning management systems that deliver coursework electronically to employees, track which employees need to take what classes, and store the results in an online database so managers can keep track of employees’ continuing education, and employees have a record of what they have completed, much like a résumé. Toss in analytics and integrated performance management tools, and companies can automate their performance appraisal processes and keep tabs on where they need to add talent, especially as aging employees exit the workforce, experts say. “Companies can analyze their managingautomation.com workforce, see what skills workers have, what certifications they RELATED ARTICLES: have, and track their productivGoing Green A New Skills Training Plan Arrives ity so they have some visibility www.managingautomation.com/progressive29 as to what skill sets are in danAgile People = Agile Products ger as people walk out the door,” www.managingautomation.com/agile3 says Gregg Gordon, global pracSME Education Foundation: High tice leader for manufacturing at Achiever in Education & Training Kronos. Mastery Scheduling is another area www.managingautomation.com/SME where workforce management tools can lend an assist. Kronos COMPANIES MENTIONED: Cybershift Inc. and other tools have workflow www.managingautomation.com/Cybershift and scheduling engines that opKaba Workforce Solutions timize shift times based on a set www.managingautomation.com/Kaba of rules covering overtime reKronos Inc. strictions, for example, and prowww.managingautomation.com/Kronos duction plans. Most of these Oracle Corp. scheduling modules can integrate www.managingautomation.com/Oracle3 with manufacturing applications RedPrairie Corp. to access production schedules. www.managingautomation.com/RedPrairie With these tools, companies can Ultimate Software Group Inc. match employee skill sets to www.managingautomation.com/USG what’s needed, as well as keep tabs on meeting employment reg- Industries ulations and eligibility requirements for benefits. Employees benefit by voicing schedule preferences and taking advantage of alternative work schedules, such as compressed workweeks. Kaba Workforce Solutions, for instance, offers a new capability in its scheduling and planning module that enables companies to offer nine-day, 80-hour work periods, in which work is scheduled in longer shifts over a nine-day period as opposed to the traditional 10-day period. This lets companies offer employees an extra day off every second week without having to pay overtime. “Companies are trying to be more compliant “Companies can analyze their workforce [to gain] visibility as to what skill sets are in danger as people walk out the door.” — Gregg Gordon of Kronos with what employees desire in terms of what shifts they’re working,” says Jim King, Kaba’s director of product strategy. “Better planning and scheduling tools let companies consider not just the employee’s skills, but the fact that they want to work with their spouse or never work with their spouse, and factor those criteria into the planning.” Shiloh Industries Inc., a supplier to the automotive industry, has seen an upside from more flexible scheduling, both in bottom-line benefits and keeping employees happy. Shiloh’s younger workforce includes a lot of dual-working-parent families, not to mention single parents, who require flexible time off for family obligations. At the same time, the company was trying to keep its overtime costs down to stay lean in a competitive market. Using Kronos’ workforce management software, specifically the TimeKeeper module, Shiloh was able to reorient its shifts so they don’t run Monday through Friday with overtime, but rather two eight-hour days and two 12-hour days. The change has enabled Shiloh to offer employees perks such as full benefits and flexible work schedules without putting an additional burden on its overtime expenses, says Vivienne Kaminski, payroll/HRIS manager for the company. By centralizing payroll and decentralizing time-keeping with the software, Shiloh has enjoyed a 60% increase in accuracy in tracking employee hours while decreasing errors in paychecks by 64%. All in all, it’s a win-win for employer and employees. “We can offer employees time off during the week to go hunting or fishing when it’s not crowded or spend time with family,” she says. “For the company, we’ve been able to cut expenses on overtime, and [the software has] enabled us to attract new people that we wouldn’t have before.” ■ maonline ma November 42 2007 Photo courtesy: Kronos http://managingautomation.com http://www.managingautomation.com/progressive29 http://www.managingautomation.com/agile3 http://www.managingautomation.com/SME http://www.managingautomation.com/Cybershift http://www.managingautomation.com/Kaba http://www.managingautomation.com/Kronos http://www.managingautomation.com/Oracle3 http://www.managingautomation.com/RedPrairie http://www.managingautomation.com/USG

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Managing Automation - November 2007 Contents Take 1 Mailbox SAP's Business ByDesign to Validate On-Demand Model for Enterprise SW Portfolio Management Specialist Losing Ground to Rivals At Incor, It's Time for Some Deep Breathing Can HART, ISA Get Together on a Wireless Spec? Mesa Tries to Help Improve Plant Metrics Notes Cover Story: The Digital Factory Special Report: Breaking Down Walls Integration: Dreaming of One ERP Industries: Locking onto Cyber-Security Transformation: Not Your Father's Time & Attendance Program Product Scan Advertiser Index Next

Managing Automation - November 2007

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