The 24 Hour Business

As more businesses move to 24/7 operations, round-the-clock scheduling will become an hotter issue. This is not new. Some companies, some industries, have been operating with a 24-hour schedule since the 19th century. Now the issue carries greater importance since workers are increasingly concerned about work-life balance, career development, and alternative work schedules. The author of this book, Richard Coleman, is a consultant with over two decades of experience helping a wide range of employers develop the Best Cost schedule that balances business needs like productivity and profit with health and safety requirements and employee desires. All these factors must be taken into consideration, and there is an almost infinite number of designs that can be applied. Coleman's experience comes out early in the book. I was fascinated by all the factors involved in determining the right schedule. My learning was enhanced by example after example from the author's work that illuminated the reading. During the first few chapters, I felt like I was reading a continuous commercial for Coleman's consulting firm, but this barrage eased as the book moved into the latter chapters. While I am not by any means an expert in scheduling, I learned a lot from this book. OK, I didn't know anything about scheduling before I read this book. However, I now have a healthy respect and understanding for what goes into developing a work schedule for a round-the-clock operation. Human resource professionals, plant managers, and others with operational knowledge of staffing and scheduling will gain considerably more than I did because of their familiarity with the topic. Coleman covers all aspects of shift work schedules, even including Circadian rhythms. It's all here. Readers will learn how to better use time and human resources to maximize return on capital investment and equipment. They'll learn how to achieve greater results without overstaffing, certainly a serious issue in today's labor-scarce world. If your interest is in squeezing more productivity from every hour of the day-without squeezing employees, this book is for you. Ignore the 1995 copyright. The principles taught in this volume are high relevant, quite timely for what's happening in the early 21st century.