Shift Sequences

Shift items are breaks and meals. Use the Shift Items controls to create, edit, and delete breaks and meals and to arrange them into patterns called shift items sequences.

To open the Shift Sequences pane, select a shift in the Shifts pane and in the right-side pane, select Shift Sequences. The Shift Sequences pane has three sections: Distance Between Shift Items, Meals and Breaks Associated with Shifts, and Shift Sequences, which are described in the following topics:

• Configuring Shift Items
• Using Shift Sequences
• Adding and Editing Shift Sequences
• Configuring Shift Sequences

Configuring Shift Items

1. To configure Minimum Distance Between Shift Items, uncheck the Unlimited check box and enter the time, in minutes, that must elapse between one shift item and the next.
   This parameter sets the minimum required distance between meals and breaks.
2. To configure Maximum Distance Between Shift Items, uncheck the Unlimited check box and enter the time, in minutes, that represents the maximum that can elapse between one shift item and the next. This parameter sets the maximum allowed distance between meals and breaks, between shift start and first shift item, and between last shift item and shift end. The initial display is 0:00; but the control is actually disabled until you clear the Unlimited check box.  Range: 00:00—36:00
   Important

   In the settings above, using a value of 0:00 means: Do not use this constraint.
3. To create a new meal, click Add Meal association with shift ().
4. To change settings for a meal, select it and then click Edit.
   See Adding and Editing Meals for information about configuring meals.
5. To create a new break, click Add Break associate with shift (). To change settings for a break, select it and then click Edit. See Adding and Editing Breaks for information about configuring breaks.
   Important

   When you edit, delete, or change the order of meals or breaks in a shift item sequence, that sequence is deleted.
6. Click Move Up () or Move Down () to arrange the breaks in the order in which you want them to occur if more than one is included in a shift sequence.
   The order of meals is fixed. You can only modify the order by changing the position of breaks around them, using Move Up and Move Down. To change the order in which meals occur, you must return to the Meals pane and make changes there.
   Warning

   Changing the order of meals on the Meals pane automatically deletes all shift sequences that include those meals.
7. Create a Shift Sequence if you want to create a pattern of breaks and meals to apply to a shift. See Using Shift Sequences for information on configuring new sequences or editing existing ones.
8. When you have finished configuring the shift items, click Save to save the settings or Cancel to discard them.

Using Shift Sequences

A shift sequence enables you to arrange meals and breaks so that they occur in a specific order during the shift.

When you create multiple shift sequences for the same shift, Scheduler first sets the shift and then checks for compatible shift item sequences for that shift. Scheduler checks shift work duration and meal constraints to select the optimal shift item sequence.

Important

When you edit, delete, or change the order of meals or breaks in a shift sequence, that sequence is deleted.

Shift sequences appear in the list pane at the bottom of the Shift Sequences pane. This list shows these shift sequence properties:

• Allowed check box:
  • If checked, this shift item sequence is enabled and can be used in schedules.
  • If cleared, this shift item sequence is disabled and cannot be used in schedules.
• Min Paid Hours—The shortest period of time that can be scheduled for this shift item sequence.
• Shift Items Names—The names of the shift items that are included in the sequence and listed in the correct order.

Adding and Editing Shift Sequences

• To create a new shift sequence, click New in the Shift Sequences section.
• To edit a shift sequence, select it in list of shift sequences.
  The Shift Sequences Properties pane opens, enabling you to make changes to the meals and breaks Shift Items list.

Configuring Shift Sequences

To configure the shift sequence:

1. After you have associated meals and breaks with a shift and saved the settings, click New in the Shift Sequences section.
   The Shift Properties pane opens.
2. Select the Allowed check box to activate this shift item sequence.
   If you do not want to use the shift item sequence in schedules for a certain period of time, you can clear this check box rather than deleting the shift item sequence. This keeps the sequence available for when you want to use it again.
3. Enter a value in the Minimum Paid Hours field.
4. Click Add Break.
   The Breaks To Be Added To The Shift Sequence pane opens.
5. In this pane, do one of the following:
   • Select a break in the list and click Apply.
   • Select a break in the list and click Copy. You can copy the break to the same site, by checking the Copy to the Same Site check box, or copy it to another business unit and site within the enterprise.
   • Enter search criteria in the Search field (for example, the name of the break) to quickly find the break you want to apply or copy.
6. Click Move Up and Move Down to change the placement of a selected item.
Important
You cannot use Move Up and Move Down to change the order of the meals. If moving the selected item up or down would change the meal order, then clicking the button has no effect. To change the meal order, return to the Shift Sequence Properties pane and make the change there. If you do so, your all shift item sequences are deleted and you must recreate them.
7. When you have finished, click OK. To discard all changes, click Cancel.
   The new or edited shift sequence appears on the Shift Sequence pane. This list is always sorted by the value in the Minimum Paid Hours column.