| Frequently Asked Questions |
| |
| General Questions |
| |
|
Q: How is the Staff Scheduler program Licensed? |
A: Staff Scheduler is
licensed on a per machine basis. Any number of
authorized staff may log on to one machine. If more that
one PC is required for your operation then purchasing
additional licenses (please call for volume discounts)
are needed for the number of PC's to have Staff
Scheduler installed.
|
|
Q: We're installing Staff Scheduler on a Citrix or
Microsoft Terminal Server, how many licenses do we need
to purchase |
A: For these types of
server installations, as is for all software, you will
require one license of Staff Scheduler for each and
every srver Client Access License (CAL) / user that is
expected to concurrently use the software. |
Q: How do I activate
the Staff Scheduler software?
|
A: Start the Staff Scheduler software on your
computer, leaving it on the License Activation form.
Go to the DBI Staff
Scheduler Website at
https://staff-scheduler.com/
|
| |
-
Click on the “Order" link in the menu.
- Enter your
MID and Site Code from the License Activation form
on your computer into the Purchase DBI Staff
Scheduler web form. ( You can copy (using the CTRL –
C command) and paste (using the CTRL-V command) the
MID and Site Code values from the License Activation
Form or you can enter the codes manually. )
- Enter your payment information.
Submit the
purchase request. ( DBI will send you a valid
Initialization Code by email)
-
When you receive the Initialization code, enter it
into the Init Code field beside the Unlock application radio button in
the License Activation form on your computer.
|
| |
For more information please refer to the "Unlock
(License)" topic in the User Guide or Online Help.
IMPORTANT: Please make a hard copy
backup of the Init code (in a text file or hand written document) for
your records. The Init code is used to transfer the license to a new
computer from a licensed computer or to remove a license.
|
|
| |
Q: What happens if more than one user
is working on the same Schedule Plan simultaneously?
|
A:
Whereas multiple user editing of a schedule plan is not recommended,
Staff Scheduler conflict checks based on the data in the database, not on the
data loaded into the schedule planner. Accordingly, as changes occur due
to the input of each user, conflicts are reported correctly although they are
not reflected in each users screen. The "Refresh Schedule"
action (Alt+Z) located under the View menu in the main menu will refresh the
schedule plan with all changes from any user at any time. If multiple
user/simultaneous editing of a schedule plan is required, it is highly
recommended that each user refresh their schedules as often as possible to
insure their display is reflecting the most up-to-date information. |
|
| |
Q:
Is the dbi
Staff Scheduler software multi-user?
|
A:
Yes. The DBI Staff Scheduler
software has been designed to run as a stand-alone application (single
user connected to a local database) or as a multi-user application, i.e.
multiple users connected to a centralized database. |
|
| |
Q: Am I limited to 7 day schedules?
|
A: Definitely not! Schedule plans can be for any number of
days. Normal schedule cycles vary from 1 day to 28 days (or even
monthly). The comprehensive department or organization-wide schedules
produced from the schedule plans can be 7 day or 28 day views. Individual
schedules can be for any defined period of time (start date to end date). |
|
| |
| Q: Do I have to set up and use the
Labor Burden functionality in the software? |
A: No. If you do not set daily revenue budgets or default wages the
budget analysis detail will report N/A for the labor burden. |
|
| |
Q: Do I have to set up and use the
Staff Availability functionality?
|
A: No. If you set the "Conflict Check Employee Availability"
check box off in the System form, the software will not conflict check based on
Staff Availability, and will not require you set up the availability of each
staff member. |
|
| |
Q: Can I set up a coverage
requirement and have Staff Scheduler automatically assign personnel to
positions/tasks?
|
A:
No. There is no "auto generating'
features in the software for one button creation of
schedules. There is however a very powerful "Copy
Schedule" feature that allows you to set up a plan (with
or without staff assignments) and copy that plan to
create a new plan. In essence you can create a schedule
plan that defines your Position/Task requirements
including start and end times and the number of staff
required, and use that to create any new schedule plan.
Once copied all you would have to do is drag and drop
the staff members onto the time bars. NOTE: If your
staff remains fairly constant from one schedule to the
next, you could create the first schedule including
staff assignments and use that plan as the basis for new
schedule plans. |
|
| |
Q: How do I transfer the
license from my current computer to a different computer?
|
A:
IMPORTANT: Please
make a hard copy backup of the new Init code (in a text file or hand
written document) for your records. The Init code is used to transfer
the license to a new computer from a licensed computer or to remove a
license. For more information please refer to the "Transfer
License" topic in the User Guide or Online Help.
- Install and run
the software on the new computer.
- Press the Scroll
Lock key on the old computer and run the software.
- When the software
starts up the licensing form will appear. Click on
the Transfer radio button.
- Enter the
original Initialization Code in the Init code field
and the site code from the new computer's licensing
form into the New Site code field in the old
computer's licensing form.
- Press the
Continue button to obtain the new Init code for the
software on the new computer.
- Enter the new
Init code into the new computer before pressing the
OK button and closing the transfer dialog on the old
machine.
|
|
| |
| Professional Version Specific Questions |
| |
Q: How can I determine the
number of shifts and average hours per shift worked by a staff member in
a given period of time?
|
A: Using the Staff Hours Report, select
Actual or Scheduled hours, enter the start and end dates for the period
of time in question, select to Show Staff Detail, DO NOT select Subtotal
by Department (uncheck the option), DO NOT select Subtotal by Day
(uncheck the option). The report will have one line for each
staff member with the total number of shifts worked and the average
hours per shift along with the total number of hours worked in the
period. |
|
| |
Q: Do I have to use
Experience when filtering for staff availability?
|
A: No. The Availability filter is
flexible and can be set to include or exclude any of the availability
criteria including Experience. |
|
| |
Q: When assigning a staff
member to a time bar, why do I sometimes get a message saying an Actual
Hours record was not created?
|
A: Actual Hours records can only be
automatically created if the Actual Hours records for that department on
that day have NOT been saved. Once the Actual Hours records for a
Department on a given day have been saved, modifications to the Actual
Hours can only be made through the Actual Hours Maintenance interface.
Accordingly, when assigning a staff member to a time bar in a
position/task in a department whose Actual Hours have been saved the
Actual Hours record must be created manually using the Add Shifts
function in the Actual Hours Maintenance interface. |
|
| |
Q: How do I delete an
Actual Hours record?
|
A: If the Actual Hours record was created as
the result of a Schedule Time Bar (NOTE: The source column in the Actual
Hours record is labeled as "SP"), deleting the time bar will
automatically delete the Actual Hours record if the Actual Hours record
has not been saved. If the Actual Hours record has been saved then
the record cannot be deleted, the record must be Cancelled by checking
off the Cancelled column in the appropriate record inside the Actual
Hours Maintenance form. If the Actual Hours record was created by
an entry in the "Add Shifts" form from within Actual Hours Maintenance
form, the record can be deleted at any time by highlighting it (clicking
on it or up/down arrow keys) and pressing the Delete Shift button. |
|
| |
| |