What is Operations Planning and

Scheduling?
Operations planning
and scheduling

The process of
balancing supply with
demand, from the
aggregate level down
Operations Planning and to the short-term
scheduling level.
Scheduling
Chapter 15 15- 01
Copyright 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall

Across the Organization Stages in Planning and Scheduling

TYPES OF PLANS WITH OPERATIONS PLANNING AND SCHEDULING
Aggregation
Term Definition Product families
Sales and operations A time-phased plan of future aggregate resource levels so
plan (S&OP) that supply is in balance with demand throughout the Workforce
organization
Aggregate plan Another term for the sales and operations plan Time
Production plan A manufacturing firms sales and operations plan that
centers on production rates and inventory holdings
Staffing plan A sales and operations plan for a service firm, which The relationship of operations plans and
centers on staffing and on other human resource-related
factors schedules to other plans
Resource plan An intermediate, more detailed, step in the planning
process that lies between S&OP and scheduling
A business plan
Schedule A detailed plan that allocates resources over shorter time An annual plan or financial plan
horizons to accomplish specific tasks

Stages in Planning and Scheduling What is Demand Management?

Business or Operations
annual plan strategy
Demand
Sales and Operations Plan
Management
Forecasting Sales
Constraint
Operations
Plan management
Plan
The process of
changing demand
Resource Planning (services) Resource Planning (manufacturing) patterns using one
Workforce schedule
Materials and facility resources
Master production schedule
Material requirements planning
or more demand
options.
Scheduling Scheduling
Employee schedules Employee and equipment schedules
Facility schedules Production order schedules
Customer schedules Purchase order schedules

1
 Managing Demand Information Inputs
DEMAND AND SUPPLY OPTIONS FOR OPERATIONS PLANNING & SCHEDULING Operations Distribution and Marketing
Current machine capacities Customer needs
Plans for future capacities Demand forecasts
Demand Options Supply Options Workforce capacities Competition behavior
Current staffing level
Complementary products Anticipation inventory

Promotional pricing Workforce adjustment (hiring or layoffs)

Materials Accounting and Finance
Prescheduled Workforce utilization (overtime and undertime) Supplier capabilities Sales and Cost data
appointments Storage capacity Operations Financial condition
Plan of firm
Reservations Part-time workers and subcontractors Materials availability

Revenue management Vacation schedules

Backlogs Workforce schedules Engineering Human Resources
Backorders Job and customer sequence New products Labor-market conditions
Product design changes Training capacity
Stockouts Expediting Machine standards

Sales and Operations Plans Sales and Operations Plans

Planning Strategies TYPES OF COSTS WITH SALES AND OPERATIONS PLANNING

Cost Definition
Regular time Regular-time wages plus benefits and pay for vacations
Chase Strategy
Overtime Wages paid for work beyond the normal workweek
exclusive of fringe benefits

Level Strategy Hiring and layoff Cost of advertising jobs, interviews, training programs,
scrap caused by inexperienced employees, exit interviews,
severance pay, and retraining

Mixed Strategy Inventory holding Capital, storage and warehousing, pilferage and
obsolescence, insurance, and taxes

Backorder and stockout Costs to expedite past-due orders, potential cost of losing a
customer

Sales and Operations Plans Steps in Sales and Operations

Planning Process

Update
Gather Demand S&OP
data planning spreadsheets
1 2 3

Finalize Executive Consensus

and S&OP meeting
communicate meeting 4
6 5

2
 Using Spreadsheets Example 15.1
A large distribution center must develop a staffing plan that
minimizes total costs using part-time stockpickers
First level strategy that meets demand with the minimum
use of undertime and not consider vacation scheduling
Each part-time employee can work a maximum of 20 hours
per week on regular time
Instead of paying undertime, each workers day is shortened
during slack periods and overtime can be used during peak
periods

1 2 3 4 5 6 Total

Forecasted demand 6 12 18 15 13 14 78

Example 15.1 Example 15.1

Currently, 10 part-time clerks are employed. They have not been
subtracted from the forecasted demand shown. Constraints and a. Chase Strategy
cost information are as follows:
This strategy simply involves adjusting the workforce as
a. The size of training facilities limits the number of new hires in any
period to no more than 10. needed to meet demand.
b. No backorders are permitted. Rows in the spreadsheet that do not apply (such as
c. Overtime cannot exceed 20 percent of the regular-time capacity in inventory and vacations) are hidden.
any period. The most that any part-time employee can work is The workforce level row is identical to the forecasted
1.20(20) = 24 hours per week. demand row.
d. The following costs can be assigned: A large number of hirings and layoffs begin with laying off 4
Regular-time wage rate $2,000/time period at 20 hrs/week part-time employees immediately because the current staff
Overtime wages 150% of the regular-time rate is 10 and the staff level required in period 1 is only 6.
Hires $1,000 per person
The total cost is $173,500.
Layoffs $500 per person

Example 15.1 Example 15.1

b. Level Strategy
In order to minimize undertime, the maximum use of overtime
possible must occur in the peak period.
The most overtime that the manager can use is 20 percent of
the regular-time capacity, w, so
1.20w = 18 employees required in peak period (period 3)
18
w= = 15 employees
1.20
A 15-employee staff size minimizes the amount of undertime
for this level strategy.
Because the staff already includes 10 part-time employees,
the manager should immediately hire 5 more.
The total cost is $164,000.

3
 Example 15.1 Application 15.1
The Barberton Municipal Division of Road Maintenance is charged
with road repair in the city of Barberton and surrounding area.
Cindy Kramer, road maintenance director, must submit a staffing plan
for the next year based on a set schedule for repairs and on the city
budget.
Kramer estimates that the labor hours required for the next four
quarters are 6,000, 12,000, 19,000, and 9,000, respectively.
Each of the 11 workers on the workforce can contribute 520 hours per
quarter. Overtime is limited to 20 percent of the regular-time capacity
in any quarter. Subcontracting is not permitted.
Payroll costs are $6,240 in wages per worker for regular time worked
up to 520 hours, with an overtime pay rate of $18 for each overtime
hour. Although unused overtime capacity has no cost, unused regular
time is paid at $12 per hour.
The cost of hiring a worker is $3,000, and the cost of laying off a
worker is $2,000.

Application 15.1 Application 15.1

Use a chase strategy for the Barberton Municipal Quarter
Division that varies the workforce level without 1 2 3 4 Total
Forecasted demand 6,000 12,000 19,000 9,000 46,000
using overtime. (hrs)
Workforce level 12 24 37 18 91
(workers)
Undertime should be minimized, except for the Undertime (hours) 240 480 240 360 1,320
minimal amount mandated because the quarterly Overtime (hours) 0 0 0 0 0
requirements are not integer multiples of 520 Utilized time (hours) 6,000 12,000 19,000 9,000 46,000
hours. Hires (workers) 1 26
12 13 0
Layoffs (workers) 0 0 0 19 19

Application 15.1 Application 15.2

What is the total cost of this plan?
Find a level plan for the Barberton Municipal
Costs per Quarter Division that allows no delay in road repair and
1 2 3 4 Total minimizes undertime.
Utilized time $72,000 $144,000 $228,000 $108,000 $552,000 Overtime can be used to its limits in any quarter.
Undertime 2,880 5,760 2,880 4,320 15,840
Given that the demand peaks in quarter 3:
Overtime 0 0 0 0 0
Hires 3,000 36,000 39,000 0 78,000 19,000 =
1.20w = 36.54 employee-period equivalents
Layoffs 0 0 0 38,000 38,000 520
Total Cost $683,840
w = 30.45 or 31 employees

4
 Application 15.2 Application 15.2
Quarter What is the total cost of this level workforce plan?
1 2 3 4 Total
Forecasted demand 6,000 12,000 19,000 9,000 46,000 Costs per Quarter
(hrs) 1 2 3 4 Total
Workforce level 31 31 31 31 124 Utilized time $72,000 $517,440
$144,000 $193,440 $108,000
(workers)
Undertime 121,440 49,440 0 85,440 256,320
Undertime (hours) 10,120 4,120 0 7,120 21,360
Overtime 0 0 51,840 0 51,840
Overtime (hours) 0 0 2,880 0 2,880
Hires 60,000 0 0 0 60,000
Utilized time 6,000 12,000 16,120 9,000 43,120
(hours) Layoffs 0 0 0 0 0

Hires (workers) 20 0 0 0 20 Total Cost $885,600

Layoffs (workers) 0 0 0 0 0

Application 15.3 Application 15.3

Quarter
A mixed strategy considers and implements a 1 2 3 4 Total
fuller range of reactive alternatives than any one Forecasted demand 6,000 12,000 19,000 9,000 46,000
pure strategy. Workforce level 12 24 31 18 85
Undertime (hours) 240 480 0 360 1,080
Overtime (hours) 0 0 2,880 0 2,880
Now propose a plan of your own for the 6,000 12,000 16,120 9,000 43,120
Utilized time (hours)
Barberton Municipal Division. Hires (workers) 1 12 7 0 20
Layoffs (workers) 0 0 0 13 13
Use the chase strategy as a base, but find a way The key idea in this plan is hiring only 7 employees in quarter 3,
to decrease the cost of hiring and layoffs by while using overtime to its maximum limit and eliminating
undertime for that quarter.
selectively using some overtime.
Hiring fewer in quarter 3 allows the number of layoffs in quarter 4 to
drop to only 13, down from 19.

Application 15.3 Scheduling

What is the cost of your mixed strategy plan? Takes operations and scheduling process
Costs per Quarter
from planning to execution and requires
1 2 3 4 Total gathering data from sources such as demand
Utilized time $72,000 $144,000 $193,440 $108,000 $517,440 forecasts, resource availability from the sales
Undertime 2,880 5,760 0 4,320 12,960 and operations plan, and specific constraints
Overtime 0 0 51,840 0 51,840 from employees and customers.
Hires 3,000 36,000 21,000 0 60,000
Layoffs 0 0 0 26,000 26,000
Generates a work schedule for employees or
Total Cost $668,240
sequences of jobs or customers at
workstations.

5
 Gantt Charts Gantt Charts
The Workstation Chart
The job or activity progress chart Time

Current date Workstation 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am 12 pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm

Dr. Jon
Operating Adams Dr. Aubrey Brothers Dr. Alaina Bright
Job 4/17 4/18 4/19 4/20 4/21 4/22 4/23 4/24 4/25 4/26
Room A
Start activity

Ford Finish activity Dr. Jeff

Operating Dr. Gary Case Dow Dr. Madeline Easton
Scheduled
activity time Room B
Nissan Actual progress
Nonproductive Operating Dr. Jordanne Flowers Dr. Dan Gillespie
time
Room C
Pontiac

Scheduling Employees Scheduling Employees

Translate the staffing plan into specific Steps in developing a workforce schedule
schedules of work for each employee Step 1: Find all the pairs of consecutive days
Constraints Step 2: If a tie occurs, choose one of the tied pairs,
Technical constraints consistent with the provisions written into
Legal and behavioral considerations the labor agreement
Psychological needs of workers Step 3: Assign the employee the selected pair of
days off
Rotating schedule
Step 4: Repeat steps 1 3 until all of the
Fixed schedule requirements have been satisfied

Example 15.2 Example 15.2

The Amalgamated Parcel Service is open seven days Friday contains the maximum requirements, and
a week. The schedule of requirements is: the pair S Su has the lowest total requirements.
Day M T W Th F S Su Therefore, Employee 1 is scheduled to work
Required number of Monday through Friday.
6 4 8 9 10 3 2
employees

The manager needs a workforce schedule that provides

Note that Friday still has the maximum
two consecutive days off and minimizes the amount of requirements and that the requirements for the
total slack capacity. S Su pair are carried forward because these are
To break ties in the selection of off days, the scheduler Employee 1s days off.
gives preference to Saturday and Sunday if it is one of These updated requirements are the ones the
the tied pairs.
scheduler uses for the next employee.
If not, she selects one of the tied pairs arbitrarily.

6
 Example 15.2 Example 15.2
Scheduling Days Off Scheduling Days Off

M T W Th F S Su Employee Comments M T W Th F S Su Employee Comments

6 4 8 9 10 3 2 1 The SSu pair has the lowest total requirements. Assign 6 4 8 9 10 3 2 1 The SSu pair has the lowest total requirements. Assign
6 4 8 9 10 3 2 1 The SSu 1pair
Employee to ahas
M-Fthe lowest total requirements. Assign
schedule.
Employee 1 to a M-F schedule. Employee 1 to a M-F schedule.
5 3 7 8 9 3 2 2 The SSu pair has the lowest total requirements. Assign 55 33 77 88 99 33 22 22 The
TheSSu
SSupair
pairhas
hasthe
thelowest
lowesttotal
totalrequirements.
requirements.Assign
Assign
Employee 2 to a M-F schedule. Employee
Employee22totoaaM-F
M-Fschedule.
schedule.
4 2 6 7 8 3 2 3 The SSu pair has the lowest total requirements. Assign 44 22 66 77 88 33 22 33 TheSSu
The SSupair
pairhas
hasthe
thelowest
lowesttotal
totalrequirements.
requirements.Assign
Assign
Employee33totoaaM-F
Employee M-Fschedule.
schedule.
Employee 3 to a M-F schedule.
3 1 5 6 7 3 2 4 The MT pair has the lowest total requirements. Assign 33 11 55 66 77 33 22 44 TheMT
The MTpair
pairhas
hasthe
thelowest
lowesttotal
totalrequirements.
requirements.Assign
Assign
Employee44totoaaW-Su
Employee W-Suschedule.
schedule.
Employee 4 to a W-Su schedule.
3 1 4 5 6 2 1 5 The SSu pair has the lowest total requirements. Assign 33 11 44 55 66 22 11 55 TheSSu
The SSupair
pairhas
hasthe
thelowest
lowesttotal
totalrequirements.
requirements.Assign
Assign
Employee55totoaaM-F
Employee M-Fschedule.
schedule.
Employee 5 to a M-F schedule.
2 0 3 4 5 2 1 6 The MT pair has the lowest total requirements. Assign 22 00 33 44 55 22 11 66 TheMT
The MTpair
pairhas
hasthe
thelowest
lowesttotal
totalrequirements.
requirements.Assign
Assign
Employee66totoaaW-Su
Employee W-Suschedule.
schedule.
Employee 6 to a W-Su schedule.
2 0 2 3 4 1 0 7 The SSu pair has the lowest total requirements. Assign 22 00 22 33 44 11 00 77 TheSSu
The SSupair
pairhas
hasthe
thelowest
lowesttotal
totalrequirements.
requirements.Assign
Assign
Employee77totoaaM-F
Employee M-Fschedule.
schedule.
Employee 7 to a M-F schedule.
1 0 1 2 3 1 0 8 Four pairs have the minimum requirement and the lowest 11 00 11 22 33 11 00 88 Fourpairs
Four pairshave
havethe
theminimum
minimumrequirement
requirementand andthethelowest
lowest
total.Choose
total. Choosethe
theSSu
SSupair
pairaccording
accordingtotothe thetie-breaking
tie-breaking
total. Choose the SSu pair according to the tie-breaking rule.Assign
AssignEmployee
Employee88totoaaM-FM-Fschedule.
schedule.
rule. Assign Employee 8 to a M-F schedule. rule.

0 0 0 1 2 1 0 9 Arbitrarily choose the SuM pair to break ties because the 00 00 00 11 22 11 00 99 Arbitrarilychoose
Arbitrarily choosethe
theSuM
SuMpairpairtotobreak
breakties
tiesbecause
becausethe
the
SSupair
SSu pairdoes
doesnot
nothave
havethe
thelowest
lowesttotal
totalrequirements.
requirements.
SSu pair does not have the lowest total requirements. AssignEmployee
Employee99totoaaT-S
T-Sschedule.
schedule.
Assign Employee 9 to a T-S schedule. Assign

0 0 0 0 1 0 0 10 Choose the SSu pair according to the tie-breaking rule. 00 00 00 00 11 00 00 10

10 Choosethe
Choose theSSu
SSupair
pairaccording
accordingtotothe
thetie-breaking
tie-breakingrule.
rule.
AssignEmployee
Assign Employee1010totoaaM-F
M-Fschedule.
schedule.
Assign Employee 10 to a M-F schedule.

Example 15.2 Sequencing Jobs at a Workstation

In this example, Friday always has the maximum requirements and
should be avoided as a day off.
The final schedule for the employees is shown in the following table. Priority Sequencing Rules
Employee M T W
Final Schedule
Th F S Su Total
First-come, first-served (FCFS)
1 X X X X X off off Earliest due date (EDD)
2 X X X X X off off
3 X X X X X off off

Performance Measures
4 off off X X X X X
5 X X X X X off off
6
7
off
X
off
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
off
X
off
Flow Time
8 X X X X X off off Flow time = Finish time + Time since job arrived at
9 off X X X X X off
workstation
10 X X X X X off off
Capacity, C 7 8 10 10 10 3 2 50 Past Due (Tardiness)
Requirements, R 6 4 8 9 10 3 2 42
Slack, C R 1 4 2 1 0 0 0 8

Example 15.3 Example 15.3

Currently a consulting company has five jobs in its a. The FCFS rule states that Customer A should be the first one in
backlog. the sequence, because that order arrived earliest15 days
ago.
Determine the schedule by using the FCFS rule, and
Customer Es order arrived today, so it is processed last.
calculate the average days past due and flow time.
The sequence is shown in the following table, along with the
How can the schedule be improved, if average flow time is days past due and flow times.
the most critical?
Time Since Order Processing Time Due Date Customer Start Processing Finish Due Days Days Ago Flow
Customer Sequence Time Time (days) Time Date Past Since Order Time
Arrived (days ago) (days) (days from now) (days) (days) Due Arrived (days)
A 15 25 29 A
B 12 16 27 B
C 5 14 68 C
D 10 10 48 D
E 0 12 80 E

7
 Example 15.3 Example 15.3
a. The FCFS rule states that Customer A should be the first one The finish time for a job is its start time plus the processing time. Its
in the sequence, because that order arrived earliest15 finish time becomes the start time for the next job in the sequence,
days ago. assuming that the next job is available for immediate processing. The
Customer Es order arrived today, so it is processed last. days past due for a job is zero (0) if its due date is equal to or exceeds
The sequence is shown in the following table, along with the finish time. Otherwise it equals the shortfall. The flow time for
the days past due and flow times. each job equals its finish time plus the number of days ago since the
order first arrived at the workstation. The days past due and average
Customer Start Processing Finish Due Days Days Ago Flow flow time performance measures for the FCFS schedule are
Sequence Time Time (days) Time Date Past Since Order Time
(days) (days) Due Arrived (days)
A 0 + 25 = 25 29 0 15 40 0 + 14 + 3 + 0 + 0
Average days past due = = 3.4 days
B 25 + 16 = 41 27 14 12 53 5
C 41 + 10 = 51 48 3 10 61

D 51 + 14 = 65 68 0 5 70 Average flow time = 40 + 53 + 61 + 70 + 77 = 60.2 days

E 65 + 12 = 77 80 0 0 77 5

Example 15.3 Example 15.3

b. The average flow time can be reduced. b. Using the STP rule, the average flow time can be reduced with
this new sequence.
Customer Start Processing Finish Due Days Days Ago Flow Customer Start Processing Finish Due Days Days Ago Flow
Sequence Time Time (days) Time Date Past Since Order Time Sequence Time Time (days) Time Date Past Since Order Time
(days) (days) Due Arrived (days) (days) (days) Due Arrived (days)
D D 0 + 10 = 10 48 0 10 20
E E 10 + 12 = 22 80 0 0 22
C C 22 + 14 = 36 68 0 5 41
B B 36 + 16 = 52 27 25 12 64
A A 52 + 25 = 77 29 48 15 92

0 + 0 + 0 + 25 + 48
Average days past due = = 14.6 days
5

20 + 22 + 41 + 64 + 92 = 47.8 days
Average flow time =
5

Application 15.4 Application 15.4

A consulting company has five jobs in its backlog. A schedule was
created using the FCFS rule and the average days past due was 3.4 Customer Start Processing Finish Due Days Days Ago Flow
days and the average flow time was 60.2 days. Create a new Sequence Time Time (days) Time Date Past Since Order Time
(days) (days) Due Arrived (days)
schedule using the EDD rule, calculating the average days past due 0 + 16 = 16 27 0 12 28
B
and flow time. In this case, does EDD outperform the FCFS rule? 16 + 25 = 41 29 12 15 56
A
D 41 + 10 = 51 48 3 10 61
Customer Time Since Order Processing Due Date
Arrived (days ago) Time (days) (days from now) C 51 + 14 = 65 68 0 5 70
E 65 + 12 = 77 80 0 0 77
A 15 25 29
B 12 16 27
C 5 14 68
D 10 10 48
E 0 12 80

8
 Application 15.4 Software Support
The days past due and average flow time Computerized scheduling systems are available
performance measures for the EDD schedule are: to cope with the complexity of workforce
0 + 12 + 3 + 0 + 0 scheduling.
Average days past due = 5 = 3.0 days

Average flow time =

28 + 56 + 61 + 70 + 77
= 58.4 days
Software is also available for sequencing jobs
5 at workstations.
By both measures, EDD outperforms the FCFS. Advance planning and scheduling (APS)
However, the solution found in Example 15.3 still has the
systems seek to optimize resources across the
best average flow time of only 47.8 days. supply chain and align daily operations with
strategic goals.

Solved Problem 1 Solved Problem 1

The Cranston Telephone Company employs workers who lay Cranston pays regular-time wages of $6,000 per employee per period
telephone cables and perform various other construction tasks. for any time worked up to 600 hours (including undertime). The
overtime pay rate is $15 per hour over 600 hours. Hiring, training,
The company prides itself on good service and strives to
and outfitting a new employee costs $8,000. Layoff costs are $2,000
complete all service orders within the planning period in which
per employee. Currently, 40 employees work for Cranston in this
they are received.
capacity. No delays in service, or backorders, are allowed.
Each worker puts in 600 hours of regular time per planning period
and can work as many as an additional 100 hours of overtime. a. Prepare a chase strategy using only hiring and layoffs. What
The operations department has estimated the following are the total numbers of employees hired and laid off?
workforce requirements for such services over the next four b. Develop a workforce plan that uses the level strategy, relaying
planning periods: only on overtime and undertime. Maximize the use of
overtime during the peak period so as to minimize the
Planning Period 1 2 3 4 workforce level and amount of undertime.
c. Propose an effective mixed-strategy plan.
Demand (hours) 21,000 18,000 30,000 12,000
d. Compare the total costs of the three plans.

Solved Problem 1 Solved Problem 1

a. Chase Strategy b. Level Strategy

9
 Solved Problem 1 Solved Problem 1
c. Mixed Strategy

d. Total Cost of Plans

CHASE = $1,050,000

LEVEL = $1,119,000

MIXED = $1,021,000

Solved Problem 2 Solved Problem 2

The Food Bin grocery store operates 24 hours per day, 7 days per
week. Bulger now has to come up with a workforce
Fred Bulger, the store manager, has been analyzing the efficiency schedule that guarantees each checkout clerk two
and productivity of store operations recently. Bulger decided to consecutive days off but still covers all requirements.
observe the need for checkout clerks on the first shift for a one-
month period. a. Develop a workforce schedule that covers all
requirements while giving two consecutive days off to
At the end of the month, he calculated the average number of
each clerk. How many clerks are needed? Assume that the
checkout registers that should be open during the first shift each
clerks have no preference regarding which days they have
day.
off.
His results showed peak needs on Saturdays and Sundays.
b. Plans can be made to use the clerks for other duties if
Day M T W Th F S Su slack or idle time resulting from this schedule can be
Number of Clerks Required 3 4 5 5 4 7 8 determined. How much idle time will result from this
schedule, and on what days?

Solved Problem 2 Solved Problem 2

a. We use the method demonstrated in Example 15.2 to Day
determine the number of clerks needed. M T W Th F S Su
Requirements 1 2 1 3 2 3 4
The minimum number of clerks is eight.
Clerk 5 X off off X X X X
Day Requirements 0 2 1 2 1 2 3
M T W Th F S Su Clerk 6 off off X X X X X
Requirements 3 4 5 5 4 7 8 Requirements 0 2 0 1 0 1 2
Clerk 1 off off X X X X X Clerk 7 X X off off X X X
Requirements 3 4 4 4 3 6 7 Requirements 0 1 0 1 0 0 1
Clerk 2 off off X X X X X Clerk 8 X X X X off off X
Requirements 3 4 3 3 2 5 6 Requirements 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Clerk 3 X X X off off X X
Requirements 2 3 2 3 2 4 5
Clerk 4 X X X off off X X

10
 Solved Problem 2
b. Based on the results in part (a), the number of clerks on duty minus the
requirements is the number of idle clerks available for other duties:

M T W Th F S Su
Number on duty 5 4 6 5 5 7 8
Requirements 3 4 5 5 4 7 8
Idle clerks 2 0 1 0 1 0 0
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
The slack in this schedule would indicate to Bulger the number of stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
employees he might ask to work part time (fewer than 5 days per week).
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
For example, Clerk 7 might work Tuesday, Saturday, and Sunday and Clerk
otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
8 might work Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday.
Printed in the United States of America.
That would eliminate slack from the schedule.

11