healthcare

Industry

Also in this branche, we notice a strong pressure from the market and new governmental regulations. In The Netherlands an example of this is the WMO law (Wet Maatschappelijke Ondersteuning) with the objective to have people stay at home as long as possible. This is the reason that many local governmental organizations outsource the homecare. Because of this homecare has become very dynamic and under constant pressure. The objective is to work efficient,  while obtaining high-quality Client service and medical treatments.

Issues

Because of more strict compliancy to rules as defined in laws like AWBZ, home care organizations find it difficult to employ nurses with the right level where necessary. This means that sometimes client service is done by nurses not educated (enough) to perform the required tasks.

This causes pressure on the quality of the jobs and increases the risks for failures. It might be a reason that some organizations have the perception that the Incident reporting increases (MIT report; “Meldingen Incidenten Thuiszorg”).

Another trend is that nurses perceive the pressure on the job-content as demotivating where they believe that the total treatment package is improving both the patient’s wellbeing as well as their job-satisfaction.

Solution

ICRON works together with specialists in the field of healthcare/homecare, such as Dehora in Amsterdam and Brussels.

ICRON’s Advanced Planning and Scheduling solution offers expertise in this field of organization and Client logistics and promises increase of productivity and higher utilization percentages of existing capacities. Better for Client (Client satisfaction),  better for care staff (greater employee satisfaction), and better for the organization (Optimal use of materials, reduces labor costs, reliable management information).

As human resources are the companies most valuable and expensive asset, companies are looking for new Workforce Management (WFM) Solutions allowing for complete and flexible management of these resources.

Especially the following factors are changing requirements in the workforce management area;

• Assure that the relevant resources are available at the moment they are required
• Cope with sudden changes in demand and original planning
• Making optimal use of both human resources , (scare, expensive) equipment and materials
• Increasing employee individualism and focus on work-life balance
• Compliancy with Labour and Union Laws

ICRON’s WFM Solutions are based on the experience and proven technologies gained by Icron Technologies during the past 20 years in the areas of planning, optimization and execution.  ICRON’s unparalleled, distributed and component based planning and optimization technology allows for human resource optimization and control meeting exactly your organizations requirements.

Using the unique, but extensively proven, ICRON GSAMS modules, a solution is composed, covering all aspects of your organization’s specific needs concerning -legal, -union, -customer, -company, -departmental, -employee and material oriented obligations and requirements.

Business Environments

ICRON WFM Solution is applicable in a multitude of organizations where people and many other resources (equipment, materials, space, rooms, travel etc. etc.) need to be controlled including:

• Healthcare, Homecare (Thuiszorg)
• Industrial Services (Maintenance, Repair, Field Service)
• Professional Services (Security, Temp. Agencies, Cleaning, Consultancy, etc.)
• Aviation
• Air Traffic Control
• Car Body Repair
• Etc.

Components

FORECASTING allows for, based on your organizations business orientation -commercial obligations, targets and / or expectations- , long term capacity requirements determination and optimization. You will be advised concerning requirements and availability of all key resources - being employees, equipment, materials etc – you defined, taking into account on one side the products or services your organization sells, or expects to sell, and on the other side the constraints applicable (legal, union and company directives etc.).

DEMAND PLANNING allows for medium and short term resource requirements calculation and optimization based on your ongoing commercial business obligations. Optimal shift and/or task arrangements are calculated taking into account again the applicable constraints, like your organization’s business hours and shift and/or task lengths etc. Eventual required equipment  or material is reported and shortages are reported.

ROSTERING/PLANNING allows for the medium to short term optimal allocation of employees to specific shifts or tasks, taking into account again the legal and union directives, but also - certifications and/or skills, - both the employee and/or customer obligations and preferences (positive or negative), -travel distances etc. Violating any preference or legal labour rules is on-line recognized and visualized.

MAINTENANCE/DISPATCHING allows for maintenance of the released planned rosters or Schedules.  The schedules are updated at any time changes are occurring.  This can be employee unavailability’s due to holiday or illness etc., changed working times, or job or task unavailability’s or re-arrangements due to changes in obligations. Again any change is verified against the given constraints.  Total working time, overtime (plus/min hours), shifts performed etc. is counted to enable fair and balanced allocation and the time and attendance reporting to any financial system

WEB COMMUNICATION allows for on-line intra- and/or internet presentation and reporting of shifts and tasks.  On-line real-time progress reporting will allow management to follow up on ongoing activities and react on any unexpected disturbances in employee activities to be performed.

Functionality

The full ‘Plan-Do-Check-Act’ cycle is supported by ICRON HLS.  It is applicable for straightforward single site organizations up to complex, matrix oriented, multi site organisations.

Long Term Planning

• Optimize capacity available versus demand requirements and vice versa.
• Seasonal & Cyclic (including holiday periods) capacity requirements
• Optimal shift generation based on company policies and requirements
• Parameterized Scenario optimization

Planning/Rostering

• Employee availabilities/un-availabilities
• Vacation planning
• Employee characteristics & preferences
• Employee skills, certifications & allowances
• Customer characteristics & preferences
• Employee-Customer characteristics & preferences
• Travel time minimization
• Governmental, Union & Company labour rules verification
• Equipment, material & Kit planning
• Generate optimal rosters/schedules
• Generate optimal task assignments
• Shift balancing
• Self rostering (Shift bidding)
• Roster Release procedure and export  (Outlook)

Roster Maintenance/Dispatching

• Employee unavailability registration
• Task/Shift unavailability registration
• Assign open shifts/tasks based on best fit employee
• Assign ‘free’ employees based on best fit task
• Employee borrowing
• Flex pool /Flex workers assignment
• Shift/Task trading according company rules
• Shift/Task characteristics/length maintenance
• Detailed change history logging
• On-line Legal, Union & Company labour rule verification and visualization
• Working time/absenteeism reporting
• Task / Shift completion
• Overtime calculation (Union/Company) dependant
• Cost calculation
• Export to HRM system

Reporting

• Roster printing
• Management reporting
• KPI dashboards
• All reporting available via user and content secured web publishing.