Scheduling First Aiders is done in the Drafting Bench and is as simple as adding a regular shift requirement. Before that happens, we need to create a Skill called First Aider and assign it to those employees who are the dedicated company First Aiders.

This guide will look at:

• Enabling Skills in System Setup
• Creating a First Aider Skill
• Assigning the First Aider Skill to employees
• Adding First Aiders to shift requirements
• Allocating First Aiders to the Rota

Enabling Skills in System Setup

1. Select ‘System’ from the Menu Bar.
2. Select ‘System’ from the System Tree.
3. Select ‘System Setup’ from the System Folder.
4. Select the ‘Employees’ tab.
5. In the General section, tick ‘Skills’. This results in the Skills tab now being visible in the Employee Form.

Optional - Ticking ‘Show Skill Badges on Employee Form’ results in Skills that have been assigned to an employee showing in their Employee Form underneath their name.

Creating a First Aider Skill

1. Select ‘Rules’ from the Menu Bar.
2. Select ‘Skills’ from the Rules Tree.
3. Select ‘Create New’.
4. Name your Skill ‘First Aider’.
5. Select an icon to represent the First Aider.*
6. If you don’t want to select an icon, select a colour to represent the First Aider instead.*
7. Save.

* In our example, we have chosen a sticking plaster to represent the First Aider. If you choose an icon, then you do not need to choose a colour. If you don’t choose an icon, the First Aider will be represented as a circle containing the letters ‘FA’. The circle will be the colour that you selected. Otherwise, the circle will remain white.

Assigning the First Aider Skill to employees

1. Select ‘Employees’ from the Menu Bar.
2. Select the required employee from the Employees Tree.
3. Select the ‘Skills’ tab.
4. Tick ‘First Aider’.
5. Save.

Adding First Aiders to shift requirements

1. Select the required day in the Drafting Bench to add a Shift Rule.
2. In the Bench Shifts box on the right of the screen, select the shift (Shift Rule) that you wish to add the First Aider to.
3. In the ‘Skill’ menu, select ‘First Aider’ (yours may be labelled something different).
4. Change ‘Required’ to the number of First Aiders you need for that shift. The number you require will depend on your company policy and/or HSE guidelines.

5. You can now add further staffing requirements (those with no Skill requirement). In the example, 1 x First Aider and 3 x other staff are required for the same shift.

Allocating First Aiders to the Rota

1. In ‘Options, Filters & Preferences’, tick ‘Show Skills’. This shows any Skills that an employee may have underneath their name. It acts as a visual aid when allocating shifts to the Rota. In our example, the First Aiders are signified by a plaster icon.

2. Drag the First Aid requirement from the Drafting Bench into the Rota. All employees who have First Aid as a Skill will be highlighted. You will be prevented from dropping the shift on employees who don't have First Aid as a Skill.

3. Drop the shift in the Rota opposite your chosen employee. The Drafting Bench will now show that the First Aider has been allocated.

Additional information

If you change your mind and wish to move the First Aid allocation to another employee, simply drag and drop the shift. If ‘Restrict to Drafting Bench’ is enabled, you must drag and drop it back into the Drafting Bench before reallocating.

It will make your scheduling easier if you allocate all shifts with Skill requirements before any other shifts.

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