Lucerne Public Transport AG / VBL
Reference Project
Personnel scheduling system
Changing working time requirements in the driving service
Transport companies everywhere are looking for new employees for their driving services. It is often the unattractive working hours that drive employees away – especially the changing shifts. At Verkehrsbetriebe Luzern – the leading mobility provider in Central Switzerland – things are different. Employees in the transport service sometimes stay with the company for their entire lives. One reason for this is that up to 80 percent of their duty and vacation requests are taken into account with the help of the Profahr personnel scheduling system.
A system geared towards needs and resources
Satisfied employees are a top priority at VBL. The company therefore regularly surveys its workforce on a wide range of topics and uses the results as a basis for further planning and improvements.
In 2009, for example, a survey within the driving service revealed a high level of dissatisfaction with the working time regulations. At that time, all employees had to drive all services and shifts – with increasingly varying driving assignments. Individual ideas could not be taken into account in the old duty roster. Health considerations also played a role: doctors advise against strictly backward-rolling rotas. This is because the constantly changing working hours associated with this can lead to problems such as sleep disorders over time.
The logical next step: the introduction of a new system that is consistently aligned with requirements and resources and offers employees and the company maximum security and flexibility.
Individual service and vacation requests
Since then, the company has relied on the interaction between our PEAK.PROFAHR personnel scheduling system and the DIVA duty scheduling system from Mentz. The system schedules around 175 shifts on weekdays and between 110 and 145 on Saturdays and Sundays. In addition to the legally regulated driving and rest times, the new solution also takes into account the large fluctuations caused primarily by sporting and cultural events in the region. The ability to enter shift and vacation requests in PROFAHR also plays a special role. Drivers can enter these requests anytime and anywhere using their personal tablets – paper notices are no longer necessary. PROFAHR automatically compares the requests with the trips and schedules them with the highest possible degree of fulfillment.
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“We have now almost reached the optimum in terms of the possibilities for individual duty scheduling and vacation allocation.
Walter Jenny, Head of Human Resources and Organization at VBL
A lifetime VBLer
The result: 80% of all duty and vacation requests are fulfilled. The freedom of choice and the high degree of fulfillment ensure a high level of satisfaction, rare short-term service cancellations and fewer health-related absences in the driving service. This is also reflected in the low staff turnover rate and the fact that many employees stay with the company for life.
The advantages
Flexible pre-planning of services
Observance of driving and rest times
Consideration of large fluctuations
Time and location-independent entry of work and vacation requests
Automatic matching of requests and journeys with a fulfillment rate of 80%
Significant decrease in short-term service cancellations
Minimization of health-related absences
Relieving dispatchers of routine tasks
High employee satisfaction
Low fluctuation rate in driving service
VBL in figures
*Status 2021
500 employees, 350 of whom work in the transport service
154 vehicles, including trolleybuses and buses
379,313 kilometers of route network in the Lucerne, Obwalden and Nidwalden fare network
Software used: PEAK.PROFAHR with the following modules
Individual duty roster
Individual vacation plan
Workbook
Interfaces
DIVA duty scheduling system
ABACUS salary system
