San Francisco Fire Department Planning and Research Scheduling

Planning and Research Chief Officer Direct report to the Deputy Chief of Administration Responsible for –Strategic Planning –Research –Continuous Quality Improvement –Personnel Scheduling

Scheduling Responsibilities Balance Daily Staffing Manage Short and Long Term Leaves Balance the 31 Tours Schedule Training Manage Reports; NFIRS Information Requests

Office Staff The Office is staffed daily by three Lieutenants –0600 to 1630 hours on weekdays –0600 to 1300 hours on weekends

Balancing Personnel Scheduling maintains minimum staffing levels for emergency response consisting of: –42 Engines –19 Trucks –11 Chiefs –14 Medic Units –4 Rescue Captains –2 Rescue Squads The current minimum staffing level for the Department is 329 members

Balancing Personnel Scheduling has three desks –Firefighter/Paramedics –Officers –Roll Call (Firefighters) At each of the desks, the Officer balances the day by assigning personnel to positions that are vacant because of open assignments, vacations, absences, or injuries

Balancing Personnel The office schedules daily personnel per MOU rules and Departmental policies –Goal is to minimize operational impact while minimizing costs –Complicating factors include special events, mandated training and emergency mutual aid requests

Balancing Personnel The Scheduling Office hires all overtime in Suppression The selection process for WDOs is based on an index number that is derived from the total number of WDOs a member has worked throughout their entire career Member with the lowest index number is selected first

Balancing Personnel Officer positions not filled by overtime are filled using Like Work Like Pay (LWLP) LWLP daily assignments are based on Civil Service Eligibility Lists and seniority

Firefighter/Paramedic Details Firefighter/Paramedics (H3s) are in positions that rotate equally between Engine, Medic and Vacation Relief (VR)

Manage Short & Long-Term Leaves Sick leave –Receive calls on daily use of sick leave –Maintain records of sick leave use –Enforce Department’s sick leave policies Vacation –Develop vacation quotas that are proportional to the ranks of Department personnel –Process all yearly and daily vacation requests –Maintain records of vacation use Temporary Modified Duty –Assign and track all members placed on Modified Duty

Balancing Tours The Office manages the Department’s 31 tour system to maintain balance between tours to minimize the effects of leave on operations Processes yearly vacancy bid, which allows members to provide their preferred worksite and schedule to be matched with Departmental openings The Office converted the Department from the 21 tour system to the 31 tour system

Assignments Members are awarded spots on a vacancy list based on their seniority in rank The vacancy list bidding process is held annually in the fall/winter Vacation relief members are assigned to positions to balance the daily staffing model

Schedule Training The Office uses the PeopleSoft scheduling system to organize battalion-based, certification, and homeland security training Scheduling training often requires multiple personnel changes Assists the physician’s office in the scheduling of health checks for all members

NFIRS Assists Officers in suppression with completion and accuracy of fire reports

Information Requests The Office also provides –Information on daily assignments to command staff and field personnel –Data for Sunshine Ordinance requests –Data for Research and Planning

San Francisco Fire Department Planning and Research Scheduling