In brief
In shift planning with AI, the software proposes a staffing plan based on rules, qualifications and capacities. The decision stays with people: the people responsible clarify deviations and approve the plan.
In shift planning with AI, the software proposes a staffing plan that takes rules, qualifications and capacities into account. The decision stays with people. The people responsible review the proposal, clarify deviations and approve the plan. Only then are changes implemented in the connected systems.
Why shift planning is demanding
A shift schedule brings many conditions together: qualifications, rules, absences, capacities and the pace of customer orders. On top of that come short-notice changes on the same day.
Our projects in production and shift planning have taught us one thing: errors are cheapest to avoid when they arise early in planning. That is why qualifications and requirements should be taken into account from the earliest phase.
What the software takes care of
Hawk IVO Plan is the functional core for planning logic, rules, optimization and plan versions. It plans your team according to qualifications and in step with your customer orders, from annual planning to short-notice changes on the same day. Master data, orders and recorded times come from connected systems such as SAP and other ERP systems, MES and time tracking.
The platform’s scope of services to date includes a qualification matrix with qualification-based matching, as well as AI features for forecasting staffing and production requirements and for optimizing shift and order planning. We will clarify the right scope for you in a conversation.
Software vendors who want to bring planning into their own product will find Hawk IVO Scheduler, an embeddable library that displays time, resource and hierarchy plans in the browser. It lets you display resources, shifts or machines on the timeline and move them by dragging. Business objects, permissions and storage remain in the vendor’s product.
Where people decide
A simplified workflow shows how tasks are divided between software, agents and people:
- Identify demand: Orders, absences and capacities come together from your systems.
- Create the plan: Hawk IVO Plan proposes a staffing plan based on rules and qualifications.
- Clarify deviations: An agent summarizes conflicts and prepares options.
- Decide and execute: The people responsible give their approval. Approved changes are implemented in the connected systems.
Employees are involved as well. They see their shift schedule, submit absence requests and swap shifts.
Practical example: shift planning in the large-scale chemical industry
The video accompanying this article (in German) shows OXEA’s Ruhrchemie plant in Oberhausen. Hundreds of complex facilities stand on 1.2 km², and 1,000 employees work there in 24/7 operation. Shift planning is the foundation of plant safety there, because exact qualifications determine safe operation. As complexity grew, isolated Excel spreadsheets became an incalculable risk. The plant switched to a professional enterprise tool that precisely matches plant requirements with employees’ valid certificates and handles nested qualification matrices. The video still refers to the product by its former name, HAWK AI Planning; today it is called Hawk IVO Plan.
What research contributes
Shift planning with AI has been the subject of our research for years. You will find further projects and studies under Knowledge and insights.
- agileASSEMBLY (2023–2026): In the BMBF research consortium (opens in a new tab), we work with Fraunhofer, RWTH Aachen and other partners on agile shift planning and adaptable staff capacities.
- Future Work Lab (2020–2025): A browser-based demonstrator in the Fraunhofer IAO Future Work Lab (opens in a new tab) showed AI-supported shift planning. It proposed staffing assignments and involved employees via an app.
- SmartAIwork (2020): The market study (opens in a new tab) compares 27 AI solutions for clerical work. Our planning solution is included in it.
- Fraunhofer IAO study (2019): The study on AI in business practice (opens in a new tab) is based on a survey of 309 companies. Our solution for AI-supported staff and shift planning is included in it.