Understand the outcome
A schedule period sets the dates and the availability window used to build the schedule.
Scheduling runs the staffing period: collect availability, generate shifts from rotations, fill seats with best-fit suggestions or the auto-builder, check role and certification rules, and publish. After publishing, members trade, pick up open shifts, request time off, and report callouts that managers fill by escalating through tiers of qualified members.
This guide focuses specifically on “Create a schedule period and collect availability.” Complete it from an account with the appropriate Scheduling access, verify it from the affected member or operational view, and preserve existing records rather than repurposing historical configuration.
Before you begin
Make the decision before changing the screen. Record the current configuration when the department already uses this feature, and use a test record or test account when the change can affect active members.
- Choose the period dates.
- Set the availability deadline.
- Confirm members can submit their own availability.
Do not work around it from another member’s account. Confirm that Scheduling is enabled, its dependencies are active, and your role grants the exact management action required for this task.
Where to work and what access you need
Start from the portal destination named in the procedure. Administrators normally need permission to view Scheduling plus the specific create, edit, manage, approve, report, or all-record action used by the task. Visibility alone does not grant management access.
- Department Schedule
/modules/scheduling/schedule - My Schedule
/modules/scheduling/schedule?scope=mine - My Availability
/modules/scheduling/availability - Schedule Workspace
/modules/scheduling/workspace - Schedule builder
/modules/scheduling/focus - Open Shifts
/modules/scheduling/open-shifts - Request Queue
/modules/scheduling/requests-queue - My Requests
/modules/scheduling/my-requests - Trades
/modules/scheduling/trades - Time Off
/modules/scheduling/time-off - Templates
/modules/scheduling/templates - Analytics
/modules/scheduling/analytics - Reports
/modules/scheduling/reports - Settings
/modules/scheduling/settings - Setup
/modules/scheduling/setup
Required foundation
- Core must be enabled and correctly configured before this workflow can operate reliably.
If your department uses custom roles, test the procedure with that role—not only with a full administrator account. This confirms the people responsible for daily operations can complete the workflow without receiving unrelated access.
Complete the task
- Step 1Open the Schedule Workspace
Go to the Availability tab and create the period.
- Step 2Open collection
Let members know availability is open.
- Step 3Members paint availability
They use My Availability and can reuse saved patterns.
- Step 4Monitor responses
Find members who haven’t submitted.
- Step 5Lock collection
Lock at the deadline before building.
- Step 6Handle late edits
Approve or deny late-edit requests, or reopen collection.
Operational safeguards
Apply these module-level controls while completing the procedure. They prevent a technically saved configuration from becoming an operational or access problem later.
- Control point
Link personnel certifications to Certification Hub types before using certification seat rules. - Control point
Choose a period cadence and availability deadline members can meet. - Control point
Configure positions, seats, hour caps, and override permissions. - Control point
Decide whether trades and pickups need manager approval. - Control point
Agree who escalates callouts; tiers are advanced by a manager, not on a timer. - Control point
Compare a finished period with Time Clock before relying on planned-versus-actual analytics.
Verify the result
Do not consider the setup complete merely because the save action succeeded. Confirm the behavior from the user-facing or operational view, then retain evidence of the test when department policy requires it.
- Members see the right dates.
- Submitted availability appears in the workspace.
- Locked periods block ordinary changes.
If any verification fails, return to the source configuration and correct it there. Do not edit a report or downstream record to conceal an incorrect setup.
Troubleshooting
A member can’t edit
The period is locked; use a late-edit request.
A saved pattern applied oddly
Review the pattern against the new dates.
Can’t reopen collection
Reopening is a separate permission.
Connected modules and downstream effects
A change here can alter what members see, what data appears in reports, or how another module completes its workflow. Review the connected areas below before making a department-wide change.
- Time ClockPortal and kiosk clock-in with password, PIN, or face, plus corrections and reports.
- TrainingEvents, attendance, hours and CE, certificates, self-logged training, and compliance.
- PayrollFire/EMS pay records, gross-to-net, run approvals, statements, and exports.
- Station BoardStation TV boards with live widgets, rotating slides, and protected launch links.
After deployment, test one complete workflow from the originating module through every connected destination your department uses. Document the final configuration so another administrator can audit or reproduce it later.
Continue in Scheduling
Return to the Scheduling module guide for connected workflows, dependencies, portal destinations, and additional procedures.