Creating a New Shift

Shifts are the building blocks of your security schedule. Each shift defines when, where, and who should be on duty.

Accessing Scheduling

1. Navigate to Operations > Scheduling in the sidebar (shortcut: `G` then `C`).
2. You will see the schedule calendar view.

Creating a Single Shift

1. Click the Create Shift button, or click directly on a date/time slot in the calendar.
2. Fill in the shift details:

Basic Details

• Shift Name — A descriptive label (e.g., "Day Shift", "Night Patrol", "Lobby Coverage").
• Site — Select the site this shift is for.
• Date — The date of the shift.
• Start Time — When the shift begins.
• End Time — When the shift ends.
• Break Duration — Scheduled break time within the shift (e.g., 30 min, 1 hour).

Assignment

• Assign Guard — Select a specific guard, or leave unassigned for an open shift.
• Required Guards — If the shift needs multiple guards, set the count.
• Skills Required — Optionally require specific certifications or skills.

Shift Settings

• Shift Type — Regular, Overtime, On-Call, Training.
• Pay Rate — Override the default pay rate if needed.
• Notes — Instructions or context for the assigned guard.

1. Click Create Shift.

Creating Recurring Shifts

For regular schedules that repeat:

1. When creating a shift, enable the Recurring toggle.
2. Configure the recurrence pattern:
   • Daily — Every day or every N days.
   • Weekly — Select specific days of the week (e.g., Mon-Fri).
   • Bi-weekly — Every two weeks.
   • Monthly — Specific day of the month.
3. Set the End Date or choose No End Date for indefinite recurrence.
4. Click Create — all recurring instances are generated.

Tip: Use Shift Templates for commonly repeated patterns. This saves time and ensures consistency.

Bulk Shift Creation

For creating many shifts at once:

1. Go to Operations > Shifts.
2. Click Bulk Create.
3. Options:
   • From Template — Apply a shift template to a date range.
   • CSV Import — Upload a spreadsheet of shifts.
   • Copy Week — Duplicate an entire week's schedule to another date range.

Using CSV Import

1. Download the CSV template.
2. Fill in one row per shift: date, starttime, endtime, site, guardemail, shifttype.
3. Upload the file.
4. Review the preview for errors.
5. Click Import Shifts.

Using Shift Templates

Templates save shift patterns for reuse:

1. Go to Operations > Scheduling > Templates.
2. Click Create Template.
3. Define the pattern:
   • Template name.
   • Days of the week.
   • Start/end times for each day.
   • Site assignment.
   • Break schedules.
4. Save the template.

To apply a template:

1. Go to the scheduling calendar.
2. Click Apply Template.
3. Select the template and date range.
4. Assign guards or leave as open shifts.
5. Click Apply.

Assigning Guards to Shifts

Manual Assignment

1. Click on an unassigned shift in the calendar.
2. Click Assign Guard.
3. Select a guard from the dropdown. The list shows:
   • Guard name and role.
   • Availability status (available, on leave, already scheduled).
   • Qualification match (if skills are required).
4. Click Assign.

Auto-Assignment

Atlock can suggest guard assignments based on:

• Availability and existing schedule.
• Site assignment and proximity.
• Skill/certification requirements.
• Overtime limits.
• Fairness (even distribution of shifts).

Publishing the Schedule

Shifts are in Draft status until published:

1. After creating and assigning shifts, click Publish Schedule.
2. Select the date range to publish.
3. Choose notification options:
   • Notify All — Send push notifications to all assigned guards.
   • Notify New Only — Only notify guards with new or changed shifts.
   • Silent — Publish without notifications.
4. Click Publish.

Once published:

• Guards can see their shifts in the mobile app.
• Clock-in/out is enabled for published shifts.

Editing and Cancelling Shifts

Editing a Shift

1. Click on the shift in the calendar.
2. Click Edit.
3. Modify any details.
4. Click Save — if the shift is already published, the guard will be notified of changes.

Cancelling a Shift

1. Click on the shift.
2. Click Cancel Shift.
3. Provide a reason (optional).
4. Confirm — the guard will be notified.

Warning: Cancelling a shift within 24 hours may have pay implications depending on your company policy.

Viewing the Schedule

Calendar View

The main view shows shifts as colored blocks:

• Blue — Assigned and published.
• Orange — Unassigned / open shift.
• Green — Currently active (guard clocked in).
• Gray — Draft (not yet published).
• Red — Cancelled.

List View

Switch to list view for a table format showing all shifts with sortable columns.

Filter Options

• By Site — Show shifts for a specific site.
• By Guard — Show one guard's schedule.
• By Status — Published, Draft, Cancelled.
• By Date Range — Custom date range.

Tips & Best Practices

• Plan two weeks ahead — Give guards sufficient notice of their schedules.
• Use templates for repeating patterns to save time.
• Leave buffer between shifts — Avoid scheduling back-to-back shifts (minimum 8 hours between shifts is recommended).
• Publish promptly — Guards rely on published schedules for planning their personal time.
• Track overtime — Monitor the Analytics dashboard for guards approaching overtime thresholds.

Troubleshooting

Guard can't see their shift

• Verify the shift is Published (not still in Draft).
• Check that the guard is assigned to the shift.
• Ask the guard to refresh their mobile app.

Scheduling conflicts

• Atlock warns you when creating overlapping shifts for the same guard.
• Review the conflict dialog and choose to override or reassign.

Can't create shifts

• You need the `shifts.create` permission.
• Verify your role in Access Control.

Related Articles

• Using Shift Templates
• Managing Shift Swaps and Exchanges
• Using Coverage Forecasting
• Setting Up Auto-Approval Rules