To record operator time off in EDGEBIC by User Solutions, select the operator, open the Time Off sub-tab, set an inclusive From and To date range, optionally add a reason, and click Add. The range removes the person from the qualified pool on those days. On the next scheduling run, any work that depended on their hours slides to when they are back or to another qualified person. Nothing moves until you run the schedule: time off is master data the next run reads.
This is the time off task. It is the exception mechanism that sits alongside the weekly roster, both covered in how to set up operators, skills, and rosters.
Before You Start
| Prerequisite | Why |
|---|---|
| The operator exists and is rostered | Time off is an exception to the roster pattern |
| You know the exact first and last day off | Both range ends are inclusive, so an off-by-one steals or gives back a day |
| You are prepared to reschedule afterward | The schedule only reacts to time off on the next run |
Step 1: Open the Operator's Time Off Sub-Tab
Open the Daily Hours tab, select the Operators inner tab, select the operator, and open the Time Off sub-tab. This holds the person's absence ranges, separate from their weekly roster. The roster is the normal week; time off is where the exceptions live.
Step 2: Enter the Range
In the entry row, set From and To. Both are inclusive: the operator is out on both dates and every day between, and back the day after the To date. A single day off is From and To on the same date. A full week is From Monday and To Friday.
Step 3: Add a Reason and Save
Optionally type a Reason, for example PTO or training, then click Add. The range appears in the grid with its inclusive start and end and the reason. Use Remove to delete a range if plans change.
Step 4: Reschedule
Recording time off does nothing to the plan on its own. Run Drive Schedule or a reschedule. Steps that depended on the person's hours now slide, because the qualified pool for their skill is empty on those days. Enter time off as soon as it is approved and reschedule promptly, so the plan reflects the absence before it reaches the floor.
What Changes When You Save and Reschedule
| Surface | Effect |
|---|---|
| The qualified pool | The person's hours are removed on the time off days |
| Skill-gated steps that needed them | Slide to when they are back, or to another qualified person, on the next run |
| Pinned steps | Slide through the absence to the person's first day back, never handing off to someone else |
| Started and completed work | Untouched: only future, unstarted work re-staffs |
The way an absence removes a person and forces the slide is part of the hour-ledger model described in operator and skill scheduling explained. A pinned step is the sharpest case: its slide is the feature working, because a named person's absence is meant to be visible schedule movement rather than a silent substitution.
How to Check It Worked
The range shows in the Time Off grid with inclusive start and end dates. After a reschedule, steps that needed the person on those days have moved, and the operator calendar shows their availability zeroed across the range. If work did not move, confirm you ran the schedule after saving the range.
Common Mistakes
- Entering time off and not rescheduling. The plan does not react until the next run. Enter, then run.
- Getting the end date off by one. Both ends are inclusive. A range that ends the day before the real return leaves a day the person is out looking staffable.
- Editing the roster to represent a vacation. The roster is the normal pattern. A specific absence belongs in Time Off.
- Expecting a pinned step to fall back to a colleague. A pin never falls back. Un-pin the step first if a substitute is acceptable, then reschedule.
Next Steps
To decide whether a step should slide through an absence or hand off, compare how to set an operator pin. The weekly pattern that time off is an exception to is how to build a weekly operator roster.
Every task in this library is indexed on the EDGEBIC how-to hub. To see a vacation ripple through a live plan, book a walkthrough of EDGEBIC and bring next month's time off calendar.
Expert Q&A: Deep Dive
Q: Our only certified inspector is out next week and we want the schedule to reflect it before it bites us. What is the sequence?
A: Record the time off, then reschedule. On the inspector's Time Off sub-tab, add the inclusive range for next week and save. That empties the qualified pool for their skill on those days. Then run Drive Schedule, and any inspection steps that needed them slide to when they are back, or to a second qualified inspector if one exists. The part people miss is the second step. The time off entry alone does not move anything: it is master data that the next run reads. If you enter it and forget to reschedule, the printed plan still shows the inspector working next week, and the problem surfaces on the floor instead of in planning. Enter, then run.
Q: A step is pinned to a specific welder and they just booked two weeks off. Will the work quietly go to someone else?
A: No, and that is the point of a pin. A pinned step schedules only when that named person has hours: the rest of the qualified pool is never a fallback. So when you record the welder's two weeks off and reschedule, the pinned step slides through their absence to their first day back, visibly, on the Gantt. If the work genuinely can go to a qualified colleague, the answer is to un-pin the step so the scheduler can staff from the whole pool, then reschedule. Leaving the pin in place is the right call when the identity matters, for example a customer sign-off requirement. Either way, recording the time off is what makes the consequence show up, rather than a surprise later.
Frequently Asked Questions
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