July-August_2021 - 42

[
THE SCHEDULING CONUNDRUM
]
The Human Development Gap
W
At many organizations, technological advancement has been
prioritized over investing in people and their skillsets.
HEN I ENTERED THE WONDERFUL
world of transit scheduling, I had no
idea how fortunate I was to work at
Ed Dornheim
Transit Schedule Maker/
Consultant
an agency where institutional knowledge
and training in the field had been handed
down from generation to generation. I started
making schedules in the dark ages with
paper and pencil and learning all the facets
of the job that the computer would eventually
replace. It was a good way to find out
who had the ability and who really wanted
to become a scheduler.
As a consultant, it became apparent
to me that many agencies were unable to
provide the required legacy information,
instruction and support.
Craig Dunn, an Australian colleague,
said during a recent conversation, " The
real problem is management changed its
investment in scheduling from human development
to technological advancement. "
That statement, and additional correspondence
that I have received, appears to
suggest that this is an industry concern happening
around the world in varying degrees.
al videos and outreach programs. Classes
would be led by veteran schedulers, along
with a hot line and forum just to discuss
scheduling and how to manage complicated
issues for individuals and agencies.
The scheduling professionals would
have training in the major software platforms
so that a scheduler could also receive
the ongoing and needed support that is lost
after an initial software or schedule training
course is completed. Rather than leave
the training to individual consultants, it
would benefit everyone if there was a recognized
governing agency to oversee and
administer the process.
Consultants have varying degrees of
It is evident that the human
development gap in transit scheduling
is increasing on a worldwide basis.
Over the course of the past eight years, I
Read more from the
Scheduling Conundrum at
MassTransitmag.com/21231850
have openly discussed the need for a formal
organization and support group for schedulers
with anyone who would listen. During a
TCRP interview while working at LANTA,
I even managed to slip the idea into the documentation
for Synthesis 143: Managing the
Transit Scheduling Workforce. If I ruled the
scheduling world, there would be a governing
body that would offer classes, certifications
and ongoing support no matter where
in the world they worked. There would be
classes for aptitude analysis, information42
| Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | JULY/AUGUST 2021
competency (including me) and this type
of program could offer certifications to
ensure that when hired there is a baseline
competency that an agency could expect to
receive. I have had communication with various
folks at APTA, CUTA, FTA, NTI and
RTAP over the years, and representatives
from several software companies. While
some of the pushback I have received indicates
that these might not be the right avenues
for various reasons, I am convinced
that something needs to be put in place on
a scale that offers not only the weight but
the validation of a multifaceted training and
support organization. Remember, there are
no college courses to teach this material.
It is evident that the human development
gap in transit scheduling is increasing on a
worldwide basis. If a hiring manager could
weed out the candidates that are not a good
fit before an interview, if the government
agencies that fund transit realized what was
at stake, if the general managers realized
what they could achieve, would it influence
any of them to look a little deeper and start
a conversation? The real question is how
to entice the right people to support what
might seem like an outlandish idea and start
a conversation in earnest to create such an
organization that supports the schedulers
and the industry.
http://www.MassTransitmag.com/21231850 http://www.MassTransitmag.com
July-August_2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July-August_2021
