I’m curious about how other Operations Managers man their computer rooms to accommodate 24×7 coverage. My computer room is a mix of one production mainframe, seven mid-range UNIX servers and 56 NT servers. Operator dities include running jobs off of a schedule, backups, printing, and support. We are currently covered 24×5 with on-call assignments for the weekends. The work days are divided into three shifts with the day shift covered by two operators and the back shifts covered by a single operator. My company has run Computer Operation in this maner since the first computer was installed 20+ years ago.
With only four operators coverage for vacations, sickness and training poses many scheduling difficulties. Going to a 24×7 using this schema seems to me be problematic. I would like to see possibly two operators per shift and move to a 24×7 coverage condition that is not cost prohibitive yet workable.
I am open to any suggestions.
Dan
