Shiftwork Solutions LLC is the consulting firm for 24/7 operations. We help manufacturing plants, distribution centers, mines, utilities, and processing facilities build better schedules, reduce costs, and create workforces that want to stay.
Shiftwork Solutions LLC is a leading U.S.-based consulting firm specializing in workforce scheduling and operational optimization for shift-intensive industries. For over 30 years, we have helped manufacturing plants, distribution centers, mines, utilities, and other 24/7 operations improve retention, reduce costs, and boost performance through data-driven, people-centric labor strategies. We work in both union and non-union environments.
We are not a generalist management consulting firm with a shiftwork practice. This is all we do. Every principle we apply, every framework we use, and every recommendation we make has been tested in real operations — often under difficult conditions — and refined through hundreds of engagements across dozens of industries. That depth of specialization is something you cannot replicate with generalists, no matter how talented they are.
We start from the premise that the best schedule for your operation and the best schedule for your employees are usually the same schedule. When these interests align — and with the right design they almost always can — you get lower turnover, less mandatory overtime, higher productivity, and a workforce that becomes a competitive advantage rather than a constant source of friction.
This is not idealism. It reflects how schedule design actually works in practice. A schedule that generates chronic mandatory overtime will drive away the employees you most want to keep. A schedule that provides insufficient coverage will create operational chaos that no amount of supervisory effort can fix. The math and the human element are inseparable, and treating them as separate problems is why so many schedule changes fail.
We also believe that the people doing the work have insight that no outside consultant can replicate. Employee involvement is not a concession to labor relations — it is how you get better information, build genuine buy-in, and ensure the solution accounts for realities that only show up on the floor at 2 AM. Every engagement we lead is designed around this principle.
The more the workforce understands and participates, the better the outcome. A collaborative process with well-informed participants leads to results that stretch beyond the boundaries of any single project.
Every engagement follows a structured three-phase process. The phases build on each other — what we learn in the assessment shapes what we design, and what we design determines how we deliver. Skipping steps is how engagements go wrong, so we don't skip them.
Shiftwork challenges look different in a food processing plant than in a chemical refinery, and different again in a distribution center or a mining operation. Our industry depth means we arrive already knowing the operational realities, the workforce dynamics, and the policy constraints specific to your sector.
People don't quit jobs — they quit bosses. And they don't quit schedules — they quit operations that make their lives harder than they have to be. Getting the schedule right is one of the highest-return investments a facility can make.
Every engagement is led by a partner — not a junior analyst. Jim Dillingham, Dan Capshaw, and Ethan Franklin bring complementary expertise across schedule design, engineering rigor, change management, legal compliance, and workforce engagement.