Holidays and heat: planning a realistic count day in Uzbekistan

Head office plans the stock count by the German calendar: cut-off date at year end, count in the first available window, report by a fixed deadline. On site in Uzbekistan there are different days off and a different climate. Anyone who does not allow for this ends up on count day with half a team in an overheated hall, or waits in vain for suppliers and offices that are simply not working. This article shows how to plan the count date realistically.

Public holidays and days off

Both sides know the turn of the year, but it works out differently. Besides New Year, Uzbekistan has further holidays, such as Navruz in spring, and some movable holidays whose date changes from year to year. Which days are non-working in a given year, and whether working days are moved, is set out in the official calendar of that year. Check it before you commit to a date with the group.

Holidays have an effect on several levels:

• Count staff and the warehouse team are not fully available.
• Carriers and suppliers do not work, and afterwards comes a backlog that fills the warehouse.
• Accounting cannot be reached when documents are to be posted late or differences approved.

Days around the holidays also have to be considered when many employees take leave. Ask in good time who is available in those weeks, and staff the teams only afterwards.

Laying two calendars over each other

Put the German and the local calendar side by side and mark the days off on both sides. A fictional example: head office wants the cleared result ten working days after the count. If two non-working days fall into that period locally, eight working days remain. One day is planned for the reconciliation, three for the difference list and four for clearing and approval (1 + 3 + 4 = 8). The sum works out, but without a single buffer day. Any failure, such as a late stock extract, then puts the deadline at risk.

Heat in the hall

In the summer months warehouse halls can become very hot, especially under sheet-metal roofs and without air conditioning. This affects counts that fall in summer, for example with a differing financial year or with a perpetual count:

• Put shifts into the cooler hours of the day, for example early morning and evening.
• Provide drinking water, breaks in the shade and shorter work blocks.
• Labels, adhesive tape and tablets react to heat. Test adhesion in advance and do not leave devices lying in the sun.
• Allow for lower counting output, because someone who is exhausted counts wrongly.

Which occupational safety rules apply in hot weather is determined by the company with its safety officer. Here we are only concerned with scheduling. If the count team travels in from another city, accommodation, transport and rest periods also belong in the plan, above all for night shifts.

A shift plan with buffer (illustrative example)

A warehouse has 2,400 count positions. The base plan assumes 40 positions per team hour, which is 2,400 ÷ 40 = 60 team hours. For a count in hot summer weather we cautiously assume 30 positions per hour: 2,400 ÷ 30 = 80 team hours. The additional need is 20 team hours, a third more. With ten teams the count takes eight hours instead of six. A shift that long in the heat is not a good idea. It is better to split it: four hours early in the morning and four in the evening, with the count resting in between.

Agreeing with head office

Send head office a calendar of local days off early, and name a fallback date alongside your preferred date. Record both in writing, together with the question whether head office deadlines run in calendar days or in working days.

In short

A realistic count date takes both calendars and the conditions in the hall into account. AuditMaster plans date, shifts and time windows together with you and prepares a schedule that you can agree with head office.