Summary
Bloodworks Northwest (BWNW) supplies blood and lab services for three states. Their dispersed operation involves scheduling a scattered and diverse volunteer base for positions requiring a variety of skills and certifications across a wide geographical area. Once blood is collected, it must be tested and distributed within a matter of hours to area hospitals.
Manual organization methods and out-of-the-box scheduling software both proved inadequate. BWNW chose Shiftboard for its highly customizable, mobile volunteer management system, which has helped them significantly streamline operations and reduce management time by up to 70%.
Blood platelets only have a 5-day shelf life, so once the blood is collected, all donations must reach a lab within 5-8 hours for immediate, comprehensive testing and distribution.
Scheduling such a widely dispersed and diverse network of staff and volunteers is a huge task. As BWNW’s operation grew, organizing all of this effectively by hand became impossible.
Challenge
Bloodworks Northwest collects, tests, and distributes 900 units of blood each day to 90 hospitals across Washington, Oregon, and Alaska. They operate 12 physical locations, maintain a network of mobile donation units, manage an ongoing roster of 250,000 registered donors, and coordinate 3,000 volunteers who fill vital roles like greeting donors, assisting registration, driving, monitoring donors, scheduling appointments, and helping with myriad administrative tasks.
The mobile units alternate among 3,000 different locations, requiring 130+ local volunteer teams. In a typical day, BWNW manages 100 unpaid people across 30 different locations—all of whom can change the next week. Confirming volunteer qualifications and maintaining compliance across so many locations is daunting
Solution
Boardwalk chose Shiftboard’s employee scheduling software as their preferred solution to automate their scheduling complexity, reducing scheduling hours and scheduling costs. Shiftboard was also chosen because of its tailor-fit automation, easily facilitating schedule compliance with PHMSA CRM Hours of Service rules. Through a collaborative effort with Boardwalk’s gas control and IT departments alongside the Shiftboard team, the solution was successfully implemented in just three months.
“We are really happy to have moved on from pen and paper to a fully electronic system in the cloud,” said Mitch Whitehead, manager of gas control at Boardwalk. “With Shiftboard, we have cut the time and effort we spent scheduling in half.”
Shiftboard’s software significantly improves Boardwalk’s ability to schedule employees effectively. Not only does it eliminate the overlap and delay the old system was causing, but it also offers robust features such as autoscheduling that optimize day-of management and increase operational agility. In addition, the system is able to manage complex rules when populating the schedule, ensuring that PHMSA CRM Hours of Service rules are always met..
Working with the Shiftboard team was very positive. They guided us at every step of the way, making sure we were not overwhelmed. They were always willing to help, and they actually went above and beyond to ensure a successful implementation.
Eugene Lam Solutions Architect Boardwalk Pipelines
Results
- Reduced time spent on scheduling by 50 percent
- Full compliance with PHMSA CRM hours of service rules
- Implemented and live in three months
Customer Stories
Partnering for Success: Real Stories, Real Success
3,000volunteers
130+volunteer teams
12regional clinics
90hospitals
Using Shiftboard, Bloodworks Northwest coordinates
3,000 active volunteers across 12 regions.
Summary
Bloodworks Northwest (BWNW) supplies blood and lab services for three states. Their dispersed operation involves scheduling a scattered and diverse volunteer base for positions requiring a variety of skills and certifications across a wide geographical area. Once blood is collected, it must be tested and distributed within a matter of hours to area hospitals.
Manual organization methods and out-of-the-box scheduling software both proved inadequate. BWNW chose Shiftboard for its highly customizable, mobile volunteer management system, which has helped them significantly streamline operations and reduce management time by up to 70%.
Results
- Optimized a volunteer-driven supply chain of regulated, time-sensitive blood products across 3 states
- Reduced time spent managing remote teams spread across a large region by up to 70%
- Ensured regulatory compliance.
- Increased capacity and expanded operations to better fulfill their mission statement
“I tell volunteers that if you can write an email, you can use the software.”Jeremy Vollman, Volunteer Coordinator
Challenge
Bloodworks Northwest collects, tests, and distributes 900 units of blood each day to 90 hospitals across Washington, Oregon, and Alaska. They operate 12 physical locations, maintain a network of mobile donation units, manage an ongoing roster of 250,000 registered donors, and coordinate 3,000 volunteers who fill vital roles like greeting donors, assisting registration, driving, monitoring donors, scheduling appointments, and helping with myriad administrative tasks.
The mobile units alternate among 3,000 different locations, requiring 130+ local volunteer teams. In a typical day, BWNW manages 100 unpaid people across 30 different locations—all of whom can change the next week. Confirming volunteer qualifications and maintaining compliance across so many locations is daunting.
Blood platelets only have a 5-day shelf life, so once the blood is collected, all donations must reach a lab within 5-8 hours for immediate, comprehensive and distribution.Scheduling such a widely dispersed and diverse network of staff and volunteers is a huge task. As BWNW’s operation grew, organizing all of this effectively by hand became impossible.
Shiftboard has been indispensable for our volunteer program. It gives us a lot of overall control, and empowers us to more efficiently engage our volunteers. Jeremy Vollman, Volunteer Coordinator
With Shiftboard, scheduling errors are reduced by 85%.
Solution
Bloodworks Northwest tried out-of-the-box scheduling software, but found it limited their productivity. It lacked quick, real-time reporting, which they needed for providing up-to-date insights into scheduling and staff data. They required a flexible, customizable system that would adapt to their unique operational structure. Also, with a constant stream of unpaid workers and no time to train them, BWNW needed their scheduling software to be intuitive and easy to use for managers and volunteers.
BWNW turned to Shiftboard, and, after a quick data import, they were able to organize all 3,000 volunteers by territories and teams. Managers and teams now operate autonomously with access to reports detailing the volunteers and data they need to succeed.
“Shiftboard has been indispensable for our volunteer program,” explained Jeremy Vollman, BWNW Volunteer Coordinator. “It gives us a lot of overall control, and empowers us to more efficiently engage our volunteers.” BWNW has cut coordination time by anywhere from 50-70%, leaving them more time to focus on growing their organization. Plus, 24/7 real-time access to personnel data has given them the agility to manage their volunteer network from anywhere, at any time.
Compliance
BWNW must comply with numerous state and federal regulations. Shiftboard enabled them to verify certifications, qualifications, and other credentials, and ensure on-site compliance at any location.
Localization
Shiftboard made it easy for BWNW to organize and assign people by geographic area, which helps reduce travel time and increase participation.
Instant Communication
People get sick and plans change, so the ability to troubleshoot the unexpected is critical. Shiftboard’s deep profile data combined with Instant communication tools make it easy for managers to identify and contact qualified subs at the last minute.
Retention
Shiftboard’s profile and communication tools help track performance and engage top volunteers to recognize their efforts and support retaining your best workers.
Ease-of-Use
All the functionality in the world doesn’t do any good if your volunteers can’t use it. Shiftboard works on everything from the latest smartphone to a desktop browser, and requires no training. It’s easy to use, even for rural retirees, so a lack a tech savvy isn’t a barrier for BWNW to recruit and schedule people. “I tell volunteers that if you can write an email, you can use the software,” said Vollman.
