Day 10: Match course places to staff and equipment

Choose one course and one date

Choose a scheduled course type with a date, time and location. Record which group you are planning for and the intended number of participants. Check the same period across other activities: an instructor or item of equipment may already be allocated elsewhere.

The course-capacity overview explains these connections. Today's exercise takes the next step by recording a decision for one particular course session.

Check four requirements against records

Group and supervision: Which of your school's rules apply to this course type and the intended participants? Consider the information needed about experience and supervision. A recorded self-assessment does not replace a qualified assessment on site.

Instructors: Which appropriately qualified person is actually available for this period? Check other allocations and necessary transitions. A name on the staff list is not a confirmed instructor for this course.

Equipment: Which suitable, serviceable equipment is free when it is needed? Check sizes or types where relevant to the course, and account for use by other groups. Total stock and available equipment are different figures.

Conditions: Which existing requirements apply to the location, weather or course delivery? Who assesses the current situation and decides whether the course can start? If that decision can only be made later, record it as open. The worksheet replaces neither that assessment nor a required inspection.

Record the source and its current version for each requirement, such as the staffing plan or an operating instruction. Another responsible person can then understand the basis of the decision.

Name the first limiting requirement

Compare the intended participant number with all confirmed requirements. Name the resource or rule that prevents the next place from being confirmed. Do not replace an unanswered question with an estimated number.

For example, if a suitable instructor has not been confirmed, having enough equipment does not establish course capacity on its own. The responsible person checks whether the course can run under the applicable rules and which participant number is approved. Record the decision, its reason and when it was made.

Example: Stock is already allocated elsewhere

Fictional example: The instructor and group composition have been confirmed for a course. The inventory shows enough boards. A check of the same time period reveals that some are allocated to another course.

The school counts only suitable, serviceable equipment that is actually available for this session. The responsible person checks possible changes to the existing plan before confirming more places. An empty calendar slot or the total inventory is not enough to justify the decision. If an allocation changes, the other affected course is checked again as well.

Recheck the decision when circumstances change

Record the intended and confirmed participant numbers for the selected session. If approval is still pending, name the missing information, the person responsible and the next review time. This result is a specific planning decision, not a general utilisation or safety metric.

When staff, equipment, the group or conditions change, review the affected decision again. The shift-handover article explains how to pass changes on to the team.

Record the decision on one page

The PDF “Match course places to staff and equipment” contains one printable A4 page in German. It provides space for the four requirements, their sources, the limiting resource and the responsible person's decision. The complete working fields are in the PDF.

Request the worksheet using the email form in this article. Start with one course and one date; you can use it with your existing records, with or without TIDEFORCE.