If your SMART forecast displays a flat line—such as 3 hours per day—it typically indicates that the system is constrained by specific settings, preventing dynamic adjustments based on activity levels.

Primary Cause: Min/Max Settings

The most common reason for this issue is that the minimum and maximum hours in the SMART configuration are set to the same value. This setup restricts SMART from adjusting hours in response to fluctuations in demand or activity.

How to Check and Adjust Min/Max Settings

1. Navigate to the Cockpit:
   • Open the relevant department’s Cockpit in PMI.
2. Access Tools and Settings:
   • Click on the Tools and Settings icon (usually represented by a gear or wrench symbol).
3. Review Min/Max Hours:
   • Locate the Min/Max Hours section.
   • Check if the Minimum and Maximum hours are set to the same value (e.g., both at 3 hours).
4. Adjust Values:
   • If both values are identical, modify them to allow flexibility. For example:
   • Set Minimum Hours to 2.
   • Set Maximum Hours to 5.
   • This range enables SMART to allocate hours dynamically based on actual demand.
5. Save Changes:
   
   • After adjusting, ensure you save the changes to apply the new settings.

Additional Considerations

• User Permissions:  Ensure you have the necessary permissions to modify Min/Max settings. If not, contact your system administrator.
• Historical Data: If SMART lacks sufficient historical data, it may default to static values. In such cases, consider manually adjusting the forecast or consulting with your administrator.
• Cost Driver Accuracy: Verify that your primary cost drivers are accurately forecasted. Inaccurate inputs can affect SMART’s calculations.

If a department’s forecast isn’t updated and remains at the staffing-guide default beyond the expected deadline, the PMI Adoption Index will indeed display this as a hygiene factor. These hygiene factors are marked in red to draw attention and indicate areas requiring action to maintain data integrity and operational efficiency. However, hygiene factors generally do not directly impact the index score, except for those related to Rooms management, which do affect the score due to their impact on forecasting accurac

Best Practices to Address This:

• Regularly Review the PMI Adoption Index: Monitor for any red-marked hygiene factors indicating unupdated forecasts. 
• Update Forecasts Promptly: Ensure that departmental forecasts are reviewed and updated regularly to reflect current expectations and avoid reliance on default staffing-guide values.
• Utilize the Staffing Guide Effectively: While the staffing guide provides baseline recommendations, it’s essential to adjust forecasts based on real-time data and departmental insights.

By proactively managing forecasts and addressing hygiene factors, departments can ensure accurate staffing levels and maintain optimal operational performance.

The Scheduled Horizon in PMI shows how far into the future schedules are active and where PMI’s SMART forecast begins.

In Legacy Tables and Schedule Views:

• Red vertical line = Today
• Dashed green vertical line = Scheduled Horizon
• Beyond the green line, users can manually enter schedules. If left blank, PMI auto-generates SMART hours.

In the Day-to-Day (Labor Graph) View:

• Dotted black vertical line = Today
• Dashed green vertical line = Scheduled Horizon

These visual markers help you compare scheduled hours with PMI’s suggested SMART schedule.

If you don’t see the Scheduled Horizon or Today lines:

• You may not be in the graph (Day-to-Day) view
• You may be viewing past or already finalized periods
• Your user role or cockpit view setup may limit what’s shown

Tip: The Scheduled Horizon is usually set by the Head of Department (HOD) under View Settings — often to a fixed number of days ahead (e.g., 14, 28 or 90). If you don’t see the green line immediately, try using the date picker to advance one month at a time — the Scheduled Horizon may be set further into the future.

These are typically used for operational departments where productivity is the main target. When the cost driver (e.g., room nights, revenue) changes, PMI automatically recalculates the required hours to maintain the fixed productivity target. This keeps your labor plan aligned with real activity levels.

What to do:

• Go to PMI cockpit → Select your department
• Click the gear icon to access settings
• Under the Forecast settings, ensure the “Productivity is locked” option is enabled
• Save changes to apply productivity-based forecasting

For example, if more rooms need cleaning next month, the Housekeeping department will automatically receive more hours to meet the productivity target (e.g., 0.25 HRS/RN).

In PMI, the Closing inventory value for one month automatically becomes the Opening inventory value for the following month. If the field appears locked or non-editable, here’s what to check:

Possible Reasons & What to Do:

1. The period is locked

• Once a month has ended, PMI treats it as finalized (actuals). Fields like Closing inventory are locked to protect reporting accuracy.
• Solution: Ask your administrator to unlock the period using Period locking (found under Advanced Settings). Once unlocked, you’ll be able to enter or adjust the value.

2. You don’t have editing rights

• While most F&B Managers or Controllers do have access, some user roles might be restricted from editing actuals.
• Solution: If you’re unable to edit even after the period is unlocked, contact your local admin or support team for assistance.

Tip: Always save after making edits, and verify that the Opening inventory for the next month reflects your updated value.

To compare actual worked hours from your Timekeeping System (TKS) with the scheduled/planned hours in PMI, use the Labor Cockpit:

Steps to Check:

1. Go to the Labor Cockpit
2. Select the relevant department and date range
3. Click the plus sign next to the date to expand the daily detail
4. You’ll see:
   • Scheduled hours (what was planned)
   • TKS hours (what was actually worked and imported from your Timekeeping System)
   • Hours broken down by productive and non-productive categories

You can also hover over bars in the graph to compare day-by-day totals visually.

Tip:

• If the numbers don’t match, check whether:
• The TKS import has been processed for the current period
• The department and role mappings between TKS and PMI are up to date
• Any manual adjustments were made in TKS or PMI after the import

To make sure your schedules reflect the current demand, do a quick visual check in the Labor Cockpit:

What to Look For:

• Blue bars: Represent scheduled hours.
• Yellow line: Indicates the SMART Forecast, which is system-generated based on targets and cost drivers.
• Green dashed line: Marks the Scheduled Horizon, showing how far ahead scheduling is active

Your scheduled hours (blue bars) should closely follow the yellow SMART Forecast line. If they’re significantly above or below, it may indicate over- or under-scheduling.

Where to Check:

1. Go to the Labor Cockpit
2. Select the correct department and date range
3. Compare the visual graph — especially just beyond the green dashed line

Tip: If the SMART Forecast seems off, click the forecast icon to review the SMART and Management Forecast values.

If a department has no historical data, PMI cannot use its SMART algorithms, which rely on past patterns to suggest efficient staffing levels.

Instead, PMI falls back on cost driver logic as the primary basis for scheduling guidance:

Here’s how it works:

• Cost Driver-Based Scheduling: The system uses a linked cost driver (e.g., room nights, covers, revenue) to estimate required hours. This provides a baseline forecast tied to expected business volume.
• Default Productivity Values: PMI may apply default productivity ratios (e.g., hours per 100 room nights) if defined in the configuration or mappings.
• Manual Inputs & Adjustments: Users can manually enter forecasted hours based on expected needs, and these can later be refined as actual data becomes available.
• No ML or Smart Hours Yet: Since Smart-schedule guidance depends on past performance trends, departments with no prior year’s hours won’t benefit from it until a baseline has been established.

Tip: If you’re setting up SMART for a new department, ensure a cost driver is assigned and mapped. This allows the system to provide at least basic forecasting support until historical data builds up.