One of the major differences between using a spreadsheet for scheduling and using a database is that … well … one is a spreadsheet and one is a database. I can hear right away, some readers are asking, "So what?" What is the basic difference between a spreadsheet and a database anyway? Why is having something called a "relational database" so important when dealing with various kinds of data?

You can think of a spreadsheet as a table. Some people refer to this kind of structure as a "flat file". If you print it out and lay it down, it's flat. It has rows and columns just like a simple table of data does. And while an electronic spreadsheet has the capability to calculate column sums, totals, subtotals, medians, etc., it's still just a flat file. There really isn't much more to it than that.

The difference between a spreadsheet and a relational database is that flat files in a database are, in fact, tables of data. It's the relationships between tables that makes a database so unique.

Let's say that, in a database, you have a table which lists information about employees. You have their name, address, landline phone number, cell phone number, spouse's name, their email address, and if you supply uniforms, even their shoe size. Each employee is in one row of the table, with each row being known as a "record". Each record then has a field called "empID", which has a unique number in it.

Let's say there's another table somewhere called "EmployeeHours". Each "empID" is listed in the EmployeeHours table numerous times, one for each day of the workweek. In each of these five-or-so records, that employee's hours are listed for that day of the week. Off we go to another table, one called "EmployeeJobSchedule". Each "empID" is listed even more times in this table, showing which job they're working on and when they're working on it. But the system is smart enough to check the EmployeeHours table to see when that employee is supposed to be there so they're not scheduled during a time when they're actually home.

In even another table, those jobs have a "jobID" associated with them, which are then associated with a table detailing the individual customers, who might, in fact, have multiple locations listed in even another table. And on and on it goes. Are you sure you want to keep using a spreadsheet for your Production Scheduling needs? You may want to give a real Production Scheduling software system some thought.