Three funerals on a Friday
Friday has three funerals: 10am at a parish church followed by burial, 12.30 at the crematorium, and 2.30 at a different crematorium twenty miles away. You have two hearses, three limousines, two funeral directors who conduct and a pool of bearers, some full-time, some casual.
The wall chart shows the hearses. The bearers are arranged by text by the senior funeral director. When the 12.30 family asks for a second limousine, it is added to the chart without anyone noticing that the limousine is still at the burial until well after twelve.
Planning with times, but not travel
Fleet and staff planning looks simple on a chart, but funerals have a shape: leaving the home, the service, the committal, the return, and travel between venues. Charts show the service time, not the whole journey.
- Hearses and limousines are shown against service times only.
- Travel between venues and back to base is estimated in someone's head.
- Bearers are booked separately, usually by text.
- Conductors' commitments are in another diary.
- A family's late change, such as adding a car, does not show knock-on effects.
- Hired-in vehicles from another firm are arranged by phone and noted on the chart.
The cost of a clash
A late hearse or a missing limousine on the day is distressing for a family and deeply uncomfortable for your team. Most clashes are caught in time, but often by someone ringing round the night before, hiring in a car at short notice or asking a colleague to cover.
Casual bearers are another pressure point. When bookings are made by text, it is easy to double book someone or find that a bearer thought they were on the later funeral.
There is a planning cost too. Without a clear view of how often vehicles are stretched, it is hard to judge whether another limousine, a regular hire arrangement with a neighbouring firm or a larger pool of casual bearers would serve families better.
A planner that knows the whole journey
What we build plans vehicles and people from each funeral's full timeline.
- For each funeral, the timeline is set out: leave the home or your premises, service, committal, any second venue and the return, with travel times from a mapping service.
- Hearses, limousines and any hired vehicles are allocated to each funeral, and the planner shows when each is actually free.
- Conductors and bearers are allocated from the same view, with their own availability.
- Clashes and tight turnarounds are flagged as soon as a funeral is dated, not on the day.
- Casual bearers receive offers by text and confirm with a link, so the planner shows who is confirmed.
- The night before, each person gets their details: funeral, times, venues, where to meet.
| Resource | 10am burial | 12.30 cremation | 2.30 cremation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hearse 1 | 9.15 to 12.00 | Not available | 13.30 to 16.00 |
| Hearse 2 | Not used | 11.45 to 13.45 | Not used |
| Limousine 2 | 9.15 to 12.10 | Clash flagged | Available |
| Bearers (four) | Confirmed | Confirmed | Two confirmed, two offered |
The planner suggests. Your senior funeral director decides, and can move anything with a clear view of the consequences.
Friday, planned on Tuesday
When the 12.30 family ask for a second limousine, the planner flags that limousine 2 will not be back from the burial in time. The senior funeral director hires in a car from a local firm that afternoon and records it. The two outstanding bearer offers for the 2.30 are accepted by Wednesday. On Friday, everyone knows where to be.
Does your fleet plan hold up?
- Vehicles are planned on a wall chart or in a diary.
- Travel between venues is estimated in someone's head.
- Bearers are booked by individual text messages.
- Clashes are found the night before or on the day.
- Late changes from families cause knock-on problems.