Skills matrix (ILUO)
People × skills with ILUO levels, a target level and the people needed per skill: coverage, gaps, single points of failure, Excel with formulas and a blank matrix.
Input
Paste, open a CSV, TSV, TXT or XLSX file (up to 20 MB), or drop it on the field. Files are read in this browser only.
Levels 0–4 or I, L, U, O; “-” = not trained, empty = not assessed. Optional rows “Target level” and “People needed” set them per skill; otherwise the defaults below apply.
Runs in this browser. Data is not uploaded or stored.
Results
Squares: I one side, L two, U three, O closed; cells at the skill’s target level have a heavy outline.
How the skills matrix is calculated
A skills matrix shows who can do which job at which level, so that training is planned before an absence stops the line. The ILUO levels are a common shop-floor practice, not a standard.
Formulas
- Level: 0 not trained, 1 I in training, 2 L with help, 3 U alone to the standard, 4 O can teach; empty = not assessed.
- At target for a skill = people with a level at or above its target level (default U).
- Gap = max(0, people needed − at target); single point: exactly one person at the target.
- Coverage = Σ min(at target, needed) / Σ needed.
Worked example (the tool’s example)
- Six operators, six skills. Changeover needs level O and two people; only Operator A is at O: at target 1, gap 1, a single point of failure.
- Every other skill has the people it needs; coverage = (3 + 2 + 3 + 2 + 2 + 1) / 14 = 93 %.
- Operator F at U in changeover is the obvious next one to train to O.
Common mistakes
- Rating by impression: assess against the work instruction, at the station.
- Counting people at I or L as cover: they cannot work alone yet.
- Updating the matrix once a year: it is a planning tool, keep it current with the training.
Input and files
- Paste the matrix from Excel or open a CSV or Excel file: names in the first column, one column per skill; levels as numbers or letters.
- Excel: the matrix with the levels as numbers, and the people at target, the gap and the coverage as formulas. Print / PDF on A4 landscape; the blank matrix (fillable PDF, Excel with formulas) is for paper.
- Files: CSV, TSV and TXT are read as if pasted (UTF-8, UTF-16, otherwise Windows-1257). XLSX: choose the sheet and the columns or a cell range; formula cells use the value Excel last saved, dates are kept as text. Files up to 20 MB are read in this browser only and never uploaded.
- XLSX files are read with SheetJS Community Edition 0.20.3, Apache License 2.0 (license text at the end of this file).
Questions
- What does ILUO mean?
- Four steps of being able to do a job, drawn as a square closed side by side: I – learning it, L – can do it with help, U – can do it alone to the standard, O – can do it and teach it. Here they are levels 1 to 4, with 0 for not trained. The wording varies between plants; what counts is that everyone reads the levels the same way.
- How many people should be able to do each job?
- Enough to cover absence, holidays and shift changes: three per job is a common rule for a one-shift job, more with several shifts. A skill with only one person at the target level is a single point of failure; the matrix lists them.
- How is coverage calculated?
- For each skill, the people at or above its target level, counted up to the number needed; summed over the skills and divided by the people needed in total. 100 % means every skill has the people it needs; the gap per skill shows how many more are needed.