Project Management Template deals with scheduling.
Time Spent Tech Help show how to calculate total time spent on a job.

The Work Order Seminar may also prove useful.

How does your Project Management Template compare with Microsofts Project management template?
Differences, advantages etc?

The Microsoft Template sucks, Ricks doesn't :P key difference.

In all seriousness though, I think either way you're going to need do customizing like you said. I opened the Microsoft Template and tried to add a project to see, it feels clunky and I don't like it LOL. You can download a free sample of the project management template here Access Project Management. Get in yourself and kind of look around, see what you would be more comfortable building ontop of. Rick's Gantt chart display is far superior though and a very useful tool.

You're right
Richard's Gantt chart is nice. and I will probably have to have all the suggested upgrades Richard mentions in order to get this project to be workable because there are roughly about 15 tasks/shifts 3-4 times per day that need to be tracked. So, I would need to break it down in at least 15 minute increments to set up the required shifts. Maybe a combination of template can get me going to help cleanup my code.
I do appreciate what you all have accomplished. That's why I keep coming back.

So after looking at some of the templates your Project management and task management templates might be the best. I need to be able to manage products at a cannery by scheduling 100 employees at about 15 different positions in up to 4 shifts per day. 4 hours apart from each other. So quite a few tasks per day. Then also track several volunteers who come to help as well. I guess my question is which template would suggest to be best one to start with?

Download the sample ones and try them out

Gregg -

Keep in mind that the Templates are a good starting point.  They are not necessarily a finished, "Turn Key" solution, that you can just install and run with it.  They may also be fine for what you need "right out of the box".
If you need to customize it, that is up to you. Be aware though that any modification to the original is not supported.

Most of them utilize a good bit of VBA.  The templates are not typically "Teaching" products.  They do have good walk through videos usually.
Most of what is shown in the templates is covered in the courses - not one specific one but through out may of them.

If you are not VERY familiar with developing databases and VBA programming,  it may take more courses and experience to be able to have a working solution.

Surely do wish to thank you guys. You are so quick to respond. Your knowledge is wonderful. Great to have your team as a support for me. I apologize for not explaining myself well enough. but I do realize that these templates are just that, a starting point. and there will be a considerable amount of vba code to make it work well. So Thanks. I guess I will start from scratch though  and move forward as neither templates were given as the better one  to start with in  my situation. Thanks for your help and insight.