BusWise

Help Manual - Section A

Last update was 22/01/2010 - ianm

A0 - GLOSSARY of TERMS :

ACTIVE :
A Shift is ACTIVE on the WorkSheet when the driver has confirmed that he has the allocated bus and is on-the-road or is about to be on the road. Neither the bus nor the driver should be re-allocated once they are on-the-road. Once a WorkSheet has been marked ACTIVE and either bus or driver has to be changed then the Shift will be reset to INACTIVE. When Buses and Drivers are on-the-road, in the workshop or have called in sick the status bar for that bus and that driver is changed to RED in the Selection Screen.
ALL the shifts on a WorkSheet MUST be ACTIVE before a WorkSheet can be archived.
ADD-BOOK :
This standalone Name-and-Address Book is not linked into and has been made available in case it is of assistance in keeping lists of suppliers or contacts etc... It may be used at some future date to identify suppliers for a Bus Maintenance System or similar. Drivers must be loaded into Drivers file as they are a resource for the Company. External names and addresses can all go into the Address Book.

ALLOCATED :
Bus and Driver are reserved for and on standby to be used on a Shift. The graphic Bar Chart will reflect the time on any particular date in YELLOW. The YELLOW bar chart means that the driver and/or bus has been allocated to a SHIFT but have not yet left the depot. When they do so and are CONFIRMED then the charts will show the bus/driver as RED.

ALL-SHIFTS :
Is the facility to display and manage all of the Shifts Loaded into . When changes need to be made across all of the Shifts then those tasks will be located in ALL-SHIFTS. This is also where the default driver and/or bus information is held for a SHIFT.

ADMIN :
A term used in to indicate any data manipulation (display, changes, updates and deletions ) for any of the functions as they are grouped together in the Task Menu ( left pane of the screen).

ARCHIVED :
Refers to the placement of tables (files) into a separate and more secure environment once they have completed their main purpose. This is particularly significant in the case of the WorkSheets because once a WorkSheet has been completed for the day it needs to be Archived. It will then be a record of ALL the activities that have taken place for that specific day and can therefore be used to produce statistics as well as Driver Payslips.

AUTHORITY LEVEL :
requires an AUTHORITY LEVEL to be assigned to any User Login which is added to the system. caters for 5 levels.
Level 5 being the highest (most senior) level which has access to System functions and any critical functions which could change the way that functions. Level 4 is intended to limit the use of tasks which change the way that data is handled within . Level 3 is for general operations and office staff who handle day to day activities.
Level 2 is intended for Drivers who may under some circumstances be required to sign in or enter data such as accident reports or lost property.

BOOKING :
Is associated with the Charter section of and refers to the document which is completed from information provided by an Organisation which requires one or more buses and drivers for one or more days. This BOOKING is then included (by ) on the WorkSheet on the appropriate day for allocation of Buses and Drivers. The Booking process will enable to display/print a Driver Run Sheet as well as a uniquely numbered Invoice for the customer. This also enables the Organisation to manage a Payment Tracking facility.

CALENDAR :
The CALENDAR invokes a standalone screen so that it can be kept open while other tasks are being worked on. All timing schedules are run according to an appropriate TimeZone which can be set up in the User Parameters. (see the SYSTEM / SUP.ADMIN menu ). The Calendar displays this TimeZone and uses the Server/PC Computer clock to establish Greenwich Mean Time which is then corrected according to the TimeZone selected for the CALENDAR and all functions.

CHARACTERISTICS - BUS :
Bus Characteristics are selected by the User and stored in a Table so that when a new BUS is added to the system the person entering these details is guided by the Characteristics loaded into these Tables. This will save a lot of terminology problems. Enter these characteristics with care because they should not be changed once buses have been defined to .

CHARTER :
The inbuilt Charter System is intended to be used for either regular or irregular allocation of buses and drivers to outside organisations for hire. When a Charter becomes very regular and consistent for a number of weeks (as for example a School requiring buses to transport children to sports facilities for a number of weeks at a time then it would probably be easier to create SHIFTS to serve this purpose. This would also facilitate the use of the Default Allocation Process provided by .)

CLASS :
This is a subset of WEEKDAY (see below) to enable the creation of special shifts (such as the one suggested in CHARTER above). The requirement may be that every Tuesday for 5 weeks from date1 to date2 School XYZ requires 3 buses to collect passengers from PointA and take them to PointB and return them to PointA later. Thus with WEEKDAY = Tue and CLASS = XYZ (abbreviated school name), the Operations Staff then include the details in the preparation of the WorkSheets for the appropriate Day/s. The SHIFT number would be unique to this function and would define the travel details.

DATABASE :
This is s single large file in which all of the data is stored for the organisation. It is stored in this one big file with very sophisticated access and control functions so as to make data access fast and secure. The information within this database is separated into specific TABLES which cater for data such as Shifts, Drivers, Buses, TimingPoints etc...

DEFAULT - BUS or DRIVER :
The Default allocation of Buses and/or Drivers to Shifts is intended to simplify the process of duplication of allocations. It is possible to create a Shift (or a Charter Booking) which requires a specific Bus and/or Driver. This would be the Default Bus and/or Driver if the Bus ID and the Driver ID were entered at the Shift or Charter Booking level. To make this work in a far larger scale and save a lot of repetitive work select a successful WorkSheet for a specific day (that is one which has made good, effective and repeatable use of Buses and/or Drivers on that particular day). Using the MASTER Operations menu the WorkSheet can then be applied to ALL-SHIFTS and the Buses and Drivers will be included on the SHIFT-ALL lists as Defaults for those Shifts. The next time those Shifts are used to create WorkSheets the defaults will be used and save the reallocation of all of those Buses and Drivers.

DESTINATION CODE :
The Desto is used on some buses as a code to identify the Bus destination on the Route Displays on the Bus or for selection of the Trip programs contained in the Ticket Machines. If more information is required than this six alphanumeric field in the ROUTE Header then use can be made of the Notes in the Route Header Section.

DRIVER ROSTER :
uses the WorkSheets prepared for any week to restructure the information so that it can be displayed in a format suitable for printing and display. The schedule will define each and every Shift which requires that Driver. The Roster will display the Start time and End time (or times for a Split Shift) as they are defined for the Shift Sign-On and Sign-Off.

GRADE / Grid :
makes use of the ASSIGNED GRADE (or Grid) level to identify up to 6 different levels (six alphanumeric characters) of competency (or requirement) . This enables to identify requirements for routes, buses, drivers and shifts. The number 555555 is the default and is the Middle of the Road default for all entries in the system. Thus 355555 for a bus could identify a school bus and 255555 could identify a driver as a trainee. A 755555 route could identify a very high standard of requirement for both bus and driver. The availability of 6 characters is rather extreme because this encourages a VERY complex structure of matching shifts, routes/trips, buses and drivers whereas this identification should be as simple as possible bearing in mind that the graphic allocation of resources uses this GRADE as a sort key. The simpler this GRADE / GRID is kept the easier it will be to maintain.

INBOUND :
INBOUND Trips (Routes) are Trips which travel towards the largest Terminus for that group of Trips. Trips which are city-bound towards the CBD would therefore be INBOUND and trips in the opposite direction OUTBOUND. There may be a major TERMINUS located nearer a bus depot which is the focal point for many trips. Trips travelling towards this focal point would be INBOUND. School routes which are travelling towards the school/s should be INBOUND and those from the Schools should be OUTBOUND. The implementation is entirely up to the user of . The REAL purpose of this distinction is to ensure that Route Numbers are unique. For example route 333 into the city becomes 333a and outbound from the city becomes 333b.

LOGIN :
must be provided with a Login Name and Login Password before anyone is able to use the System. The DEMO system provides aaaaa (five lower case a's) as an initial Login Name and bbbbb (5 lower case b's) as the ADMIN Login Password. There is a function under SYSTEM / DB.ADMIN / New User and Passwords to load new Users and Passwords. Passwords are CASE SENSITIVE alphanumeric so take care when loading and entering for Login. The aaaaa/bbbbb should be deleted as soon as convenient BUT DO NOT FORGET THE NEW ADMIN PASSWORD. The DEMO system also has the following logins loaded : User my4 with password bbbbb and Level 4 access AND User my3 with password bbbbb and Level 3 access AND User BC with password 123 for Level 2 access. This triggers a set of tasks specifically set up for DRIVERS and suitable for use via TOUCHSCREENS such as LG - Flatron - L1510BF or similar.
THESE SHOULD ALL BE REMOVED AS SOON AS A SYSTEM GOES LIVE !!!!!

LOGOUT :
When leaving the workstation (PC / Computer ) after using it is a very good habit to Logout. Closing the window does the same but Logout is far tidier and more secure.

OUTBOUND :
Please see INBOUND above.

PASSENGER LICENCE :
This is the licence granted to the Driver when he has successfully shown that he is capable of driving Heavy Duty Passenger Vehicles.

RECORD / ROW :
This is a packet of information (data) which relates to a specific entry. Examples would be a Bus Record, Driver Record, WorkSheet Record etc.. Modern database terminology refers to records as ROWS of data. This makes particular sense when looking at a WorkSheet where a ROW is a composite of many records which relate buses to drivers to shifts to times and notes about that ROW for a specific DATE.. It has a rID which is the number assigned to that ROW (or record) in the database so that there is no way it can be confused with any other ROW in that WorkSheet. A WorkSheet as a whole is a number of ROWS in the database which are restricted by the DATE in that ROW. Thus a WorkSheet is the collection of all the ROWs in the database that meet the requirement of that one specific DATE.

RESOURCE :
A RESOURCE is any entity which enables an organisation to carry out its business functions and obligations. coordinates the use of resources such as buses and drivers so that these resources can be used in the most efficient and profitable way for the organisation. Resources include office staff, buildings, office equipment, tools, space, fuel etc which are all needed to ensure that the organisation can provide the service for which it is being paid.

ROLL Buses or Drivers :
When the DEFAULT BUS/DRIVER process has been utilised, this default information is assigned to each SHIFT. Some organisations rotate drivers and/or buses to a different shift each week or fortnight or month. The ROLL process provided in ALL=SHIFTS considerably simplifies this process by shuffling each Bus and/or Driver one row down the ALL-SHIFT List according to the Grade / Grid selected. The Bus and/or Driver allocated to the last Shift will be moved to the top of that list.

ROSTER :
Occasionally in the Daily Operational WorkSheet is called a ROSTER. This is because the WorkSheet is in fact the Roster that has been presented to the Drivers to advise them when they are working. We have tried not to call WorkSheets Rosters but it has crept in every now and again. (see ROSTERARC below).

ROSTERARC :
When a WorkSheet has completed it's function for a day it then becomes very important data/information for the organisation. This Sheet now confirms all the activities that HAVE taken place during that day. At the end of each week they must be loaded to the ARCHIVE (history of company activity) which is called the ROSTERARC because these WorkSheets are now confirmed and completed ROSTERS for that day. It is from these ROSTERS that many operational activities can be finalised. For example Drivers Payslips are prepared from the ROSTERS (ROSTERARC). If they are run from the daily WorkSheets they are termed Interim PaySlips and listed as such.

ROUTE :
A Route is a collection of TimingPoints (TPs) which have been structured so as to build up a logical Trip. The TimingPoints are combined in the correct sequence with a specific duration specified from one TP to the next TP. It can also include any driving instructions as notes. This forms a complete identifiable Route which can then form the basis of a Trip and can thus be used in many Shifts making the task of constructing a Shift very straightforward. Maps can be attached to Routes. Routes can thus be printed off as reference documents for drivers.

ROW :
Please see RECORD above.

SECURITY LEVEL :
Please see AUTHORITY LEVEL above.

SEQ-ID or ID :
This is a computer allocated number which identifies each record or ROW. Please see RECORD above.

SHIFT :
The SHIFT is a compilation of Routes/Trips to form a reasonable work allocation for a Driver in any one work period. There could be more than one Shift in any one workday for a driver but normally a driver would complete one SHIFT in one day. SHIFTS can be Normal (sign-on at the beginning of the Shift and sign-off at the end) or it could be a Split Shift which would have two sign-ons and two sign-offs with a time gap in between. Or it could be an OverNight SHIFT which would entail a SHIFT which crosses over the midnight timeframe and is thus split over two different days even though it is one work period. Shifts will be printed off as further reference documents for drivers.

SIGN-ON / SIGN-OFF :
A Driver SIGNs ON at the beginning of his SHIFT and SIGNs OFF at the end of the SHIFT. The time between the two comprises the SHIFT TIME as well as the total number of hours worked by the driver. It is necessary to ensure that these SHIFT TIMES cover all the Trips that need to be completed in that time. The sign-on / sign-off times expressed on the SHIFT sheets form the basis for the calculation of Driver Payslips.

STAFF NUMBER :
This is a unique identification which is assigned to a Driver. This STAFF NUMBER is alphanumeric and one of the best ways to use it (as it shows in later forms such as the WorkSheets) is to use the Drivers Initials. There will be another reference field (called Ref.) which will be available when the PayRoll award programs are initialised in .

STANDARD OPERATING TIMES (SOT):
SOT is an abbreviation to identify the TimeTable times that are issued to the public fare paying passengers in the form of TimeTables or Time Schedules. These are usually one third A4 folded reference cards to make them easy to tuck into a pocket for frequent reference. These are in fact the times that dictate exactly what a bus operator needs to deliver with his organisation.

STATUS BAR :
This is the graphic bar which is used by to indicate whether Buses or Drivers are :
GREEN = AVAILABLE TO BE BOOKED OR ALLOCATED
YELLOW = ALLOCATED or BOOKED FOR A SHIFT OR CHARTER RED = COMMITTED - 0N-THE-ROAD or NOT AVAILABLE (SICK etc)


TABLE :
A Table is a selection of ROWS ( RECORDS ) which contain data for a specific data group. has TABLEs for Buses, Drivers, TPs, Routes, Shifts, WorkSheets and others. These can all be related so that they can be effectively used to solve business requirements. ( see RECORDS).

TIMETABLE :
By taking the Daily WorkSheet for any particular day, can correlate all of the information and sequence it in such a manner that it provides a list of ALL the TimingPoints (TPs) across the whole system. This information can then be referenced to establish when each and every Bus will be at any TP. These times will be modified if any bus is known to be late. This schedule can be used to answer queries from passengers about when a bus will be at their particular location or near it. It can also provide (excluding late references) a TimeTable which could be placed at each and every bus stop near a TP.

TimingPoint :
A TimingPoint (TP) is a location on a map. Normally entered as a crossroad for ease of relationship to maps and directories, it can also be a bus stop or a building or a park, shop, school or point of interest. They should be reasonably easily recognised so that they can be used by new Drivers to follow their routes correctly. In combination with Notes which can be entered into the Routes they provide concise and detailed information for Drivers.

TRIP :
Please see ROUTE.

WAMP :
Stands for Windows, Apache, MySQL and PHP which are the operational programs for the environment in which the programs run. All of these four systems will also run on Linux and other UNIX-like systems which means that can be run on these other operating systems as well.

WEEKDAY :
Please see CLASS above so as to understand the relationship between these two fields as they are entered into SHIFT header.

WORKSHEET :
This is the heart of the system. All the data entered into is there to provide a building block for the WorkSheet. A WorkSheet is the complete Operations Daily activity requirement. Each WorkSheet comprises ONE SINGLE DAY OF THE COMPANY WORKLOAD.
The WorkSheet is like a SpreadSheet or the original WHITEBOARD which would enable an Operations Administrator to :
a) Be aware of all the SHIFTS that need to be serviced for THE DAY
b) The Time the Driver needs to report to start his SHIFT
c) Check ALL the details of the SHIFT and the TRIPS that go to make up the SHIFT plus the times at which THAT SHIFT should be at each TP during the SHIFT.
d) Allocate a Driver to the SHIFT.
e) Allocate a Bus to the SHIFT. In each case using a Bar Chart which provides all relevant information to do the allocation using a graphical format. This makes the choice very easy without needing detailed operations experience or access to other files, notes or spreadsheets for that task.
f) Book a Driver off sick and/or allocate an alternate driver.
g) Book a Bus into the Workshop and/or allocate a replacement.
h) Have full and immediate access to Bus or Driver details.
i) Flag a SHIFT if advised that it is running late.
j) Know exactly where any bus or any driver should be at any time of the day.
k) Confirm when a SHIFT is leaving the depot.

A complete, manageable view of the entire business at any instant during a day.

A1 - ReadMe File :


Installation on a Windows system. You need about 500MB of free space to run this DEMONSTRATION system comfortably.

Please read the ReadMe.txt file under C:\wamp\ for installation instructions.

The System is designed to operate in a network environment, in any browser and using either Windows or LINUX or similar UNIX systems capable of running Apache, PHP and MySQL. All of these platforms are required to run .

The WampServer 2.xx supplied can run as a multi-workstation WEB system. To do so, go to the WampServer icon in the Windows status bar ( bottom right ) , left click on the icon and select Put Online ( last item in console window ). From here on knowledge of networks is required. eg. if the terminal / workstation is networked to your WampServer then an icon needs to be set up in the browser ( Windows Internet Explorer or Mozella or FireFox etc.. ) such as
http://YourServerName//BW_start.htm

SERVER System Installation (Windows + Apache) :


ENSURE THAT YOU ARE NOT CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET when you are installing WebServer
AND if you intend to use Windows Explorer on your WorkStation ensure that your SERVER Computer Name - for network connectivity - does NOT contain an underscore ( _ ) in the name. You may use a hyphen ( - ).

This rather weird behaviour was found on a bulletin board and tests show it to be true. We seem to use underscore rather frequently for grammatical clarity. DO NOT do so for network server names.
Another caterpillar-in-the-salad (obstacle) is SKYPE. SKYPE will clash with the server port used by WAMP so it should NOT be running when installing or when running WAMP. There is a fix available for SKYPE on their website. There is also a sroius of changes that can be made to WAMP to avoid clashing with SKYPE but their are changes to all of the components in WAMP so it is rather complex. Easier to modify SKYPE.

In general there are three steps to install in a Network / Server environment. This task should only be undertaken by experienced System Administrators who have some knowledge of Apache, PHP5 and MySQL because the detailed processes depend on how the server has been set up, what security measures have been installed and how the MySQL database is to be recognised or how the current DB environment is to be integrated. Step 1 - Programs are all contained in wamp\www\BusWise directory on the distribution CD. As these are encoded the appropriate PHPSHIELD decoder file plus the PHPSHIELD.DLL must be placed with the PHP.INI file on the server. These are in wamp\www\phpshield directory on the CD. Other decoder files can be obtained on the PHPSHIELD website : http://www.phpshield.com/. Step 2 - The MySQL databases are in wamp\bin\mysql\mysql5.1.33\ and MySQL must be linked to the PHP system. Step 3 - security and access is integrated into the database so ALL TABLES MUST BE installed or linked into the required MySQL environment. Step 4 - Set up a URL on workstations similar to
http://ServerName/BusWise/BW_start.htm

A2 - INTRODUCTION -
OPERATIONS presentation

This is a Quick Reference Overview using the software. All Technical and Marketing information has been culled so that this is a point-form no-nonsense this-is-how-it-is self-drive presentation. To get the most benefit from this overview keep the HELP screen as the window in the top half of your screen and the LIVE in the second window on the bottom half of the screen.

A2.1 SELECT OPERATIONS - WorkSheet Lists

This shows all of the WorkSheets that have been generated for future use. Demo software includes WorkSheets for 1-1-2012 thru 7-1-2012 so that they do not encroach on any current WorkSheets which you may wish to add to the demo system.

A2.2 SELECT OPERATIONS -WorkSheet-

Enter SELECT date required as 4-1-2012 to display the Wednesday WorkSheet.
This is THE SCREEN which presents the ACTUAL CURRENT STATE of your business for that date.

Row column shows the row number for perspective reasons only.

Time column, in TIME SEQUENCE, shows the time that each SHIFT is due to leave the depot. Times starting with 00:00 (midnight) will be shifts that are carried over from the previous day (overnight shifts).

Act column shows a red block and N when that shift is not active. It has not yet left the yard. It has not yet been confirmed. It cannot be confirmed until both Bus and Driver have been allocated. Go down to Column 8 which has both Bus and Driver allocated and click on the grey button in the Act. column. If either Bus or Driver have not yet been allocated to the Shift there will be an error message at the top of the screen in red and the Act. column will still be red-bar + N. The Bus and the Driver will have their status for this day changed from Yellow (allocated) to Red (on duty) in all later bar charts displayed.

SHIFT column for Row 1 shows that this is Shift 22 . There would be more than one Shift 22 on the WorkSheet if this was a Split ( row 8 is a Split Shift) or an OVERNIGHT shift. In fact this Shift is an Overnight Shift and Part 2 starts at 17:25. See Row 20 of the WorkSheet.
Click on the button next to 22 and you see ALL the details about THIS Shift. ANY question about this Shift can be answered from this screen. This Shift is actually an OVERNIGHT Shift so it started at the depot at 17:25 with the first trip leaving from Hyperdome at 17:48. The Trip it is on now can be seen near the bottom of the screen ( if it was still on the road you would pick the appropriate time ) but click on the button for trip 8 (5551) and Route 5551 will be displayed. This Route sheet is completely in context ( as if in real time) and reflects all the TimingPoints on that Route and the times the bus should be at that timing point. Click -Back to Worksheet ?-

BusNo column ( 005 ) shows that Bus 005 has been allocated to this Shift. Click on the button next to it and ALL the details about this bus will be displayed. With a number of Actions available. Similar Actions are available for the Driver selection. Click on -Continue- and return to the WorkSheet.
The driver has called in that the bus is running late for our Active shift on Row 8. Click on the Bus button next to B014 -OR- the driver button for Row 8. Then select -Shift is running late .....- and enter the number of minutes that the bus IS running late. Enter 23 and then click -Continue ?-. tells you that Notes have been changed Click on -Back to WorkSheet ?- and notice the entry under the Notes column for Row 8. The Notes column provides a complete log of any and all actions (or any notes requiring attention) for THAT Shift for THAT day.

DriverNo Column for rID 40 : Notice that this column is blocked in Yellow which is a WARNING that the Driver for this Shift has not yet been allocated and so this shift cannot be marked as confirmed (ACTIVE) so press the button in the Driver column for rID 40.
This screen presents a set of choices. We can select -SELECT DRIVER for this SHIFT........- (ignore the grid option at this time) and press -Continue ?-.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
INTERPRETING THE GRAPHICAL BARS :
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
GREEN = This resource is not allocated at this time.
YELLOW = This resource has been allocated / booked for this time
RED = This resource is allocated and on-the-road or not available
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
This screen enables us to select a driver from those available for allocation. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and you will see the drivers that have been allocated for the day, the YELLOW bars and the one driver which has been confirmed today (row 8 that we confirmed) in RED. It also shows that he still has an afternoon shift for which he is allocated (in YELLOW) and if you recall this shift was a SPLIT SHIFT. Please scroll back to the top. The BLUE BAR (it is brown for buses) shows the Shift details that we need to cater for. The times are in the header bar and the blue bar shows the start and the end of the Shift. The actual times ( 00:00 to 04:15 ) are printed above as is the Shift number we are dealing with. ALL of the details about this Shift can be displayed from the WorkSheet if required.
The Drivers are displayed in their order of availability with the least allocated driver at the top of the screen. So all we need to do now is find a driver where the blue bar will fit into the GREEN (non-allocated time) without extending the overall working time of the Driver beyond the legal limitations. We will select an easy one ( DR02 ) part way down. Just click on that button ( DR02 ) and -Continue-. If no driver is selected will just return to the WorkSheet. And Click on -Back to the WorkSheet- to find that driver DR02 has been allocated to our Shift which now has both a driver and a bus allocated (no YELLOW bars) so it can be confirmed and sent on its way. Click on the DriverNo DR02 button and we have ALL the information about the Driver and a number of Actions that we can now take.
If you select -Add notes to THIS WorkSheet- the notes entered will appear on the WorkSheet as a reminder for things to be done or any other purpose.
If you select - REASSIGN this Driver- then the driver will be removed from this shift ( and be available for allocation to another shift - with the part of the bar assigned to this trip having been changed to GREEN ). You will immediately be taken to the selection screen to select another driver. If you do not wish to assign another driver immediately then click -Continue- to return to the WorkSheet without a new Driver having been assigned.
If you select -FLAG DRIVER AS SICK- the driver will be booked off as not available and HIS bar will be changed to RED for the full day. The Driver will also be removed from ALL shifts for that day.( The as same for a BUS if it is removed from service. )
If the Shift was active it will be set to NotACTIVE and a yellow block will replace the allocated Driver number.
If you select -View DRIVER Allocation schedule- you will be shown the bar charts without the ability to select a driver.
If you select -Analyse Driver Hours......- you will be presented with a report which summarises a) ALL driver activities from that WorkSheet such as hours worked per Shift, total hours, start time, end time etc as well as a display of all the routes which have DRIVERS allocated for that day. Try any of these actions and then return to the WorkSheet.

If you look down to row 4 you will see that this is a CHARTER BOOKING ( with BKNG under Class and CHT under Day). These entries are created by entering a Booking into the CHARTER module of . More information is available in Charter Tasks. The Notes column reflects that the BOOKING on Row 4 is a Grade 455555 (probably a school outing not a general level 555555) that it is M=Multiple Days and that this is Day 2 of 4 days for this booking which was booked for 77 Passengers and that this is Bus 1 of 2 that were required. Row 5 reflets that a driver change took place for Bus 2 of this charter.
The Notes column provides the Daily LOG of ALL activity on EACH Shift in any particular day.

The Class and Day columns relate to the criteria entered when the Shifts were built / entered into so as to make it easy to create a WorkSheet for any particular day of the week or special occasions.


Thank you for following this Introduction and partial Demonstration of .

A3 - Data Loading in Detail :

A3.0 : HOW THE DATA IS STRUCTURED :

Computer Scientists refer to the process of structuring data as DATA NORMALIZATION. It is an extensive process to establish which information depends on which data and thus establish a heirachy of dependencies to optimize data use and avoid duplication.
The the building blocks for require data to be loaded in the following sequence for the quickest results :
( 1 ) TimingPoints (TPs) are loaded. Examples : Depot, First St & Second Ave, Great Big Shopping Center.
( 2 ) Routes are then built using the entered TPs. Create the ROUTE HEADER. The ROUTE NUMBER becomes a TRIP and this number should be based on the route number used in the Public TimeTables printed for bus routes. The time (in minutes) taken from one TP to the next TP establishes the structure of a ROUTE. Examples 640, 641, 644 etc..
( 3 ) TPs are then added to each ROUTE HEADER to create a ROUTE which will become a TRIP.
( 4 ) SHIFTS are then built using the SOT (Standard Operating Times) defined by the PUBLIC TIMETABLES to create INTERIM SHIFT TABLES and automatically add ROUTES to SHIFTS
-OR-
( 5 ) SHIFTS are then compiled using the ROUTES incorporating the STARTING TIME for the SHIFT amongst other controls FROM EXISTING documents or data.
( 7 ) When the SHIFTS have been defined from existing data we now need to build the SHIFT by adding ROUTES to the SHIFT HEADER -OR- we need to EDIT the ROUTES which have been added to the SHIFTS by the SOT process as well as allocating the UNALLCATED ROUTES from the preparation of the InterimSHIFT table in A3.4.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz 5) Driver information. The DRIVER NUMBERS ( best practice being three driver initials ) provide the identification for a DRIVER.
6) Bus information. The BUS NUMBER ( usually a numeric fleet identification. The number should be prefixed by an F ) establishes a clear and simple way of identifying a BUS.
7) Drivers and Buses are then allocated to SHIFTS using simple bar charts.
8) This information (6.) can be scheduled into ROSTERS which then provide the basis for fully automated WorkSheet creation.
9) The WorkSheet is your Day-to-Day Diary which is the fully integrated management screen for the business.
10) Charters are managed by defining all the organisations and their destination addresses and then BOOKINGS are entered by providing pick-up, destination, number of buses with dates and times. This information is automatically added to the WorkSheets (8.). 11) Lost-Property items can be entered to simplify tracking and location when required.
We are now ready to capture our organisational data (or a part of it ) into the system. This data capture process has been very carefully structured to ensure that only relevant data is entered AND, more importantly, THAT IT ONLY HAS TO BE ENTERED ONCE. The data is then used repeatedly throughout to run your business effectively and efficiently. If you make a point of understanding the data entry rules (particularly with the TimingPoints - TPs) then you will save an enormous amount of repetitive typing and frustration. Setting up of Routes and then SHIFTS is extremely fast and efficient once we have entered TimingPoint data correctly.
WARNING : Avoid special characters like slashes (/) and at signs (@) in all of your data entry. is pretty well protected but sometimes other software recognises odd combinations as triggers for special functions.

A3.1. TimingPoints (TPs) / Locations / Coordinate :

Use ROUTE / TimingPoints / TP-ADD-GPS -OR- ROUTE / Route.ADMIN / Add a TimingPoint
So as to save a lot of data entry, typing and frustration it is important to follow the suggested basic set of data entry guidelines when adding TPs to the system. This set of guidelines is listed in TP Entry rules -OR- click on the HELP option from the TP data capture screen. The HELP screen should be kept open for reference.
There is another consideration about Timing point NAMES. If you intend to make use of the Google Maps © facility then it is very important to understand the best NAME STRUCTURE for use with Google Maps ©. Please see TPs for Google.

These TPs are the building blocks for the ROUTES which in turn are used to construct the SHIFTS. From there on does all of the work for you. THE ONLY ENTRY WHICH YOU NEED TO MAKE AT THIS TIME IS THE New Location / TimingPoint : BOX IN THE SCREEN. That is why the Add_this_TimingPoint button is located immediately below this box. The other data fields are provided to make the system more versatile. The Latittude - Lontitude, Street Directory Map references and/or GPS references can be entered later to facilitate integration with other external interfaces. You can enter this data at this time if you have it available. Otherwise it can added (edited in) at any later date when required.

Take ALL your Route or Shift Sheets and enter ALL the TPs that are listed. Once these have been entered we can proceed to structuring of the ROUTES. You can also enter the TPs directly from the Passenger Timetables such as those issued by the Public Transport Organisations. We use the Bribie Island Routes to create version 2 of our Demo. data.
It would probably be a good idea to print a copy of this timetable and refer to it as it is used.
Enter a TP into the box. For example North St & Second Ave The ampersand ( & ) indicates -corner of- with space on either side. Notice that North is entered first ( on the left of the & ) to adhere to the alphabetic sequence guideline. This may not save you typing or time NOW but it will save duplications and prove to be most useful later.

Once entered click on the Add_this_TimingPoint button. This will take you to the next screen. If there have been any errors these will be listed on this screen for example Duplicate entry - ignored or similar. These are informative only. Just re-select the TP-ADD-GPS Task to continue.

Quick Entry - using keyboard only :
Select Task. Enter TP name = North St & Second St. Press Tab TWICE. (usually located just above CAPS LOCK key.) Press ENTER. Press Tab Key. Press ENTER. Done. Ready for the next TP.

A3.2. Create a Route Header :

Use ROUTE / Route-Add New
The cursor is positioned ready to enter the ROUTE HEADER NAME. This name is listed with the all the Route displays but is not a reference point for the system. For our demo data we will use the Route Names listed in the Bribie Island TimeTables Route 640 . We will use this Time Table as a reference for the Quick Entry below. The detailed description for each of the fields is described in Chapter 6 of the main HELP section. Chapter 6 also describes how the structure of the ROUTE NUMBER is very important when use is made of the Student Module.
Quick Entry - using keyboard mainly :
Enter the Route Header Name = Woorim to Caboolture. Press Tab key. Enter Route Number = 640a. (NB the use of -a- to identify the first of the 640 routes. We will then use -b- for Caboolture to Woorim). Press Tab. Leave the assigned Grade = 555555 (unless the detailed use of this Grade has already been planned and defined.) Press Tab. Click Down arrow and click on required STARTING POINT = North & Second St. Press Tab. Click Down arrow and click on required DESTINATION = Caboolture Station. (NB This is the ENDING TP for this ROUTE). Press Tab. Enter optional Destination Code. Press Tab. Enter optional Service Number. Press Tab. Enter MINUTES to NEXT TP = 12. (This must be entered = North & Second St TO Bribie Island Shopping Centre = 12 minutes). Press Tab. Enter optional Kms for the full trip. (NB this IS required if is expected to produce Bus Usage Statistics.) Press Tab. Enter any required Notes. (Such as L/R instructions for Driver. These NOTES will be listed on ROUTE displays and SHIFT documentation.). Click on Add_Entry. Done.

A3.3. Add TPs to a Route Header :

Go to ROUTE / Route-Add New The Processing Route screen will be displayed. Please refer to ROUTE - Table Details to understand detail of the entries required in this screen.
THEN go to the Route / EDIT.Add TPs : TASK. At the top of the Processing ROUTE screen displays the last Route Header added to the system. This can save you selecting a Route, if it is the required Route and you can click on Continue ELSE you will use the drop-down box to select the TP which you do wish to build ( we will use 640a for our demo data = Woorim to Caboolture ) and then click Continue.

At the top of the next screen will display the information which has been entered into the ROUTE HEADER followed by a table of all TPs added to this ROUTE HEADER thus far. To start with it will show the STARTING TP that was selected for the ROUTE HEADER being the point-of-departure for this ROUTE.

Quick Entry - using keyboard mainly :
(Detailed data entry details below).
Click on down arrow for Select TP :. Click on required TP = Bribie Island Shopping Center. Press Tab. Enter Zone: = 10. Press Tab. Enter Minutes to NEXT TP: = 7. Press Tab. Enter SeqID in Route: 6 (NB last one = 1 which is the last col. in the table of TPs entered so far. We leave a gap of 3 or 5 to cater for possible additions later on). Press Tab. Enter any comments = Bus arrives 2 mins before this departure time. Turn L into ..... etc). Click on -Add TimingPoint to Route-. Read in case of any errors. Click Continue. This entry will now be listed in next Processing ROUTE screen.

Detailed Entry details :
Click the down arrow for Select TP : and Click on the required TP = Bribie Island Shopping Center which is the next TP after North & Second for Route 640 to Caboolture. provides 3 built in TPs for use with ROUTES. These are -
a) PAID Ref. which allow for the inclusion of a specific delay in the ROUTE. eg. A PAID Driver break of x number of minutes.
b) TIMING POINT NOT REQUIRED in case there are no TPs associated with a ROUTE that we need to include.
c) UNPAID which would cater for a delay in the ROUTE but one which the Driver will not receive any payment.
These SPECIAL TPs carry forward to the PayRoll.

Press Tab key. Enter Zone information. At this time (Mar 2010) this is not interfaced to any other software. It provides information on the Route Schedule for the information of the Driver for entry to manually controlled Ticket Machines or similar requirements. It is intended as information for the driver on the printed Shift Documentation. It is a three character alphanumeric field and can be left blank. In our demo TimeTable there are Ticket Zones listed and Bribie Island Shopping Centre falls into Zone 10.
Press the TAB. Enter Minutes to NEXT TP : MUST BE ENTERED If there is a distinction between arriving at the next TP and departing from it then the number of minutes from this TP to the departure from the NEXT TP must be entered. The arrival time can be used with a repetition of the TP but it is more efficient to note the arrival time in the Comments area. Note that this does not include time which may be assigned to a PAID or UNPAID break which can be entered instead of a TP as discussed above. If this entry is not completed will list it as an error and will not add the entry to the Route. This process builds ALL the required time information into a Table for this THIS ROUTE. This Table is listed above the entry boxes including the Total Run time required for this ROUTE. The Table starts at a arbitrary time of 1000 ( 10:00 am ) but the ACTUAL STARTING TIME when this ROUTE is included in a SHIFT is defined by a SHIFT. The accuracy of this ROUTE Table decides the accuracy of the real-time-simulation process of .
Press the TAB key. In addition the SEQUENCE in which the TPs are presented on the Driver Run Sheets and all the other working documents is defined in the column on the far right of the Table. The left hand column becomes the TRIP NUMBER when the ROUTE is displayed (or printed). The Sequence Identifier (SeqID) is entered in this box. So that we can enter additional TPs at a later date. If we need to do so gaps should be left in the SeqID when addiing the TPs to the ROUTE. Enter SeqID on Route Schedule : THIS FIELD IS MANDATORY. It is the sequence number within the table of TPs for THIS ROUTE. The number is critical to the operation of and your ability to insert or remove TPs from a Route at a later time. We suggest that you increase this sequence number in multiples of 3 or 5. So the first TP to be added will be 5 and the next one 10 and so on. This number will appear on the Route Display but will not indicate the TP sequence on the Route Schedule. will number the TPs as they appear in sequence starting with 1 (one). Thus the sequence number allocated will define the order in which the TPs are handled but not the TP numbers on the final Route Sheet display. Leaving gaps in this sequence will make it very much easier to insert additional diversions or BREAKS at a later time or if errors are made when entering the information.
Press Tab. THE COMMENTS : should then be completed with any information which is relevant to this TP. The L/R instructions to the next TP would be most appropriate.

When all entries have been completed AND CHECKED click on -Add TimingPoint to Route-. This will take you to the next screen which will list any errors or will advise that the entry has been added to the appropriate Route. The TOTAL run time in minutes that this Route will take is displayed. If all is well click -Continue- and enter further TPs or else select another Task from the Main Task Menu to go to another section of .

Should you make an error entering a TP then task ROUTE / Route-Edit / select the required Route THEN carefully check the SeqID for the problematic TP and EITHER enter the SeqID and delete that TP using the -DELETE the SeqID- button followed by re-entry of the information -OR- use the same SeqID, re-enter all new information required and click on -Replace Details for SeqID-.

If you would like to add detailed Route Maps for any ROUTE/Trips then
a) after creating the map as a .JPG file for the specific route
b) name this .JPG file as BWRnnn.JPG where nnn is the complete unique ROUTE NUMBER e.g. Route 432a file would be BWR432a.JPG
c) place this file in C:\wamp\www\BWdata\maps\
and will make the file available for display by including a selection to click at the bottom of that ROUTE when displayed. The existence of the file will prompt to show the selection.

A3.4. Building SHIFTS using SOT :

SOT = Standard Operating Times. These are the TIMES dictated ( or required ) by the PUBLIC TIMETABLES for ROUTES to be run.

There are two separate ways of adding SHIFTS into .
THE FIRST METHOD is to load the SHIFTS using currently existing documents and/or spreadsheets which have been already structured to optimise resources while fulfilling while delivering all the services required by the organisation. This method is defined in Section A3.5 of this manual. Section A3.4 can therefore be skipped.
THE SECOND METHOD is to make use of the Route Tables that have been loaded and the PUBLIC TIMETABLES. This method is described in Section A3.4 and is the method used to create the version 2 demo. data.

SOT Shift Operation Tables :

Standard Operating Times is another interpretation for SOT. Both names are suitably descriptive. SOT is an intermediate step which is completely optional but VERY powerful and useful. It produces an InterimShift Table to create the SHIFTS. It will not be detrimental to other tasks if this step is not done. It is however very useful and saves a lot of time juggling with SHIFTS if SHIFT details / schedules are not readily available for direct entry from existing documents.
All of the details for this process are described in Chapter 29 - SOT Admin Please refer to this chapter if you wish to make use of this facility. This section includes the building of executable SHIFTS from the SOT Interim Shift Table.
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A3.5 -SHIFTS- Loading from existing data :

There are two separate ways of adding SHIFTS into .
THE FIRST METHOD is to load the SHIFTS using currently existing documents and/or spreadsheets which have already been structured to optimise resources while delivering all the services required by the organisation. This method is defined in Section A3.5 of this manual. Section A3.4 can therefore be skipped.
THE SECOND METHOD is to make use of the Route Tables that have been loaded and the PUBLIC TIMETABLES. This method is described in Section A3.4. In this case Section A3.5 can be skipped.
C9.1 SHIFT - Table Details is a description of the ADD NEW SHIFT SCREEN and provides another perspective of the use of the Adding SHIFT details: screen. The SHIFT Table collates a number of selected ROUTES as TRIPS. The SHIFTS form the basis for defining a WorkSheet row. A WorkSheet is the total workload for any single DAY. This is in fact the DAILY DIARY of all the activities for the day but is INTERACTIVE so that it links all the information required to run the business IN ONE SCREEN.

SHIFT / Add-New

Make use of the HELP buttons on the screens. They provide further information in context.

Enter SHIFT-No : It is a six character alphanumeric field. The only limitation on this number is that it must be unique. will show a duplicate error if you try to use the same shift number twice. It is a good idea to prefix the SHIFT Number with a meaningful alpha such as W for the Mon-Friday normal WeekDay Shifts, S for the School Shifts, Sa for Saturday and Su for Sunday as examples. This gets away from the use of pure numbers which become confusing. These prefixes will allow quick identification of what is being referred to and will be more easily recognised. Eg.. I am doing Route 511a on Shift Sa12 is more meaningful than -- I am on Route 432 shift 654 etc......

Enter DAY : ( 3 characters ) You can enter as many different DAY identification names as you like. HOWEVER PLEASE REMEMBER TO KEEP THEM AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE and use as few as possible so as to limit the complexity of your system. The purpose of this box (and the CLASS box - which is a subset of this box) is to enable you to group together all the shifts that you would want to select to run on one single day in your operation. defaults this box to be M-F which stands for Monday to Friday on the assumption that most shifts would be the same for these five days and it would also cover the bulk of the shifts which you need to man during a week. Other DAYS which you may require to have could be SAT and/or SUN or maybe you have a number of extra shifts which you need to run on Thursdays each and every week. (THU) Note EXTRA because you would then like to be able to select these as additional to your normal shifts identified as M-F. Try to plan flexibility with minimum complication. It would not be a good idea to have to redefine all of the normal M-F shifts over again to cover THU. For example SAT could be called SPH for Saturday and Public Holidays if are able to run the same shifts for both of these days. PLAN THIS RATHER CAREFULLY BECAUSE THE SIMPLER IT IS AND THE FEWER OPTIONS THERE ARE, THE LESS LIKELY ERRORS WILL BE MADE.
Perceptive definition of the DAY and CLASS will in fact serve as an automatic reminder of what needs to be done when selecting SHIFTs to be used to build a WorkSheet.

Enter CLASS : ( 3 characters ) is a subset to be used WITH DAY. Whenever you need to select a set of M-F shifts, for example, you would have to specify both a DAY AND a CLASS. defaults to NOR so that the combination of DAY=M-F and CLASS=NOR would result in a group of SHIFTS which would always cover the normal business week of 5 days comprising A NUMBER of SHIFTS which would cover all the requirements for all allocated passenger timetables for a business week. You would then have the ability to cater for Special Events such as an annual show or sporting event when you would be able to code additional shifts to cater for those special events as additional SHIFTS or perhaps identify a new selection of M-F shifts which have been cut down to make extra vehicles/drivers available for the special event. So you may now have M-F for the DAY definition but G-F for the CLASS definition being Grand Final or similar change of routine.
Two objectives here are to avoid reentering duplicate work as much as possible as well as to provide the flexibilty of handling abnormal conditions without having to code a new Shift definition each time there is a new combination of events. To make best use of the SHIFTS and the way uses these Shifts it is not a good idea to mix your Urban Shifts with your School Shifts. Firstly the resources are most likely to be different ( which is managed/controlled in a sense by the use of the Grade/Grid allocation to drivers, buses and routes ) and secondly because the use of the automatic Shift generation in can prvide an optimised set of Shifts which ensure that all the timetable demands are met.

Enter GRADE : serves the same purpose and structure as that for ROUTE or Driver or Bus or Charter. will help to identify that the SHIFT GRADE is not less than any one of the ROUTES included in the SHIFT. 555555 signifies any good bus and any good, trained and suitably licenced driver as used on the more significant urban routes. If in doubt leave it as 555555 and change it later when you develop a sense of what HAS TO BE CHANGED TO MEET OPERATIONAL NEEDS or for RESOURCE OPTIMIZATIONs or to cater for LIMITATIONs and/or SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS.

Enter NORMAL or DEVELOPMENT : should be checked as NORMAL for now. The use and power of Development Shifts are discussed in detail in Chapter 11.

Enter Select the type of SHIFT : We have three types of SHIFT that needs to be able to identify. This is so as to be able to simulate real time environments.
First decide the nature of the SHIFT that is about to be entered and select between NORMAL, OVERNIGHT or SPLIT shifts.

Select NORMAL SHIFT : NORMAL will cover the majority of the requirements and the SOT (Standard Operating Times - see Appendix 6 below) will only use normal shifts.
The SIGN-ON time is the time that the driver needs to report to Operations for the Start of the SHIFT (or part thereof in the case of Split Shifts) and must allow for the collection of keys, change, tickets etc as well as the preparation of the bus BEFORE the first TRIP (Route) is due to be run. Time must also be allowed for the Driver to get the bus from the collection point to the First TP (Terminus). There could well be no time needed for this. If it is a SPLIT SHIFT then it would be necessary to provide START TIMES for both parts of the SPLIT SHIFT.
The SIGN-OFF time is the time that the driver has COMPLETED any shutdown, refuelling, pay-in or other activities before leaving the depot. NOTE that these times are the times which will reflect on the Driver Rosters ( when they are expected to report for duty ) as well as reflecting the times that will be used to complete the Driver Payslips as PayTime for the SHIFT.
A NORMAL shift is one which does not cross over the 2400 barrier (does not go beyond midnight into the next day) and does not have a significant UNPAID break. Large UNPAID breaks need to be shown as Split Shifts for purposes of ensuring personnel safety guidelines and law. The Start Time = Sign-On time AND the sign-Off times MUST to be entered. Take care to check that the total ROUTE time for ROUTES selected do not exceed these times. This is highlighted by because the complete Table of ROUTES for the SHIFT is displayed after each Route is added and provides an exact status. This status includes Shift Time, Paid Time, Trip numbers in sequence, all the notes for each Trip (Route) as well as Trip Time and NRT (Non-Route Time) which would highlight a missed round or go negative if a TP start time was illogical. When the shifts, or a shift for that matter, has been coded can check the structure and logic of the SHIFT for you by running SHIFT ALL-SHIFTS / SIGNON-Time sequence. This display / report lists any/all timing errors which it can find - such as a Trip starting before the last Trip (Route) has reached that TimingPoint. It also has four columns on the right hand side which identify : Total Shift Hours ( to two decimal places ), Total Hours for which the Driver will be Paid for this Shift, The Hours that the bus is actually driving and (NRT) Non Route Time which is time spent at TimingPoints or on BREAKS when the bus could (maybe) be used for other work. These columns are totalled for all Shifts.

Select The OVERNIGHT SHIFT : is one which crosses the 2400 barrier. Only Sign-On and Sign-Off times need to be entered. (eg. start 1400 end 0450 - the next day)
DEFAULT BUS NUMBER and DEFAULT DRIVER NUMBER should be left blank at this time unless the SHIFT is being built as a special shift which is going to have its own specific vehicle and driver. More about this later.

Select The SPLIT SHIFT : is intended to enable the SHIFT to be split on the WorkSheet so that different Drivers/Buses can be assigned to the second half of the SHIFT. The use of a NORMAL SHIFT with a large UNPAID BREAK would achieve the same result but would lock Driver / Bus combination to that single Shift. Define in keeping with the organisations allocation process. Having selected the nature of the SHIFT, or left the default to NORMAL we go to the SIGN-ON time. For SPLIT SHIFTS two sign-on and sign-off times need to be entered. In this case you SHOULD NOT include an UNPAID BREAK as a route in the SHIFT. If it is a PAID BREAK or UNPAID BREAK then it needs to be entered as such but this would NOT be a SPLIT SHIFT it should be a NORMAL SHIFT.
SPLIT SHIFTS also require a second set of DEFAULT BUS NUMBER and DEFAULT DRIVER NUMBERs. These should also be left blank at this time unless the SHIFT is being built as a special shift which is going to have its own specific vehicle and driver.

Enter Enter DISTANCES - Optional. : To ensure the independence of routes as building blocks for the system you should not start ROUTES at the depot. So as to provide complete statistical information on bus distances therefore these two boxes (fields) SHOULD be completed with the distance required to travel from the depot to the start of the shift and the distance to be travelled to get back to the depot when the shift has been completed at its destination TimingPoint. These could be zero if the trips do indeed start and end at the depot.
It should be noted that THE TIME from depot to the start of a Route is defined when the Routes/Trips are added to the Shifts in the next Step.

Enter DESCRIPTION or NOTES : will be displayed as the first row in the Shift Display and can be used for L/R instructions for the driver to get to the first TP of the first Route. eg from the Depot to the first TP of the Route. Although this L/R information can also be provided by adding before/after notes to the ROUTES when they are added to the SHIFT. This option does provide further flexability for defing the SHIFTS and is probably a better alternative.
When you select -Add this Information- you will be presented with a screen which will show any errors OR will state that Entry has been Added and you can select to -Add another SHIFT- OR start to -Add routes to this SHIFT-. You can also go to another task now and later select the TASK menu item to continue adding routes to your SHIFT. These Routes then become Trips in an operational sense.

A3.6. SHIFT / ADD.Routes(Edit) :

You always need to select the SHIFT to which ROUTES will be added and click on the button EditThe Route.
will show the data which has been entered into the SHIFT HEADER screen. The TIME between Start and End of the Shift will also be shown. In the case of SPLIT SHIFTS there will be a Total Shift Time shown for both parts of the Shift.
You will also see Trip Info. This is the total time of ALL TRIPS entered so far as well as the time which the last TRIP will be completed. This information provides a very helpful guide while you are adding Trips to the SHIFT so that you can ensure that the Trips are being added in keeping with the Sign-On and Sign-Off times defined in the Shift Header. The Total of the Trip Time MUST be = or less than the Total Shift Time.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Select the Route : This drop-down box will show you all the available ROUTES. If you know the Route Number and type this into the entry block will go directly to the required ROUTE. Take care to distinguish between INBOUND and OUTBOUND ROUTES when entering new SHIFTS. Should you need to enter an UNPAID route for Driver Break purposes then you MUST complete the number of minutes for that BREAK in the UNPAID only block described below.

Enter Seq : SEQUENCE NUMBER BOX - Please apply the SEQUENCE NUMBERs in the same way as Adding TPs to Routes which is described above. That is use multiples of 3-5 to allow for expansion/additions. will attempt to guide you with the next Sequence number when entering the Routes.

Enter THE START TIME : This is the Start Time required for the driver to LEAVE THIS TimingPoint for the selected Route/Trip in accordance with the TimeTables. Timetables will dictate which time IS entered here. All times in are entered as twenty-four hour times without special characters as 1:00 PM is 1300, 4:30 AM is 0430, ten minutes past midnight is 0010 and 10 minutes before midnight is 1150. This saves a lot of typing and a lot of confusion.

If PAID or UNPAID Routes have been selected
Enter PAID/UNPAID minutes : When it is necessary to enter a PAID/UNPAID BREAK for a Driver within the Shift then this is done by selecting the PAID/UNPAID ROUTE provided by PLUS entering the number of MINUTES for this PAID/UNPAID BREAK in this block. An error will occur if this is not

Enter ADDITIONAL NOTES. : When a route gets associated with a SHIFT there will be a number of details which can now added to the ROUTE specifically relevant to when it is being run as part of THIS SHIFT. Such notes may be more appropriate to the start of the Route. In which case these notes should be displayed BEFORE the route details and the display button should be clicked to highlight the BEFORE selection. It may apply at the end of the route (such as return to depot). In this case check the selection as AFTER. If neither of these radio buttons are selected then will use the default of No ADDITIONAL NOTES. If you have entered information and neither BEFORE or AFTER have been selected then will show the error and not load the information.
Take note that any notes included here will increase the display (AND THUS THE PRINT LENGTH) of the SHIFT Display so take care to only include notes that are important and do so as briefly as can be clearly understood.
Then CLICK on the -Add the Route- button. The next screen will show any errors or that the Route has been added to the SHIFT. Select -Continue- to add further Routes to this shift. The structure of the displayed table facilitates the process of building up a SHIFT with all its required ROUTES. It is therefore much easier to build up test SHIFTS ( DEVELOPMENT SHIFTS ) for testing or even to trial what-if situations, especially as the time line is so easy to follow.

NOTE

To take advantage of the ability to create a duplicate shift Select SHIFT / ADMIN / -DUPLICATE the selected Shift- (near the bottom of the screen). First Select the SHIFT that you wish to duplicate (at the top of the screen) THEN click the radio button next to DUPLICATE the selected Shift..... ENTER the new SHIFT NUMBER required in the first box and then specify the number of minutes by which the NEW Shift will follow the selected shift. That is to say that the NEW SHIFT will start AND end the number of minutes entered LATER than the SHIFT that is being duplicated. This process can save many hours of repetitive work. Changes can be made to the duplicated SHIFT using the process described here.

The table presented on this screen will now list all the routes that have been selected with duration times and specific times which have been entered for the ROUTE. This table will enable you to assess that the route that has been added is logical and meets the required timetables. will NOT show an error if the Start time following a previous Route is incorrect because this may be done intentionally to optimise resource usage under particular conditions. eg.. When the run time will be slightly shorter because of time-of-day or similar considerations. But take care because you will be stretching resources or making it impossible for the SHIFT to function properly during any busy periods.
Take care to check that the total ROUTE time for selection does not exceed the stipulated shift times. When the shifts, or a shift for that matter, has been coded can check the structure and logic of the SHIFT for you by running SHIFT ALL-SHIFTS / SIGNON-Time sequence. This display / report lists any/all timing errors which it can find - such as a Trip starting before the last Trip (Route) has reached that TimingPoint. It also has four columns on the right hand side which identify : Total Shift Hours ( to two decimal places ), Total Hours for which the Driver will be Paid for this Shift, The Hours that the bus is actually driving and (NRT) Non Route Time which is time spent at TimingPoints or on BREAKS when the bus could (maybe) be used for other work. These columns are totalled for all Shifts.

A3.3 SHIFT / ALL SHIFTS

Provides display screens so that the SHIFTS that have been entered can be viewed as a collection of shifts. This list enables an overview of all the SHIFTS that have been loaded to .
Ensure that the selection between NORMAL Shifts, All Shifts or Development Shifts is made
These lists can be displayed in various sequences.
SHIFT NUMBER sequence :
This allows you to see all the shifts that have been loaded to and in particular identify those shifts that are loaded for TEST purposes. The TEST shifts can be assembled in a WorkSheet for some future date ( such as 1-1-2020 for example ) so that you can then select the WorkSheet and populate it with drivers and buses TO TEST whether the resources can cater for those demands.

BUS ID sequence :
Allows you to check whether all the buses are allocated provided you have activated the option of loading buses to shifts on a default basis. This process is done via the SHIFT / ADMIN tasks.

DRIVER ID sequence : As for Buses above.

Day-of-Week and CLASS sequence :
This enables you to check that you have catered for all your requirements for any particular day-of-week (such as Sat or Sun or M-F with Class = NOR) and also to check that any special requirements have been catered for ( such as WED with the Class of SPT - which could be shifts that are special runs for schools to cater for sports days etc.... Remember to take care with the allocation of special runs because these are the ones that make life complicated. Keep It Simple if you can.

When the shifts, or a shift for that matter, has been coded can check the structure and logic of the SHIFT for you by running
SHIFT / ALL-SHIFTS / SIGNON-Time sequence. This display / report lists any/all timing errors which it can find - such as a Trip starting before the last Trip (Route) has reached that TimingPoint. It also has four columns on the right hand side which identify : Total Shift Hours ( to two decimal places ), Total Hours for which the Driver will be Paid for this Shift, The Hours that the bus is actually driving and (NRT) Non Route Time which is time spent at TimingPoints or on BREAKS when the bus could (maybe) be used for other work. These columns are totalled for all Shifts.

A3.5 - Loading Bus Information / BusDefines :

We must first define the way our buses can be defined. This set of tables is intended for this purpose only and how each organisation structures these guidelines (which become rules for defining how a NEW bus is defined) is entirely up to the preferences of the organisation. How to use these definition options must be clearly defined before any buses are coded into the system or else there will be considerable confusion when bus information is sought from the system. To cater for any other configurations there is a set of 3 optional definitions.
IT is possible to shortcut this process by loading the minimum information, INCLUDING the BUS NUMBER, for testing and completing the detail later.
Rather than describe what options exist a set of possible options is included in the DEMONSTRATION System. It then becomes an simple process of adding additional ones to this list or changing them to the way which better suits the organisational requirements.
MANUFACTURING : Volvo, Mercedes, Scania, Hino
TYPE : B12B, B10, StarLiner, 4114, Classic, not defined, Articulated
PURPOSE : Main City Runs, Urban Routes, School Runs, Charter, Busway use.
SEATING : 20, 32, 41, 51, 73
DEFINE 1 : (Optional) Automatic, Manual, Semi-Automatic, Preselect
DEFINE 2 : (Optional) Air-Conditioned, Non-Airconditioned, Air-cond AND Low-Floor
DEFINE 3 : (Optional) Not Used


The only really important thing to remember here is that once defined these CHARACTERISTICS for buses should NOT be changed or deleted because they are loaded as tables and then referred to in each bus record as pointers to the tables. Any later changes could result in unpredictable descriptions for your buses. An advantage is however that any changes which need to be made will apply across all of your fleet provided this is done LOGICALLY.

A3.5 -PART 2- Adding the BUS / Add

This process is much the same as any other computer data entry process. The only rules which apply to the buses are those you have defined above
PLUS the rule that you should NEVER delete a bus once it has been loaded because these bus details are retained against the BUS NUMBERS and integrated into all of the relevant schedules used by the system
SO DO NOT DELETE A BUS unless you are sure that the effect on all WorkSheets is predictable.

A3.6 Enter details for the Drivers :

DRIVER / Add

Driver information is pretty well standard data entry processing. It is possible to load data from spreadsheet files if these are available and can be structured to include all the information marked with * in the Add Driver Screen.
*Ref :
The best use of the Reference number is the Driver INITIALS. Two characters are fine but this can result in dupicates fairly easily and so three characters are recommended. If the Driver does not have a second intial with his Lastname then numbers are acceptable as BG2 etc. If the system is going to interface to a external Payroll or HR system then the reference number from THAT system must serve as the interface KEY and must be used here.
*Grid :
Or Grade is used interchangeably in . The default for this field is 555555 which indicates a general level of competency and can drive most buses and can be used on most routes. Use the default of 555555 unless there is a defined company policy in place as to how this Grid will relate across all the resources. It can be changed later.
*FirstName :
Normal requirement. It is the leftmost field and up to 30 characters long.
*LastName :
Normal requirement. It is the rightmost field and up to 30 characters long.
*Address1 :
Normal requirement. It is the leftmost field and up to 40 characters long.
*Address2 :
Normal requirement. It is the rightmost field and up to 40 characters long. This field is optional.
Suburb :
Normal requirement. It is the leftmost field and up to 40 characters long. This fields is optional but must be completed if the addresses are to be meaningful.
State :
Normal requirement. It is the centre field and up to 4 characters long. This fields is optional but must be completed if the addresses are to be meaningful.
Pcode :
Normal POSTCODE requirement. It is the rightmostmost field and up to 6 characters long. This fields is optional but must be completed if the addresses are to be meaningful.
Mobile :
Normal requirement for mobile phones. It is the leftmost field and up to 15 characters long. This field is optional.
Home :
Normal requirement for a landline. It is the rightmost field and up to 15 characters long. This field is optional.
Date of Birth :
Normal requirement for date. The format is dd-mm-yyyy as ALL dates in are entered eg. 31-11-2010 and can be completed as 3-1-2010 without dd or mm leading zeroes. The Year should always be entered in full as a precaution to avoid any confusion. This field is optional but should be completed.
Drivers Licence Number and Expiry date :
Normal Requirement. This should be completed to enable reminders to Drivers in case of expiry and in case the reminder from the authorities is mislaid. THE DATE MUST ALWAYS BE ENTERED WITH CARE.
Passenger Authority Number and Expiry date :
Normal Requirement. This should be completed to enable ensure reminders to Drivers in case of expiry and in case the reminder from the authorities is mislaid. THE DATE MUST ALWAYS BE ENTERED WITH CARE. There are legal implications regarding Drivers licences.
Leave Start Date :
This date should be entered when Leave applications are approved. The accuracy of these two dates ( start and end ) define the availability of drivers for allocation to SHIFTS so they need to be kept up-to-date AND accurate. will remove these two dates when they have expired BUT operations staff should ensure that they are checked regularly. This is very easily done by displaying a Driver Listing in Leave date order.
Leave end Date:
Please read the Start date info. above.
Notes :
To be used for any form of information, reminders action to be taken. Take care with privacy laws.

A3.7 : Prepare WorkSheets from SHIFT details :


The system is now ready to start controlling and optimising the resources. OPERATIONS / New Daily WorkSheets WorkSheets can be prepared for any number of dates ahead. Thus it is possible to prepare a set of WorkSheets for dates in say January, 2012 which you can use to define WorkSheets, test bus capacities and driver numbers BUT THESE NEED ONLY BE FOR TEST PURPOSES and can THEN BE DELETED.
NB YOU CANNOT DELETE COMPLETED WorkSheets WHICH HAVE BEEN ARCHIVED
When we entered the SHIFTs we defined the combinations of SHIFTs which we might want to use by carefully identifying them by DAY and by CLASS. Thus all that is needed to create a WorkSheet is to enter the number of days you require ( say 5 for a full business day week ), a start date (being the first day of those 5 days as 2-1-2012 in the demo data ), the day you require from the set of SHIFTs (say M-F to cover Monday to Friday) and the class (say NOR for normal non-holiday shifts).
If you were busy developing and testing out new SHIFTS in you would have marked these test SHIFTs Development instead of Normal when you created them AND THEN when you got to the level where you were ready to test them out then you would select Extract Development Shifts here AND you would set them up for a date VERY FAR from your production / live environment. When you do this remember that you can display a list of available WorkSheets.
Once you have selected a set of WorkSheets for a specific date you can add other SHIFTs to that set of dates as for example M-F for day BUT perhaps SCN for school normal runs which you would need to set up separately so that they would not be included in M-F, NOR etc. Take care however not to mix your days. You would not be likely to run a SAT, NOR shift from Monday to Friday. will not stop you mixing your days but you will be warned,
To complete a full weekly set of WorkSheets you would need to set up SAT, NOR for the 7th day and SUN, NOR for the 1st day of the week if SUN was the start of your week.

A3.14 : How to use the Daily WorkSheets :


This is all about controlling your ENTIRE organisation, optimising your resources PLUS data accumulation for statistics, PAYSLIPS and drivers roster amongst others. This is the heart of the system. From this table you are able to manage all of your resources. It starts with the planning and preparation of all of your resources for short OR long term allocation as well as charters. From here you prepare your ROSTERS for drivers and buses, manage all your day to day reallocations and confirm all activities. This in turn serves as the mechanism for data capture of virtually ALL of your company requirements. These WorkSheets provide all the information necessary for you to prepare timetables, driver paysheets, bus usage (kms), maintenance schedules as well as resource assessment.
All the features available on these WorkSheets are completely integrated into the other aspects of . So there is a huge number of combinations of Buses, Drivers and SHIFTs available. The only real way to get to understand how they all integrate is to create a WorkSheet and play with all the options. You can quickly see the effect which any change has on the runsheet when you return to it. Remember that all the information you establish for a particular date only becomes permanent when you ARCHIVE a WORKSHEET after all the shifts have been confirmed. This is the function of the weekly run. Information (as for TimeTables) passed / copied across to the MASTER.Admin section of can / will be overwritten by the application of another WorkSheet with the SAME DATE.
When you delete a WorkSheet all Bus and Driver information for that date is removed SO THIS MUST BE DONE WITH CARE. The information which stays in place is that for default bus/driver loaded to the SHIFTs. This is intentional so that you can work ahead with the information contained in these default areas of the SHIFTs. You may wish to create a set of WorkSheets for 4 weeks in advance etc.....
Appendix 5 and Chapter 10 provide detailed information about processing the WorkSheet and associated reports / displays.

A3.15 : Preparing various tables for Enquiries / Bus Stops etc. :
OPERATIONS / MASTER.Admin


Data for this information is derived from a WorkSheet FOR A PARTICULAR DAY or WEEK (so you are able to load a M-F WorkSheet, a SAT WorkSheet and a SUN WorkSheet to create a weekly set of data in these tables. The data stays in place until you clear and reload from a WorkSheet which results in a change to the TimeTables etc...
When you run OPERATIONS / WorkSheets you select the WorkSheet you wish to use by date and then click on - Create Master Data 1 from WorkSheet DATE - and will load the tables. If Tables have already been loaded for that DAY then will complain. If you wish to update the tables you will have to clear the tables first OPERATIONS / OPS-ADMIN / Destroy all data in Master 1 data and then reselect your WorkSheet/s to load.

A3.8 : Using the CHARTER module of :

Go to OPERATIONS / CHARTER All the Charter data, links into the rest of the Operations Scheduling process. Charter BOOKINGS will therefore be handled in the Daily WorkSheet in the same way that a scheduled SHIFT will be handled.
CHARTER TASKS : a) ORGANISATION MANAGEMENT / Add New Organisation and Primary Address:

Enter details requested. The Grade field has the same usage as for SHIFTS and BUSES. The fields with asterisk ( * ) marks MUST BE ENTERED to have a valid entry for .
b) ORGANISATION MANAGEMENT / Add New Location /Branch .......

Enter any additional locations. These include any/all the locations which buses are likely to either pickup or drop passengers for this organisation.
c) BOOKING MANAGEMENT / Enter New Booking :

Select the organisation requesting the booking by clicking on the down arrow in the box. This will present you with a list of all available addresses including the Primary Address loaded. Click Goto Select Address.
Now select the PICK-UP address for this organisation (or school etc..)
Then click on GoTo Display Address.
Now click on Select Destination Address. Select the one required from the drop down box. Goto NEW BOOKING.
The NEW BOOKING SCREEN is presented and you can enter the relevant info about the booking. The Payment details can be filled in now or they can be filled in at a later time. reports for Charter will list paid and unpaid bookings as well as booking not yet actioned. The bookings are automatically processed on the correct day as part of the Daily WorkSheets and Rosters. These bookings will also be listed in the Drivers Schedules (Weekly Work Rosters) and included in the paysheets. If fields are not filled in eg kilometers in the Payroll section then they cannot be included in the reports of Bus Mileage analysis.

A3.9 Allocation of Buses and Drivers :

Each time that a WorkSheet is displayed (run) it checks to see if there are any new charters that have been allocated and then treats the Charter the same way as any other shift for that day. There are a few essential requirements however :
a) MultiDay Charters would logically require bus and driver to be allocated on the FIRST DAY of the Charter. will not allow you to allocate a bus or a driver on any other than the first day but then the bus or driver will be allocated to all the days for that Multi Day Charter. b) Buses/drivers can be re-allocated during the multi-day charter one day at a time. c) When a Charter contains multiple (more than 1) Buses there will be a separate ROW for each bus on the WorkSheet to facilitate allocation of buses and drivers.

There is an alternative approach to the loading of the data in . There is the ability to optimise the ROUTE information by using the Passenger / Customer TimeTables as a referene for the creation of SHIFTS automatically. This alternative could serve as a REVIEW of your current procedures and is presented in detail in Chapter 29 of the HELP system. There is in fact very little difference in the data that needs to be loaded. It is more a case of a slightly different philosophy. A quick read of Chapter 29 would provide further understanding of this data management approach.

A4 - System Backup Utilities :


BACKUP :


At this stage the easiest and safest backup for is to copy the C:\wamp directory in its entirety to a CD or any other medium. It is obviously NOT a good idea to copy this directory to another area on the hard disk unless it is an interim data security just before you try something new.

RESTORE :


Restore the system by copying the whole C:\wamp back to its normal directory.
BUT...BUT...BUT
PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT THE WAMPSERVER IS NOT RUNNING WHEN YOU DO A RESTORE !!! WampServer will NOT allow you to copy files over the top of its data tables and you will then not be able to access your information / system at all.

A5 - Selecting a BUS or DRIVER :

The WorkSheet is the starting point for these processes. Select a WorkSheet that you wish to structure (or restructure). It can be any WorkSheet including WorkSheets that have been generated for future dates from DEVELOPMENT SHIFTS. Chapter 11 provides further information. Any SHIFT which has not yet been allocated a Bus or a Driver is displayed with yellow bars on the WorkSheet. Choose a SHIFT that you wish to modify, click on the thin grey button next to the yellow bar for Bus or Driver, whichever you wish to allocate and we are ready to select. After clicking on the thin grey bar you are presented with an intermediate screen. If you have clicked on the grey bar where a driver/bus has already been allocated then you will be presented with a screen with all details about the driver or bus and a set of further actions that can be taken. Otherwise you will be presented with fewer actions that can be taken but with SELECT DRIVER / BUS at the top of the screen. Cleck on this option and then -Continue- . NOTE : will present the driver/bus selection screen with
EITHER :
only drivers/buses who are graded equal to or better than the required level
-OR-
all drivers/buses available depending on the 2nd selection on the SELECT ..... action where the choice of Grid is offered. The reason for this is that only qualified resources are offered as the default BUT all are offered as an alternative.

The process of selecting a BUS or a DRIVER is probably the most complex set of decisions which Operations staff need to make because there are so many factors which have to be taken into account. Experience and detailed minute to minute information is essential to making cost effective choices. The WorkSheet screen integrates ALL the current information relating to buses and drivers and presents this in a graphical bar chart form to make the process possible for someone who only needs to understand what this screen means and how it works, and not have extended service experience with the organisation or DETAILED information about ALL buses and ALL DRIVERS on a day-to-day basis.
The first line provides information about the date and WorkSheet rID being actioned. The second line shows the SHIFT, the START TIME for that Shift and the end time for the Shift plus the time this shift (or this part of the shift for overnight and split shifts) is required. Also provided is the GRADING (/Grid) LEVEL required for this shift and the time of day when the screen was displayed. The third line is a RULER showing the time scale that the bars cover from 00:00 (early morning) to 24:00 (midnight) for the specific day. This ruler is repeated every 11th line. On the right hand side is a reminder of the shift number being handled AND a column headed dddddd | dddd. The chararters used in this 11 day summary are described in the Legend just above the top line of the working screen. The bar ( | ) represents the position for TO-DAY with 6 days prior to TODAY and 4 days following - future days. This information is particularly useful when selecting a bus/driver for overnight shifts and multiday charters.
The first bar under the heading shows the time required for the BUS ( cream / light brown ) or DRIVER ( blue ) to be made available for THIS SHIFT. The required time starts at the starting time and end at the end of the required time. This bar is also repeated every eleventh line to facilitate selection. The background colour (the time NOT required) is green.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ALLOCATING BUSES AND DRIVERS IS THAT BUSES CAN WORK 24 HOURS PER DAY BUT DRIVERS HAVE TO BE ALLOCATED WITHIN THE LEGAL LIMITS FOR THEIR WORKTIMES. Thus a bus requirement can be slotted into any convenient gap in the bus schedules but the shift can only be slotted into a driver schedule if he/she has NOT exceeded the maximum number of working hours + overtime. The maximum length of time which a driver is allowed to work without a break must be taken into account when the various ROUTES are constructed.
The remaining bars ( bus or driver ) are displayed in a STRICT order. Firstly lowest to highest grade which is shown in the Grade column on the right hand side of the screen and secondly the most available resource WITHIN THAT GRADE. That is, the resource with the MOST FREE TIME is at the top within the Grade and the least FREE TIME at the bottom within the grade/Grid.

GREEN SHOWS FREE OR AVAILABLE TIME
YELLOW REFLECTS BOOKED TIMES

which means that this is the time that the resource has been allocated to a shift

RED SHOWS COMMITTED / ON THE ROAD / NOT AVAILABLE / OFF SICK / OR OTHERWISE NOT AVAILABLE.

This applies to both buses and drivers.

Thus the process of allocation is :
a) Check the required grade (second line of information about the Shift)
b) Look down the rightmost column to find the start of the required grade if you have selected to display them ALL when SELECTing ..... It may be necessary to scroll down a number of screens if there are many resources.
c) Then scroll down further if required until you find a bar which will accomodate the required coloured strip of the REQUIREMENT BAR. ALSO take note of limitations which apply to DRIVERS as discussed above.
d) Having found a suitable available resource, click on the grey button in the column third from the right and will allocate that chosen resource to the shift, show a screen which advises the action has taken or listing of any problems should there be any.
e) Click on Back to WorkSheet which will reflect the new status unless there were errors.
Resources which are committed (red) but which could be made available for allocation by negotiation or other means CAN be allocated but understand the logic must be applied to this disregard of the status known to . For example a bus should be reinstated before it is used. Also bear in mind if a driver is brought back from being booked off sick or on leave will reflect BOTH activities for that driver. This will become confusing when stats are compiled and even more so when payslips are prepared.

A6.0 - SOT Create InterimSHIFT :

TP = TimingPoint. The information here is a follow on to Chapter 29 the creation of the SOT data as part of the 6 steps to load .
The purpose of this Utility is to be able to create a set of SHIFTS from a Public TimeTable such as Click for Route 640 (if you have a .PDF reader installed - an older Adobe(c) Reader is provided with ) issued by TransLink in Brisbane for the Bribie Island Bus Services. This process is EXTREMELY complex for even the most experienced Bus Operators so for this reason is somewhat limited by the information which is available in the system and the SHIFTS produced are the best solutions based on the following rules :
a) The critical path for SHIFTS is controlled by DRIVER operating rules. b) Drivers cannot work more than a specified number of hours in a day. c) Drivers are required to have a minimum break after a certain number of hours. d) ALL the ROUTES that are required to be serviced are defined in a Public TimeTable ( as above ) or from existing company records. e) Allocation of Drivers (and buses) is done when all ROUTES have been allocated to SHIFTS fo a full week. (Being M-F, Sat and Sun). We assume that Public Holidays will use the same TimeTable as a Sat or a Sunday else Public Holiday Timetables can be created by copying a completed SHIFT and modifying it ( SHIFT / Shift.ADMIN ). f) No Split Shifts or OverNight SHIFTS will be created. These are best set up manually if and when they are required. g) Each ROUTE ends at a TP and, using all the default parameters provided in the InterimSHIFT creation screen, optimises BUS TRAVEL TIME by ensuring that the next TRIP ( = ROUTE before it is assigned to a SHIFT ) must start at the SAME TP.
UNLESS the Proximity Tables have been prepared. If the Proximity Table HAS been set up then will check the Table to select the nearest geographical TP within the limits defined by a Tolerance value in minutes. Using the Proximity Tables allows to optimise the SHIFTs by adding some mileage to the distance travelled by the buses but saving a considerable amount of Standing Time ( non-driving time in a SHIFT ) AND total SHIFT hours. The saving can be very significant. ( = MANY $$$$$$$$$ ) so it is worth the trouble and effort to create the Proximity Tables.

The screen for building the InterimSHIFT table is accessed from either SYSTEM / Ishift-ADMIN or SYSTEM / SOT-ADMIN / 3. SOT - InterimSHIFT Table Task--. See C29.4. Select SYSTEM / Ishift-ADMIN : for a detailed description of how to use this SOT Creating InterimSHIFT Table.
A6.1 Proximity Tables :
If the full power of the automatic SHIFT generation is to be used to advantage then the Proximity Tables should be created first. Please refer to the help file at this stage.
A6.2 InterimSHIFT TABLE Screen - in detail:
Before attempting to create InterimSHIFT Tables it helps to have a reasonable awareness of the requirements for a SHIFT HEADER. Chapter 9 defines these requirements in detail and should be read while having access to the SHIFT / Add-New data entry screen.
PLEASE NOTE THAT G. CAN BE RUN AS FREQUENTLY AS NEEDED TO ESTABLISH AN ECONOMICAL SET OF SHIFTS. THEN BY ANALYSING THE STATS TABLE THE BEST RUN CAN BE RERUN AND THOSE FILES USED TO CREATE THE LIVE SHIFTS.
If all the defaults are left unchanged will print a list of the last SOT_temp table that was created in TP START TIME SEQUENCE
REBUILD the TEMP Table
allows you to build a different TEMP Table using the Weekday selected. The Weekday selection is a list of ALL the Weekday options which are currently loaded into the sot_routes table. This table was created by entering ALL of the start times required for each and every ROUTE on the Public TimeTables.
CHANGE REPORT SEQUENCE FOR DISPLAY OF SOT Table :
These selections change the sequence of the report displays to enable a view od the START TP TIME (default) END TP TIME or the ROUTE NAME. The Route Name sequence would facilitate a comparison against the intial entry documents (Public TimeTable).
G. PREPARE ---INTERIM SHIFT FILE
If -REBUILD the TEMP Table- is not selected each time that a G. is requested then G. will rebuild the Table using the default Weekday. So take Care that the -REBUILD the TEMP Table- Weekday is appropriate for the SHIFTs that you wish G. to build at this time. All the parametr options from G. down to -H. Display the last Interim Shift Table- apply to process of G. and have no effect on any other selections ouside this block of parameters.
ADD to the existing STATS
An important function of G. is to be able to run the build process with a variety of options in place so that the most effective, efficient and cost-saving combination of SHIFTs can be selected for the InterimSHIFT file. Each time the G. is run it places a set of statistics in the STATS Table. This STATS table an be viewed at any time using -S. Display STATS ANALYSIS TABLE- selection at the bottom of the screen. So that these STATS can be compared from one to another each run will be accumulated in the STATS Table until this option is changed to -Clear the STATS ANALYSIS TABLE- for this run only.
PREFIX for the SHIFT HEADER
Whichever Weekday is requested in - REBUILD the TEMP Table- does not have a bearing on either the PREFIX or the WEEKDAY that is specified to be used for the new SHIFTs in these two options. The reason for a prefix is to ensure that the SHIFTNAMES are not numeric only. The ROUTES are usually numeric with suffix denoting inbound or outbound. DRIVERs are identified by their INITIALS or a Staff Reference number and buses should be identified by F (for Fleet + a number) or U (for Unit + a number). In this way we do not become inundated by numbers for EVERYTHING.
The PREFIX for the SHIFT should be meaningful as W for a business weekday shift (M-F) or N for normal shift or Mf for Monday to Friday or St for Saturday or Su for Sunday. Do not use more than 2 characters because the SHIFTNAME is limited to 6 characters and you may need something like ST567b to create a meaningful SHIFTNAME.
WEEKDAY for the SHIFT HEADER
When building the WorkSheet for a specific day or the WorkSheets for the 7 days of a normal week the process of selecting the SHIFTS that are required to run for that day are requested by a combination of the WEEKDAY (3 characters) reference and the Class (3 characters). The InterimSHIFT will always use a Class=NOR because the Class is there to enable us to identify special SHIFTS that would be created for special days. For example a WEEKDAY of M-F with a CLASS of NOR may need to be combined with a WEEKDAY of M-F and a CLASS of SHD to handle extra SHIFTS required on a Tuesday and a Wednesday for Showdays. This WEEKDAY is therefore the key tat is to be plaved in the SHIFT Header.
Minutes for ChangeOver ....
Normally a Bus / Driver is able to arrive at a TP and unload and reload for the next TRIP immediately without any wait time. Thus the default here is zero and the load/unload time is catered for in the assumption that the ROUTE has been allowed some slack time and should thus finish early. Some TimeTables are created so that there is an allowance for this Changeover of up to 10 minutes. For these TimeTables the ChangeOver should be changed because otherwise will select the first available ROUTE and this could result in a TRIP mix which is very inefficient.
Maximum Wait to NextTP ....
Some TimeTables are so badly constructed that the END time is just after the next trip START for that ROUTE group and the result is that a bus can wait for an hour or more before the next appropriate ROUTE is due to be run. Zero means that the Wait time is unlimited and a setting of 20, 30 or 45 minutes could terminate the SHIFT rather than making it very costly and these problems can be resolved manually later on.
Driver Break to be scheduled after
For :
At this time the normal for Australian Driver is a breal of 15 mins minimum after a maximum of 5 hours driving. These numbers can be altered to suit different requirements. When running G. it often adds very few hours to the overall total shift time by increasin the break to 20 or 30 minutes. This would make for happier drivers if the costs were low.
Tolerance =
This time in Minutes serves multiple purposes in G. Generally it is an error tolerance allowance which enables the system to avoid missing opportunitis for ROUTE allocation because the TimeTable or general expectations are too finely tuned.
The primary use is to limit the Proximity evaluation for the next TP after a Trip to a maximum travel time of -Tolerance minutes- to another TP. Example : This Trip ends at 09:00 am and checks the SOT table for the next required TP and takes the first TP that is available within -Tolerance Minutes- travel time from the end TP.
Change Driver maximum working hrs
This parameter is intially loaded into the User parameter file which is checked by G. This limits the maximum Shift-Time to be this many hours plus the -Tolerance minutes- so that no driver works more than the stipulated number of hours in a day.
RULE for selecting the NEXT TRIP
There are three options here.
(a) (A) ANY TP means that any TP can be selected provided that it meets the rules imposed by the -Tolerance minutes- as they apply to the time it takes for the bus to get to the next TP listed in the Proximity Table. If the Table does not have an appropriate value for a TP then that TP is assumed to be too far and G. will continue to look for another TP in the sot-temp table.
(b) (T) SAME TP means that the next TP to be selected must be == to the TP at the end of the last Trip.
(c) (R) SAME ROUTE and SAME TP means that the next TP must not only be the same TP name but must also be a requirement for the same TimeTable ROUTE excluding the suffix. The Routes (eg 641a and 641b) are actually the same ROUTE (being 641) but one is outbound and one is inbound so a TP will be selected if the 641 part mathes. This is the requirement when Bus Operators are forced to train Drivers on a sigle route at a time and SHIFTS cannot mix the ROUTES.
H. Display the last Interim Shift Table
This displays the contents of the InterimSHIFT Table that was created in the last run of G. This is the table that will be appended to the SHIFTs table if
SYSTEM / SOT-ADMIN / •4. APPEND DEVELOPMENT SHIFTS from InterimShift Table is run.
U. re-Display the Unallocated ROUTES from the last run of G
Each time that G. is run there are a number of ROUTES which would finish being un-allocated to SHIFTS without being a single trip for that SHIFT. These can only be resolved by making concessions to costs and economy and thus best allocated manually. This report is the report of un-allocated ROUTES from the last run of G. which need to be combined manually into TRIPS in new SHIFTS. If the organisation does SCHOOL RUNS these TRIPS are ideally appended to School Runs. The list needs to be completely allocated to ensure that ALL obligations to the Public TimeTables are met.
S. Display STATS ANALYSIS TABLE
Each time that G. runs it records statistical infomation about that run in the STATS table. It records the Weekday and SHIFT prefix selected, the parameter values that were selected, as well as the number or records that G. had to read in the sot_temp file before a ROUTE was selected, the number of SHIFTS created, the total hrs over all shifts spent Standing (not driving), the total time (driver paid hours) for all the SHIFTS and the number of ROUTES that were Skipped - not allocated and need to allocated manually. This provides adequate information to decided on the most effective parameter setting to use in G. for the best SHIFT set.