OPS Work Assignment Rules

OPS Work Assignment Rules ancillary data defines rules that restrict the amount of work that can be assigned to employees.

When work is assigned, the dispatcher is warned if any applicable work assignment rules are violated.

You can set general daily rules or set different rules for weekday and weekend categories.

You can create work assignment rules for work assignments and for work grouping.

If you don't want a work assignment rule to be applied to an employee’s work assignment, you can create employee waivers. Waivers override system-wide work assignment values for individual employees.

Table 1. OPS Work Assignment Rules Ancillary Data
Field Description
Absence Type Group Specifies the Absence Types ancillary group to use with a rule.
Application List Specifies the Trapeze OPS functions where this rule is checked.

For example, you might want to check a rule while using the Daily Activity (main dispatching) screen, but not in the Bidding screen.
BidUnit Group Bid Units ancillary group for which the rule is used.
Calculation Method Specifies the period used in calculations for a rule that doesn't consider daily periods.

If Operation Week is selected, the rule applies to the operational week starting with the day specified by the OPS > Bidding > FirstWeekday property. If Pay Week is selected, the rule applies to the pay week determined by the OPS > Timekeeping > Weekly Processing Date property.
Check Adjoining Days If selected, the system checks adjoining days for the previous and following days’ shifts.
Comments Comments about the rule.
Continuous Work Break Time Specifies the maximum continuous work break.
Custom Parm1 Custom parameter.
Custom Parm 2 Custom parameter.
Custom Parm 3 Custom parameter.
Display in Employee Self-Service If selected, the work assignment rule is visible in Employee Self-Service.
Division Group Divisions ancillary group for which the rule is used.
Drive Time Components Specifies drive times to include. For example, report time, wait time.

You can create work rules for driver time on a weekly and biweekly basis that differ from weekday to weekend.
Employee Type Group Employee Types ancillary group for which the rule is used.

You can create rules which apply to one type of employee but not another.
Error Threshold Error threshold in hours.

The system generates an error message when the defined number of hours associated exceeds the error threshold.
From Date First date the rule is in effect.
From Day Number of days before the active day considered for a rule with a rolling time period.
Is Hidden If selected, the rule is hidden.
Ignore Between Sign-ups If selected, the rule is ignored on the last date of the previous sign up and the first date of the new sign up.

This allows for overlapping assignments during the bidding process.
Name Name of the rule.
Piece One Working Status ancillary group indicating the work types considered by an intervening rule.
Piece Two Working Status ancillary group indicating the work types considered by an intervening rule.
Reset Time Frame Amount of time required to restart the accumulation of hours for a rule with a rolling period.

For example, the reset time frame could specify that the accumulation of hours for a rule should be reset if an operator has 24 consecutive hours of rest.
Rolling If selected, a rolling time period is used for the rule.
Rule ID Number that uniquely identifies the rule.

The Rule ID field is automatically filled when you save the record.
Rule Type Rule type.

Note that if you are defining a Rolling Period Consecutive Rest Time rule type, the selected Absence Type Group defines absence types that should be considered as work.

To Date Last date the rule is in effect.
To Day Number of days after the active day considered for a rule with a rolling time period.
Use Calendar Date If selected, the calendar date is used.
Waiver If selected, you can create waivers to override this rule for some operators.
Warning Threshold Specifies the warning threshold time in hours.

The system generates a warning message when the number of hours associated with this rule exceeds the warning threshold but is less than the error threshold.
Table 2. Rule Types for OPS Work Assignment Rules
Rule Type Description
Bid Timeframe

Maximum time that can be assigned outside of the bid time frame.

  • This rule compares the amount of work assigned to the employee (TkWork.EmployeeId) outside of the time frame of the work that the employee bid for (TkWork.BidEmployeeId). The total time is calculated by looking at the time frame of the assigned work that isn't overlapped by the bid work.
  • When comparing times, the sign-on and sign-off times are used for the bid work, while the from and to times are used for the assigned work.
BiWeekly Drive Time

Maximum time an operator can drive during one biweekly period.

  • This rule type uses the Drive Time Components field.

    If Drive Time Components is blank, the drive time for a work is calculated using the PlatformTime field for the work. Otherwise, only the selected components are considered in the calculation.

  • If SubtractLayoverTime is selected, then ShiftLayoverTime is deducted from the total time.
BiWeekly Platform Time

Maximum platform time that can be assigned to an operator during one biweekly period.

  • Total daily platform time is calculated by summing up the PlatformTime values for all works in the specified period.
  • If the following properties are selected, additional times are considered part of platform time:
    • OPS > Work Assignment Rule > Consider StartWait as Platform
    • OPS > Work Assignment Rule > Consider EndWait as Platform
    • OPS > Work Assignment Rule > Consider StartTravel as Platform
    • OPS > Work Assignment Rule > Consider EndTravel as Platform
BiWeekly Work Time

Maximum time an operator can work during one biweekly period.

  • Total daily work time is calculated by summing up the WorkTime values for all works in the specified period.
  • If two works overlap, the absolute difference of the two is deducted from the total work time.
Custom 1, Custom 2, Custom 3 Custom rule. Set up with the help of your Trapeze representative.
Daily Continuous Work Time

Maximum time an employee can work continuously without a break.

  • This rule type uses the Continuous Work BreakTime field.

    Continuous Work BreakTime is defined as the largest break between two pieces of works for which work will still be considered continuous. A break between two works is defined as the difference between the sign-on time of the second work and the sign-on time of the first work.

  • Total daily continuous work is calculated by going through each piece of work, finding the furthest piece of work so that the break is still less than the Continuous Work BreakTime defined for the rule, and taking the difference between the sign-off time of the last piece of work and the sign-on time of the first selected piece of work. This is done for all works, and the largest possible difference is used as the total continuous work time.
Note: If two pieces of works overlap, the overlapped period is counted twice.
Daily Drive Time

Maximum time an operator can drive on an operational day.

  • This rule type uses the Drive Time Components field. If this field is blank, the drive time for a work is calculated using the PlatformTime field for the work. Otherwise, only the selected components are considered in the calculation.
  • If SubtractLayoverTime is selected, then ShiftLayoverTime is deducted from the total time.
  • The total drive time is then calculated by summing up the drive times for all works on the specified date.
Daily Platform Time

Maximum platform time that can be assigned to an operator on an operational day. Platform time excludes standby work.

  • Total daily platform time is calculated by summing PlatformTime values for all works on the specified date.
  • If the following properties are selected, additional times are considered part of platform time:
    • OPS > Work Assignment Rule > Consider StartWait as Platform
    • OPS > Work Assignment Rule > Consider EndWait as Platform
    • OPS > Work Assignment Rule > Consider StartTravel as Platform
    • OPS > Work Assignment Rule > Consider EndTravel as Platform
Daily Spread Time

Maximum spread time that can be assigned to an operator on an operational day.

Daily spread time is calculated by finding the difference between the largest sign-off time and the smallest sign-on time out of all pieces of works on the specified date.
Daily Work Time

Maximum amount of time an operator can work on an operational day.

  • This rule calculates total pay time for all works on the specified date according to defined pay rules.
  • For the applicable pay rule, the pay time is calculated using the selected Work Parts. For example, ClearTime, OverTime, and SwingTime.
Insufficient Travel Time Checks the travel time associated with the end location of one piece of work and the start location of the subsequent piece of work.

If the same name work name is used between two pieces of work, they're considered a combo run and travel times aren't checked.

To use this rule, complete the following fields:
  • Name
  • Rule Type (Insufficient Travel Type)
  • Division Group
  • Employee Type Group
  • BidUnit Group
  • Warning Threshold (4)
  • Error Threshold (5)
  • Application List (Activate Day, Assignment Assistant, Bidding, Daily Activity, and Work Planner.)
Max. Intervening (Diff Nodes)

Maximum time allowed between pieces of work that end and start at different nodes.

  • This rule type uses the Piece One and Piece Two fields, which contain Working Status ancillary group options.
  • For this rule, each two consecutive works on the specified date are processed independently. Total time is calculated as the difference of the sign-on time of the second work and the sign-off time of the first work. This is done for all works and the total time is chosen to be the largest possible difference.
  • Two consecutive works are considered only when:
    • the ToNode of the first work is different from the FromNode of the second work
    • the work subtypes of both works belong to the selected ancillary groups
  • This rule also uses Check Adjoining Days. If selected, the next day is also considered in the calculation. However, the calculation will only be done for the last work on the selected date and the first work on the next day. This calculation is carried out independently from the works for the selected date.
Max. Intervening (Same Nodes)

Maximum time allowed between pieces of work that end and start at the same node.

  • This rule type uses the Piece One and Piece Two fields, which contain Working Status ancillary group options.
  • For this rule, each two consecutive works on the specified date are processed independently. The total time is calculated as the difference of the sign-on time of the second work and the sign-off time of the first work. This is done for all works and the total time is chosen to be the largest possible difference.
  • Two consecutive works are considered only when:
    • the ToNode of the first work is the same as the FromNode of the second work
    • the work subtypes of both works belong to the selected ancillary groups
  • This rule also uses Check Adjoining Days. If selected, the next day is also considered in the calculation. However, the calculation will only be done for the last work on the selected date and the first work on the next day. This calculation is carried out independently from the works for the selected date.
Min. Intervening (Diff Nodes)

Minimum break required between shifts when the shifts end and start at different nodes.

  • This rule type uses the Piece One and Piece Two fields, which contain Working Status ancillary group options.
  • For this rule, each two consecutive works on the specified date are processed independently. The total time is calculated as the difference of the sign-on time of the second work and the sign-off time of the first work. This is done for all works and the total time is chosen to be the smallest possible difference.
  • Two consecutive works are considered only when:
    • the ToNode of the first work is different from the FromNode of the second work
    • the work subtypes of both works belong to the selected ancillary groups
  • This rule also uses Check Adjoining Days. If selected, the next day is also considered in the calculation. However, the calculation will only be done for the last work on the selected date and the first work on the next day. This calculation is carried out independently from the works for the selected date.
Min. Intervening (Same Nodes)

Minimum break required between shifts when the shifts occur at the same node.

  • This rule type uses the Piece One and Piece Two fields, which contain Working Status ancillary group options.
  • For this rule, each two consecutive works on the specified date are processed independently. The total time is calculated as the difference of the sign-on time of the second work and the sign-off time of the first work. This is done for all works and the total time is chosen to be the smallest possible difference.
  • Two consecutive works are considered only when:
    • the ToNode of the first work is the same as the FromNode of the second work
    • the work subtypes of both works belong to the selected ancillary groups
  • This rule also uses Check Adjoining Days. If selected, the next day is also considered in the calculation. However, the calculation will only be done for the last work on the selected date and the first work on the next day. This calculation is carried out independently from the works for the selected date.
Minimum Rest in Period

Minimum rest time an operator must have within the period defined in Reset Time Frame.

  • This rule types makes sure that within a specified period, there is at least one break period which doesn't violate the specified thresholds.
  • It uses the Reset Time Frame field to calculate the period for which work will be considered.
    • The upper limit is calculated by adding the Reset Time Frame value to the SignOff time of the last piece of work on the selected date, which will be defined as the Max Consider Time.
    • The lower limit is calculated by subtracting the Reset Time Frame from the SignOff time of the current work being considered, which is defined as the Min SignOff Time.
  • The rest time will be calculated for every piece of work that's on or after the selected date, and that has a SignOn time less than the Max SignOff Time. Min SignOff Time is recalculated for each work being considered.
  • The rule returns the smallest rest time from all of the works being considered.
Off Time Between Days

Minimum time off that an operator must have between shifts when the shifts occur on different operational days.

  • This rule calculates the amount of off time the employee has from the selected date for the previous and the next days.
  • For a specified date, this rule makes sure that:
    • the difference between the sign-off time of the last piece of work on the previous day (if there is one) and the sign-on time of the first piece of work on the selected date meets the specified thresholds.
    • the difference between the sign-off time of the last piece of work on the selected date and the sign-on time of the first piece of work (if there is one) on the next date meets the specified thresholds.
Overlapping Time

Specifies warning and error thresholds for assignments that overlap.

  • Overlap time between two works is defined as the amount that the sign-on time of the second work exceeds the sign-off time of the first work. Each two consecutive works are processed independently.
  • If an overlapping time rule isn't defined, then it's assumed that the warning and error thresholds are zero (0) for the rule type. By default, two works assigned to the same employee aren't allowed to have any overlap.
  • If a work is an escort stand-by work; that is, its work subtype is either of the ones specified in the properties OPS > Work > Demand Response > PASS Integration > Dedicated Escort Type and OPS > Work > Demand Response > PASS Integration > General Escort Type, then it's not considered when checking for overlap.
  • This rule type uses the Piece One and Piece Two fields, which contain Working Status ancillary group options. If these fields are blank or if the work's subtype is part of the selected ancillary group, then the defned overlapping rule, if there is one, is used. Otherwise, the default overlapping rule is used and an error violation occurs for any amount of overlap greater than zero.
Rolling Period Consecutive Rest Time

This rule makes sure that within the period specified by From Day and To Day of the rule type, the employee has a rest period that satisfies the specified thresholds.

This rule makes use of the Reset Time Frame field to calculate the region for each piece of work for which rest times will be calculated

When performing the rolling period accumulation for this rule by going back through the number of days defined as the rolling period, stop accumulating the hours and successfully pass the validation when all of the conditions are true:

  • A Reset Time Frame value has been defined (that is, Not NULL and Not = 0)
  • There are no hours during the intervening period of time which is equal to or greater than the Reset Time Frame defined in the rule. (The operator had enough consecutive rest - 24h00 - needed to reset the accumulation of hours.)
  • Before encountering this valid time-off, the employee didn't already exceed the hours worked/driver time, etc that would violate the assignment.

The maximum rest period is calculated for each piece of work within the date period [SelectedDate - FromDay, SelectedDay + FromDay]. It then uses the Reset Time Frame from the current work's SignOffTime to calculate the lower limit until where works will be considered.
Rolling Period Drive Time

Maximum time an operator can drive.

  • This rule type is similar to the Daily Drive Time Rule except for the date range and the use of the Reset Time Frame field.
  • If the Reset Time Frame is 0, then all work in the date range is considered.
  • Otherwise, the calculation is only carried out until the break time (SignOnTime of the next work - SignOffTime of current work) between two consecutive works is less than the specified Reset Time Frame.
Rolling Period Platform Time

Maximum platform time for an operator.

  • This rule type is similar to the Daily Platform Time Rule except for the date range and the use of the Reset Time Frame field.
  • If the Reset Time Frame is 0, then all work in the date range is considered.
  • Otherwise, the calculation is only carried out until the break time (SignOnTime of the next work - SignOffTime of current work) between two consecutive works is less than the specified Reset Time Frame.
Rolling Period Work Time

Maximum work time (not only platform time) for an operator.

  • This rule type is similar to the Daily Work Time Rule except for the date range and the use of the Reset Time Frame field.
  • If the Reset Time Frame is 0, then all work in the date range is considered.
  • Otherwise, the calculation is only carried out until the break time (SignOnTime of the next work - SignOffTime of current work) between two consecutive works is less than the specified Reset Time Frame.
SAFTE-FAST Effectiveness Value Requires OPS SAFTE-FAST Add-On. See your Trapeze representative for more information.

Integrates with SAFTE-FAST® fatigue assessment software to provide warnings or errors based on defined effectiveness values. Trapeze OPS provides information about shifts worked by employees in a specified date range.

There are properties associated with this rule.

SAFTE-FAST uses a scale of 0 to 100 where a higher effectiveness number indicates that the employee is more able to do their work without being impacted by lack of sleep. This rule is used when days are activated (Activate Day) and when assigning work in Daily Activity. Currently, employee data collected from Trapeze OPS is about work performed over a defined period of time. This is a small subset of the data that can be processed using SAFTE-FAST. If your agency needs additional data support, contact your Trapeze representative.

To define a SAFTE-FAST Effectiveness Value rule, use the following fields:
  • Name
  • Rule Type. Select SAFTE-FAST Effectiveness Value.
  • Division Group
  • Employee Type Group
  • BidUnit Group
  • Application List. Select Activate Day, Assignment Assistant, and Daily Activity.
  • Piece One. Select the work to which the SAFTE-FAST rule will apply.
  • From Day and To Day. These fields indicate the range of dates for which to send data to SAFTE-FAST for evaluation. For example, From Day may be defined as 7 (a week ago) and To Day may be defined as 0 (today).
  • Custom Parm1. This is the warning threshold for SAFTE-FAST. Typically, 75 is a good warning point.

    SAFTE-FAST uses a scale of 0 to 100. The higher the effectiveness number, the better the employee is able to do their work without being impacted by lack of sleep. This number should be higher than the one defined for Custom Parm 2.

  • Custom Parm 2. This is the error threshold for SAFTE-FAST. Typically, 70 is a good error point.

    This number should be lower than the one defined for Custom Parm1.

After it has been created, the work assignment rule isn't applied to days already activated in the system. If the rule needs to be applied to active days, use the Undo Day Activation option and then the Perform Day Activation option in the Activate Day screen for each activated day. When the rule is triggered during day activation, the log shows messages about which employees meet the warning and error criteria.

Weekday Platform Time

Maximum platform time for an operator on a weekday. Platform time excludes standby work.

  • Total daily platform time is calculated by summing PlatformTime values for all works on the specified date.
  • If the following properties are selected, additional times are considered part of platform time:
    • OPS > Work Assignment Rule > Consider StartWait as Platform
    • OPS > Work Assignment Rule > Consider EndWait as Platform
    • OPS > Work Assignment Rule > Consider StartTravel as Platform
    • OPS > Work Assignment Rule > Consider EndTravel as Platform
Weekday Work Time

Maximum work time (not just platform time) that can be assigned to an operator on a weekday.

The total daily work time is calculated by summing up the WorkTime values for all works on the specified weekdays. If two works overlap with one another (sign-on time for one work is less than the sign-off time for the other work), then the absolute difference of the two is deducted from the total work time.
Weekend Platform Time

Maximum platform time that can be assigned to an operator on a weekend day.

  • The total daily platform time is calculated by summing PlatformTime values for all works on the specified weekend days.
  • If the following properties are selected, additional times are considered part of platform time:
    • OPS > Work Assignment Rule > Consider StartWait as Platform
    • OPS > Work Assignment Rule > Consider EndWait as Platform
    • OPS > Work Assignment Rule > Consider StartTravel as Platform
    • OPS > Work Assignment Rule > Consider EndTravel as Platform
Weekend Work Time

Maximum work time (not just platform time) that can be assigned to an operator on a weekend day.

  • Total daily work time is calculated by summing up the WorkTime values for all works on the specified weekend days. If two works overlap with one another (sign-on time for one work is less than the sign-off time for the other work), then the absolute difference of the two is deducted from the total work time.
Weekly Drive Time

Maximum time an operator can drive during one week.

  • This rule type makes use of the Drive Time Components field. If this field is blank, the drive time for a work is calculated using the PlatformTime field for the work. Otherwise, only the selected components are considered in the calculation.
  • If SubtractLayoverTime is selected, then the ShiftLayoverTime is deducted from the total time.
  • Total drive time is then calculated by summing up the drive times for all works in the specified week.
Weekly Minimum Regular Day(s) Off Provides warnings or errors that alert dispatchers when work is assigned to employees who should have a minimum number of days off in a work week.

The rule checks regular days off within the 7-day week and considers absences that count as work on regular days off.

Weeks are defined based on the OPS > General > First Operational Day of Week property.

There are customizations available for this rule. Speak to your Trapeze representative.

To define this rule type, the dbd ..\Modules\Extra\Data\Common\MmsData.dbd; must be included in the .profile file.

To define a Weekly Minimum Regular Day(s) Off rule, use the following fields:

  • Absence Type Group. Group of absences considered to be work on regular days off.

  • Application List. OPS applications that should enforce the rule. Typically, Activate Day, Assignment Assistant, Daily Activity, and Work Planner.

  • BidUnit Group. Bid Units ancillary group to which the rule applies.

  • Division Group. Divisions ancillary group to which the rule applies.

  • Employee Type Group, Employee Types ancillary group to which the rule applies.

  • Piece One. Working Status ancillary group that defines the work types checked when determining if the day is worked.

  • Rule ID. Number that uniquely identifies the rule. The Rule ID field is automatically filled when the record is saved.

  • Severity. Select from: Warning or Error.
    • Warning shows error messages but work can still be assigned.
    • Error prevents work assignments using the selected applications.

  • Quantity. User-defined. Minimum number of regular days off to use for the rule.

As this rule is not a time-based rule, only the Details, Severity Level, and Rule Name columns are applicable in the Work Rule Progression dialog. Total Time, Threshold, Percentage Display, and Remaining Time show default system values.
Weekly Minimum Work Time Minimum work time for an operator in a week.

Work time includes time from sign-on to sign-off in fixed run work assignments, demand response work assignments, extra work that's designated as work time, and extra pay that's designated as work time. Absence time doesn't count towards work time.

Only warning thresholds can be specified for this rule type. If an error threshold as specified, operators couldn't be assigned work shorter than the weekly minimum work time.
Weekly Off Time

Minimum time off for an operator during a week.

  • Total time is calculated by getting the total off time between cross-day pieces. This rule only considers dates if there is a work on a previous date as well.
  • Initially, it's assumed that the employee will have the entire week off, that's 168h. For each date where there is a work on the previous date, the difference between the sign-on time of the first work on that date and the sign-off time of the last piece of work on the previous date is deducted from the total off time.
Weekly Platform

Maximum platform time for an operator during a week.

  • Total daily platform time is calculated by summing PlatformTime values for all works on the specified week.
  • If the following properties are selected, additional times are considered part of platform time:
    • OPS > Work Assignment Rule > Consider StartWait as Platform
    • OPS > Work Assignment Rule > Consider EndWait as Platform
    • OPS > Work Assignment Rule > Consider StartTravel as Platform
    • OPS > Work Assignment Rule > Consider EndTravel as Platform
Weekly Work Time

Maximum time an operator can work during a week.

  • This rule type uses the Drive Time Components field. If this field is blank, then the drive time for a work is calculated using the PlatformTime field for the work. Otherwise, only the selected components are considered as part of the calculation.
  • If SubtractLayoverTime is checked, then the ShiftLayoverTime is deducted from the total time.
  • The total drive time is then calculated by summing up the drive times for all works on the specified week.