UGBSM

Im trying to understand this from Sched Alert 23-06. So... starting with Jun Bid Period trips manual coverage (ARCOS) for white slips will now be used not just for same day/next day coverage (like its been for more than the 30 years I've been here) but now will be used for same day/ next day/ second day coverage. Second day coverage begins after the 7am PCS run two days prior. How is this a good thing? Why was this changed do ya think? I don't get it.

CBreezy

Everything but swaps and drops was moved 24 hours earlier. I don't understand how it's not a good thing.

Also, if they were smart, they'd break but the trips and let it go through a PCS cycle before giving it to a reserve to see if anyone wanted to swap into it.

Johnnychimpo

my understanding is that this is the result of getting 18-hr long call for reserves. We get longer call-out, company gets same/next/2nd day…

hockeypilot44

This is bad for lineholders who like to swap for broken up trips on last 7am PCS run before scheduled trip.

CBreezy

How is this bad?

ancman

Swapping for better / broken trips that become open 1-2 days prior will become harder than it already is - especially when reserve coverage is good. Unless they happen to drop into open time right before a PCS run, scheduling will have already assigned them before anyone has a chance to swap.

It will also enable the company to make much more efficient use of reserves. They’ll be able to assign trips two days out and give the reserve a 30-hour rest period immediately preceding the rotation, eliminating many of the 30-in-168 issues that currently make reserve utilization less efficient.

Second-day open time assignment is a greater concession than many realize.

CBreezy

None of these rationales make any sense. It'll literally be the exact same thing as it is right now except a day earlier. You'll still have the 0700 PCS run, just a day earlier. They will break up the trips from there. And there will actually be a chance to swap into a broken trip created by no reserves and even if it's a 1% chance of getting it, it's better than the 0% chance it is today.

UGBSM

It's also bad for line holders who like to White Slip only broken trips using ARCOS proffers and avoid blind advance PSC White Slip awards. Now you are going to have to adjust your White Slip request after the 7am PCS run instead of after the previous night's 10pm PCS run in order to get an ARCOS White Slip proffer and avoid a blind PCS White Slip award. I assume Green Slips are still only Same day/Next day ARCOS proffers?

CBreezy

You are assuming incorrectly. Manual processing (ARCOS WS awards) moves to after 0700 two day prior now. It'll all be almost exactly the same as it is now only 24 hours earlier. The only exception is that instead of stopping processing prior to running manual awards, PCS will run 3 more times to process drops and swaps.

ancman

Say today is Tuesday and I have an awful 3-day coming up on Thursday. A much better 3-day on Thursday, with a long Caribbean layover, drops into open time at 12:15 this afternoon. Normally, I have a chance to swap into that trip during the 5 PM PCS run if nobody senior does. Under the new rules, scheduling will have already assigned that trip to a reserve long before the 5 PM run ever comes around.

Not only that, but the reserve who was assigned the trip may be nearing the end of a long stretch of reserve days without having received a 30-hour rest period yet. Under the old rules, scheduling would wait until Wednesday, then say “Darn, we can’t use them for this 3-day, we haven’t given them a 30-hour rest yet.” Then they would move right on to GS coverage (if he/she was the only reserve left), letting them go unused.

Under the new rules, the scheduler will call that reserve on Tuesday and say “We’re assigning you a 3-day two days from now, and putting you on rest until then”. One fewer GS to pay out, and one more reserve utilized who may have otherwise gone unused.