 The Pairing Optimizer is a toll from where you can auto-generate pairings with a certain level of optimization Press the  button in the lower gantt window. Select Crew Pairing Optimization Note: The user must have access to the user group that uses the tool. Select ‘Miscellaneous’ and then grant access to ‘PairingOptimization’. | | Crew Complement The crew complement must have the HR type ticked corresponding to the Complement. If only Pilot or Cabin, only the respective shall be ticked. Note: Versions before 21.5 need to have both options ticked for combined pairings | | Select a period Load: | Will load data direct from the database. | Gantt: | Will use the Aircraft for the zoomed period you have loaded into the gantt. The flights used for the optimization is controlled by the filter in General options. | | | Template Multiple templates can be created. Now, we refer to the section inside the ‘Template’ border of the tool. Template creation steps: 1. Press ‘Add’ button; 2. Write a template name under the ‘Name’ label; 3. Press ‘Save’ button. Template deletion steps: 1. Select the template to be deleted from the drop-down control under the ‘Select’ label; 2. Press ‘Delete’ button; 3. Press ‘Save’ button. Copy Template: You can copy an existing Template by pressing COPY, a copy will be created with the orriginal name + "- Copy". Rename the template and save. | | Parameters Parameters should be always configured under a template, therefore under the ‘Select’ label within the ‘Template’ border, a template name should be visible. Now, we refer to the section inside the ‘Parameter(s)’ border of the tool. | | | Algorithm Options Generation Option | Selects the type of pairings to be generated: All Pairings | E.g. CPH-ARN-OSL-CPH | Round Trip Pairings | E.g. CPH-ARN-CPH If you want CPH-ARN-CPH -CPH-ARN-CPH on the same day, you can use the "Create longer pairing on Run" option. | "Round Trip Pairings" option might have a substantially better time performance compared to the ‘All Pairings’ option. | Parallel Legality Check | The resulting pairings after the generation phase will be checked in parallel which most of the type translates into a better time performance of the legality check process. | Filter No Positions | This filter is used if you don't allow some flights from you own timetable to be used as positioning/deadhead flights. The flights that are used for positioning/deadheading will get a roster designator. From Leg Filter | Apply N-OC Legalities on Run | This option will include the legality in the run. This is similiar to the run option "Apply Legalities" | Add Deadheads On Run | A positioning sector will be created if the pairing is incomplete after the pairing generation and/or legality checks. The system will create a Reference activity of 1 hours length and add it to the pairing with minimum rest to the next flight. The user need to correct that kind of pairings manually. Note: The connection time is controlled by the "Max Layover time" | Create Longer Pairings On Run | When ‘Run’ button is pressed, and ‘Round Trip Pairings’ option has been selected under the ‘Generation Option’, longer pairings will be created. | | | | | Generation Options Filter | Filter the flights from the loaded schedule to be used by the tool. This is a Leg Filter. Note: | You will get a better generation if you apply a filter. | | HR Types (Mandatory) | Select the human resource types to be used by the tool, i.e., pilots, cabin crew etc. HR Types come from HR Types Note: | To be able to make separate pairings for Pilot and Cabin you need to create rules, see How to make Pairings for Cabin crew and Flight Deck crew | Note: | HR Types Subcode will be used in the paring name. The recommended code for Pilots is P, and Cabin is C. This mean that the pairing name will start with P or C. If both are selected The pairing name will start with F. These pairing names are overruled by the Pairing Name convention | Note: | If you select a HR type that isn't matched in the crew complement, no pairings are created. | | Bases (Mandatory) | From Bases The selected bases must remain the same at any timepoint within the flight schedule used. | Ignore Covered Activities | Ignores the flights, from the used flight schedule, which are covered by pairings saved into the database. | Use Covered Activities Only, For Positioning | Only uses a flight for positioning if it is already covered. It considers the pairings already created in the gantt before the optimizer generates any, so that the user can select to not "double cover" these flights. Note: | The optimizer will use own flights for positioning in first hand. If it can not generate pairings which cover all flights, you will see this under uncovered flights, and these uncovered flights you have the option to add DHs/dummy positioning to cover. | Note: | DH on own flights are controlled by: Max. Sit Time | the DH must be inside min and max sit time | Max Positions/Activity | must be greated than 0 | Add Deadheads On Run | Selected | | | Max Carry In Search [h] | Defines the period, in hours, before the schedule to be optimized, where the tool should look for flights to cover carry in. | Max Carry Out Search [h] | Defines the period, in hours, after the schedule to be optimized, where the tool should look for flights to cover carry outs. | | | | | Pairing Parameters Max Pairing Length | Maximum allowed pairing length from first departure time to last arrival time. Note: If the parameter to cover more than one day will increase the porcessing time dramatically. | Max Duty Time [h] | Maximum allowed duty time from check in to check out. | Max Duties | Maximum number of duties per day allowed within a pairing. If you want a 2 day pairing you shall use Max duties in "Longer Pairings" | Max Sectors/Duty | Maximum number of flights a duty can contain. Note: | Must be grater than 1 othervise you will get the error "Sequence contains no elements". | | Min Sit Time [min] | Minimum sitting time/transition time allowed when there is a tail change. Note: | Sit time - also known as Turn Around Time - is the time between STA and STD | | Max Sit Time [min] | Maximum sitting time allowed. Note: | Must be greater or equal to Min sit time.(connection time) | | Min Layover Time [min] | Minimum layover time allowed. Note: | Must be greater than Max. sit time (connection time) | | Max Layover Time | Maximum layover time allowed. Note: | Must be greater or equal to Min Layover time. | | Max Positions Outside Of FDP/Pairing | Defines how many flights within a pairing can be used for positioning outside FDP for crews. | Hotel Reference Activity fill-in | This option will fill in hotel activities in the pairing if the break is larger than the Min layover time | | | Connection Times | The connection times can be specified to a very detailed level. By right click in the grid you can add/delete/move rows. The coditions will read from top and down, the first condition met will apply. | Act Type1 and Act Type2 | This specify the connection time between Activity 1 and 2 | Flight Type 1 and 2 | This specify the connection time between Flight type 1 and 2 | Stations | Connection time at a station | A/C Type 1 and 2 | This specify the connection time between A/C type 1 and 2 | Apply only on AC change | Tick this if the rule only apply to Aircraft change. (Tail change) | Flight No1 and 2 | Both of these columns may contain comma-separated lists of FlightIDs: 'Flight No 1' may contain a list of incoming flights, and 'Flight No 2' may contain a list of outgoing flights. If 'Flight No 1' contains a comma-separated list of one or more flight IDs, then that means that the connection time-constraint only applies to connections where the incoming flight is one of the flights in the list. If 'Flight No 1' is left empty, then the applicability of the connection time-constraint is not modified. Similarly, if 'Flight No 2' contains a comma-separated list of flight IDs, then that means that the connection time-constraint only applies to connections where the outgoing flight is one of the flights in the list. If 'Flight No 2' is left empty, then the applicability of the connection time-constraint is not modified. Example: If 'Flight No 1' is set to "AB001" and 'Flight No 2 is set to "AB002, AB003", then the connection time-constraint only applies to connections where the incoming flight is "AB001" and the outgoing flight is either "AB002" or "AB003". | Min/Max time | Min/max connection time in hh:mm Be carefull not to use a very high max connection, this will cause the optimizer to have a VERY long processing time. Note: You need to have a realistic value, othervise no pairings will be generated. The default max connection time should cover the majority of your pairings, e.g. 01:00 If you have individual flights with higher connetion time, you should create a separate rule. | | | Deadhead Time before Dep This parameter is only available in older versions | This parameter control the max. connection time between a Deadhead and a flight before Departure. Note: | Format is Day:hours:minutes | Note: | Deadhead time before departure must be greater or equal to "minimum sit time" | Note: | It is enforced that the deadhead placement is within the timespan of "min sit time" and "max layover" | | Deadhead Time after ARR This parameter is only available in older versions | This parameter control the max. connection time between a flight and a deadhead after Arrival. Note: | Format is Day:hours:minutes | Note: | Deadhead time after Arrival must be greater or equal to "minimum sit time" | Note: | It is enforced that the deadhead placement is within the timespan of "min sit time" and "max layover" | | | | | | Optimization Options Max Positions/Activity | Defines the maximum allowed number of set of crews to be positioned on a flight. Note: | This parameter shall be used carefully. Normally it should be 0 if it is a solution with no positionings. If the solution contains positioning the parameter must be greater than 0, othervise you will get a warning "infeasible solution" | Note: | Positions are on own flights, you will need a Roster Designator for positioning for this to work correct. | Note: | This parameter work together with: Use Covered Activities Only, For Positioning Max. Sit Time Add Deadheads On Run | | Max Vehicle Change Time With Penalty [min] | Defines the maximum time in minutes of connection until a tail change will be penalized; Note: | The penalty will be set under ‘Cost Parameters’. | Example of usage: if the value is set to 60, it represents that any connection which will involve a tail change for the crew will be penalized if it is under 60 minutes. | Use Crew Sets Penalty’ & ‘Base’ & ‘Max Head Count SCS W/O Penalty | Decides if head count penalty should be used. If the head count penalty is used, then there is the option to select how many head counts are allowed for each base without penalty; Note: | The penalty will be set under ‘Cost Parameters’. | Note: | SCS W/O Penalty= Simultaneous Crew Sets Without Penalty. E.g. If we have 2 bases and we want 1 CP at base1 and 2 CP at base2. Then SCS W/O Penalty will be 1 for base1 and 2 for base2 | | Time window size | dd.hh.mm | Forward feasibility Time | | | | | | Cost Parameters Note: The costs are mathematical costs. This mean that a high number is a high penalty, it doesn't relate to money or time. Pairing cost | Mathematical cost of a pairing. | Position Penalty/Minute | Mathematical cost per minute when covering a flight with more than one set of crews. | Sit Connection Cost/Minute | Mathematical cost per minute of a sit connection. | Layover Cost/Minute | Mathematical cost per minute of a layover. | Fix Cost/Layover | Fix mathematical cost per layover. | Position Penalty | Mathematical cost for penalizing flights which are covered with more than one set of crews. | A/C Change Penalty | Vehicle Change Time With Penalty [min]’. | D/H Penalty | Mathematical cost for penalizing deadheads. | SCS Penalty | Mathematical cost for penalizing head counts which over the threshold defined in ‘Max Head Count W/O Penalty’. | Cost per production day | | Max production days cost | | | | Virtual and Real Cost With the introduction of version 21.6 it will be possible to use vertual and real cost in the optimization. Fixed cost incrued by each pairing | We recommend 1000 or higher. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Longer Pairings Pairing Length [h] | Defines the maximum allowed pairing length. Note: | This parameter must be equal or greater than "Pairing Parameters - Max duty time. | | Max Duties | Defines Maximum number of duties allowed in the pairing. This parameter currrently work together with the "Paring Parameter - Max pairing length". E.g. if Max Duties is 2 and "Paring Parameter - Max pairing length" is 48 then you will get a 2 days parting | No Layover After Base | Decides if there can be a layover at base. | Use time windows | Time windows are used to speed up the optimization, and is in general needed to get a solution within a reasonable time frame (if the input data contains a large number of flights, or the period over which we optimize is long). | Time window size | dd.hh.mm | Forward feasibility Time | | | | | | Legality Rules Parameters Rule Selection In the drop-down control under the ‘Legality Goups’, one or multiple rules belonging to different groups can be shown under the ‘Available Rules’ label after the ‘Show Rules’ button is pressed; The rules to be used by the tool should be marked and moved to the right side list (‘Rules To Use’) via the controls in between lists. Max FDP Rules If FDP Rules are used (if ‘Max Positions Outside Of FDP/Pairing’ from ‘Pairing Parameters’ is greater than zero) then the rule(s) which constraints maximum FDP should be moved from ‘Selected Rules’ to ‘Rules To Use’. | | | | Built in Rules You can use both N-OC's legalities and built in rules. This is a high performance boost for CPO if built in rules are used instead of N-OC's legalities. Min rest | Min rest Home Base in minutes. Rest away from Home Base Note: | Using the Min Rest settings the optimizer should be able to mimic the 10 hour rest rule in FAR117. | | Max FDP | Available tables from the company legality. Setting the appropriate table in Max Fdp, the optimizer should be able to mimic the basic Max Fdp rule in FAR117, with acclimatized crew flying non transatlantic flights. Note: | Additional fdp rules using different tables for different flight circumstances are not yet available | | Meal Stop | Meal Time Max FDP Before Meal | Consequtive Night Duties | Max Sectors in Consecutive Night Duties. Note: | The optimizer can be made to mimic the FAR117.27 rule, about max consecutive night duties. | Max Consecutive Night Night Duty Start Night Duty End | Max Flight time | Setting up Max Flight Time with the appropriate table, the optimizer should be able to mimic the rule regarding max flight time in FAR117. | Note: that in the presence of union, and/or other rules, the mimer legality check might still be needed in addition to this. But in cases with no transatlantic flights and no other limiting rule sets, a legal solution should be provided without hitting the “Apply legalities” button, given that the parameters in built in rules are set up correctly. | | Deadheads Load from Dataservice | This option will allow you to read Deadhead flights from a central NB database. Please contact the support desk for details. | Airline | Airlines to read from the dataservice | Flight number | Flightnumbers to read from the dataservice | | | | | | | | | | | CPO runs To run the tool either ‘Run’ button can be pressed or go stage by stage with the buttons below ‘Run’. At any point of time the process can be stopped by pressing ‘Stop’. | Run This is doing a complete run based on user inputs When this button is pressed, first the pairing generation takes place, then legalities are applied on the generated pairings. If ‘Add Deadheads On Run’ checkbox under ‘Algorithm Options’ is ticked the deadheads will be added to create pairings with the uncovered legs otherwise it will jump to the optimization phase. If ‘Round Trip Pairings’ is selected as a generation option and ‘Create Longer Pairings On Run’ is ticked (both can be found in the ‘Algorithm Options’ tab) then longer pairings out of the round trip pairings will be created. | | Generate Pairings Generates pairings based on the user inputs. Pairings generated here might be illegal. | | Apply Legalities Used for applying legalities on the generated pairings; This works only after ‘Generate Pairings’ button has been pressed. | | Add Deadheads Used for adding deadheads on the uncovered legs; This button can be used either after ‘Generate Pairings’ or after ‘Apply Legalities’. | | Optimize Used for optimizing pairings. It can be used either after ‘Generate Pairings’, or after ‘Apply Legalities’ or after ‘Add Deadheads’ | | Create Long Pairings Used to create longer pairing out of round trips pairings: Here, three stages take place: This button can only be used after ‘Optimize’ button’ if the generation option is ‘Round Trip Pairings’. | | Stop Used to cancel any process within the tool; Button is available only if a process is going on. | | | | Statistics When the RUN has finished you will see the result in the statistics window. If you have two parameter settings you will see statistics for each line. Row | sequence number if the run is repeated | Activities | Number of all loaded flights | Generated Pairings | P | All Pairings | I P | | R/T | Round trip | I R/T | | DH | | | Uncovered activities | Number of uncovered activities | Generation time | Initial generation time | Mimer time | Legality calculation time | Opt time | Pairing Optimization time | Obj. Value | | Pairing length data | # of duties. Max/Avg and Min hours. This Stats are useful to see if | Flights/Pairing | Average number of flights per pairing. | Duties/Pairing | Average number of duties per pairing. | Duty data | # of duties. Max/Avg and Min hours. | BLH UTC | Total BLH in UTC per Base. Pairing with Max/Avg/Min. | BLH Local | Total BLH in Local per Base. Pairing with Max/Avg/Min. | Layover length data | Number of layovers. Max/avg/min length. | Flights with position data | Number of flights used for positioning. | A/C Change Connection data | Number pairings with Aircraft change | Penalized A/C Change Connection data | Number pairings with Aircraft change that has been penalized. | Sit Connection Data | Turn around times. Number of TA/Man/Avg/Min. | Additional legs | # of Deadheads/Carry in/Carry out | Simultaneous Crew sets | | SCS Violations Occasions | | Production days | Total production days per base | | | Print Statistics There is currently no option to print the statistics. But you can click on a row so is marked blue, press ctrl+c and paste into excel or word. | | | | You can either Clear the Statistics or Show the result on the Gantt. If the result is on the Gantt it can be saved. If you make a new run without saving the new result will overwrite the previous result. | | | | Example settings: | |
