Being a roster planner is by no means an easy job. Not only will data change regularly, and too frequently, in terms of flight schedule and crew availability, the planner is also expected to produce a robust roster, equalizing workload in terms of duty hours and block hours, grant bids and requests while fully staffing all flights. On top of this, it needs to be done very quickly and while applying 'good FRM roster practices'. All too many planners have their days filled by just getting a (single) feasible and legal plan together at all. One that has a decent overall compromise between the multiple objectives set by the organisation.
Manually adjusting rosters, for example by trying to move around activities for reducing fatigue risk once the overall solution has been evaluated by a BMM (a fatigue model) - is close to impossible, in a good way. The reduction of overall risk is minimal, and sometimes the actions are even counterproductive as other, just as important aspects are sacrificed in the process. Like the robustness of the plan - which will leave a sour taste later on in day of operation.
The solution to the above lies in cutting trough and reducing the complexity by integrating BMMs deeper into the crew management process. Done correctly, this allows for the roster planner to 'lean back' in reassurance that fatigue risk is properly, and automatically, already considered when the crew pairings and rosters are put together by the planning optimizer. Dealing with it up front.
Welcome to read more here about the secret behind that approach. Enjoy.
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