What makes an ATCO duty roster fair?

Fair does not always mean identical. Different contracts, qualifications and availability affect what people can work. Agree what to measure before comparing the assignments.

SkyRoster brings those distribution objectives into the strategic roster alongside demand, availability and scheduling rules.

Set the starting point

Select the unit, roster period and individual or team-based approach. Configure the shift types, rotation strategy and staffing requirements that represent the operation.

A new roster can be built from scratch or continued from an existing roster. In either case, check the relevant history and boundary conditions around the new period.

Select the staff

Include the appropriate teams or employees and verify their availability and qualifications. Leave, duty requests and relevant contract differences affect which assignments can be made.

A distribution measure should account for these differences. Comparing raw duty counts without context may conceal why one person has more assignments of a particular type.

Define the balance

Supported constraints include rest requirements, shift distribution, qualification-related rules and the distribution of night and weekend duties. Configure them to reflect the organisation’s approved policy.

Preferences for shifts or days off can also be included. They may compete with other objectives, so planners need to review trade-offs rather than expect every preference to be met.

Compare the roster alternatives

The engine evaluates candidate rosters against the configured constraints. Inspect violations and compare relevant distribution measures before publication.

Review results over a suitable period. A single month may not show whether public-holiday or weekend duties are balanced over the longer term.

Automation supports consistent calculations and comparison. The organisation defines its fairness objectives and reviews the resulting distribution with staff.

Explore strategic rostering and the rule catalogue.