ATC rostering on a restricted budget

With a limited budget, each change needs a clear purpose. Measure the demand, staffing and effort behind today’s roster before deciding where to invest.

Put demand first

Set the number and qualifications of staff needed for each period. Demand may differ across days even when shift times are unchanged.

For example, a morning shift may require six controllers on one day and three on another. This is a planning input to assess, not a demand forecast produced by the rostering engine. SkyRoster supports staffing requirements and position planning so that planners can represent those differences.

Understand the overtime

Review where overtime comes from: insufficient headcount, qualification restrictions, absence or the arrangement of shifts. A different distribution of work may help in some cases, but it cannot eliminate a shortage in available capacity.

Compare alternatives using the same demand and staff. If a scenario adds employees, report the headcount change and its cost alongside the overtime effect.

Reduce repeated data entry

Shared employee, qualification and request records can reduce the need to transfer information between files. Defined rule checks can also support review of changes.

Accurate inputs and planner approval remain necessary. Include the work needed to prepare data and configure the system when estimating the benefit.

Count the full cost

Assess licences, hosting, deployment, integration, training, support and internal staff time. Consider the modules needed for the proposed scope and distinguish one-off from recurring charges.

Use measured planning effort and realistic assumptions in the business case. Review current pricing, business-case inputs and published case studies.