S-065-V4-EN
The Breaks Preference defines the types of breaks used in your schedule and how often they occur. In this article, we go over the setup of this preference.
To add Break Preferences:
Open Preferences.
Start typing Break Preferences on the search bar.
Select Break Preferences.
Click Load Template at the bottom.
There are multiple templates available for each break type. Some relevant ones include Fixed Break, Continuous Break, and Pattern Break Rule, and are stored in the Optibus tab.
Fixed Break
A fixed break is used to define the minimum count of each specific break within a duty. As an example, it can enforce each duty to contain one Meal Break.
To access the Fixed Break template:
Open the Break Preference and click Load Template.
Search for Fixed Break in the Optibus tab.
Click Apply.
In Duty Breaks - fixed rule select the break type that needs to be constrained.
In the example below, Meal Break is selected. Then, in Minimum Breaks Count, we set the minimum number of breaks that type in each duty:
Continuous Break
This is the most commonly used break rule template. The continuous break defines the maximum time without a specific break.
To access the Continuous Break template:
Open the Break Preference and click Load Template.
Search for Continuous Break in the Optibus tab.
Click Apply.
The relevant break is defined in Duty Breaks, and the maximum time without that break is set in Maximum Time Without Break. A specific Time Definition is selected to assess which time is being referred to. This is why the Time Definitions are so important and must be defined before Break Preferences.
In the example below, the maximum duration of the workpiece without a Meal Break is limited to 5:30 hours. The time being considered here is the Platform Time defined in the previous section:
Additional settings can be defined for this template, including the possibility to Pick all possible breaks, Treat attendance as break, and Forbid breaks on changeovers. The last two are not applicable if there is a designated break location.
Pattern Break Rule
This template defines a required sequence (pattern) of breaks. An example of a pattern break rule would be a 15-minute that must be followed by a 30-minute break.
To access the Pattern Break Rule template:
Open the Break Preference and click Load Template.
Search for Pattern Break Rule in the Optibus tab.
Click Apply.
After defining the relevant breaks in the Duty Breaks preference, and following the previous example, the 15-minute break should be selected in First Duty Break, and the 30-minute break should be selected in Second Duty Break:
Break Preferences for different Duty Breaks
Multiple Break Preferences can be applied to the same Duty Break. On the other hand, the same Break Preference might be defined differently according to local agreements. In that case, different Duty Breaks should be defined, and the appropriate Duty Break Groups should be selected so that the two conflicting rules do not overlap. That is done by clicking on the All groups tab, and selecting the groups accordingly: