Crew Scheduling: Set Up Assets and Crewing Requirements

Crewing requirements tell Helm CONNECT who each of your assets needs on board. You set them up on the Asset Config settings page, one asset at a time. Each one has a name, usually after the work it covers, such as Dock or Harbor Day.

Before You Begin

Set up your rotations first if you plan to use crew groups. When you automate the schedule, each crew group column takes a turn working the asset's rotation. See "Crew Scheduling: Set Up Rotations."

For where to start and how the settings pages work together, see "Crew Scheduling: Introduction to Setup."

What Each Part of a Crewing Requirement Controls

An asset can have several crewing requirements, one for each kind of work it does. Jobs Integration decides which one a job uses.

• Position groups: The groups of positions that fill the same rotation, like Wheelhouse, Deck, or Engine Room.
• Positions: The individual roles inside a position group, like Captain, Engineer, or Deckhand.
• SM: A checkbox on each position row, short for safe manning. Select it when that position counts toward safe manning for the asset.
• Crew groups: The optional columns you add across a crewing requirement. Each column holds the crew who take one turn working the asset's rotation.
• Default: A toggle that marks one crewing requirement as the asset's default. A colored dot marks it in the list.

A crewing requirement can hold more than one position group, and you can list the same position more than once when an asset needs two of them. Naming the crew members in each crew group column lets Helm CONNECT draw and automate schedules with them instead of empty slots.

Set an Asset's Schedule Defaults

Each asset has a default start day and default times. Helm CONNECT applies them when you draw a new schedule on that asset by hand. Automated schedules don't use them. They take their times from the rotation and the start date you choose.

You can set these defaults on the Personnel > Schedule > Schedule tab, on the Asset Config settings page.

To set the schedule defaults for an asset

1. Go to the Personnel > Schedule > Schedule tab.
2. Click the Settings icon, then click Asset Config.
3. Click the name of the asset you want to configure. To narrow a long list, click FILTER first.
4. Click General, then complete the following fields:
   • Crew On Day: Select the day of the week new schedules should start on. Leave it set to None if you'd rather not anchor them to a particular day.
   • Crew On Time: Enter the time of day new schedules should start.
   • Crew Off Time: Enter the time of day new schedules should end.
5. Click SAVE.

Set Up Crewing Requirements

You can set up crewing requirements on the Personnel > Schedule > Schedule tab, on the Asset Config settings page. The left side lists the crewing requirements you've already created for the asset, below Crewing Requirements. Click one to open it for editing.

To create a crewing requirement

1. Go to the Personnel > Schedule > Schedule tab.
2. Click the Settings icon, then click Asset Config.
3. Click the name of the asset you want to configure.
4. Click Crewing Requirements, then click NEW REQUIREMENT.
5. In the field at the top, enter a name for the crewing requirement, for example "Default" or "Maintenance."
6. (Optional) Click the Color icon, then choose the color you want schedules to use whenever this crewing requirement is in place.
7. Select Default if this is the asset's default crewing requirement. Each asset needs a default, or no crewing requirement shows on the schedule.
8. From the position group list, select a position group.
9. From the position list, select a position.
10. (Optional) Select the SM checkbox if this position counts toward safe manning for the asset.
11. To add another position to the same group, click + Position, then repeat steps 9 and 10.
12. (Optional) To add a second group of positions, click + Position Group, then repeat steps 8 through 11 for the new group.
13. Click SAVE.

Crew groups are the columns that hold your people. Add a column for each group that takes a turn working the asset's rotation, then name the crew member who fills each position.

To add crew groups to a crewing requirement

1. Open the crewing requirement you want to add crew groups to.
2. Click + Crew Group.
3. In the column heading, enter a name for the crew group.
4. For each position row, enter the crew member who fills that position in this crew group.
5. Repeat steps 2 through 4 for each remaining crew group.
6. Click SAVE.

When two assets are crewed the same way, copy a finished crewing requirement instead of building it twice. You can copy to as many assets as you like at once, and the copy arrives as each receiving asset's default crewing requirement.

To copy a crewing requirement to another asset

1. Open the crewing requirement you want to copy.
2. Click COPY REQUIREMENT. A window opens listing every other asset.
3. For each asset you want to copy it to, select the Copy checkbox.
4. (Optional) Select Override Duplicate if the asset already has a crewing requirement with the same name and you want this one to replace it.
5. Click Copy. Your copies take effect right away, and you don't need to click SAVE.

To delete a crewing requirement

1. Open the crewing requirement you want to delete.
2. Click DELETE REQUIREMENT. The crewing requirement disappears from the list right away, without asking you to confirm.
3. Click SAVE.

Map Trip Types to Crewing Requirements

Each job that runs against an asset has a trip type, and different trip types can call for different crew. When you map a trip type to a crewing requirement, Helm CONNECT uses that crewing requirement for every job of that type.

You can map trip types on the Personnel > Schedule > Schedule tab, on the Asset Config settings page. Every trip type you've set up gets a row, and any row you leave alone falls back to the asset's default crewing requirement. The Crew Requirement list offers the asset's other crewing requirements. If an asset has only a default crewing requirement, the list is empty.

To map a trip type to a crewing requirement

1. Go to the Personnel > Schedule > Schedule tab.
2. Click the Settings icon, then click Asset Config.
3. Click the name of the asset you want to configure.
4. Click Jobs Integration.
5. Find the trip type you want to change, then select a crewing requirement from the Crew Requirement list beside it.
6. Repeat step 5 for each trip type that needs its own crewing requirement.
7. Click SAVE.

To remove a trip type mapping

1. Go to the Personnel > Schedule > Schedule tab.
2. Click the Settings icon, then click Asset Config.
3. Click the name of the asset you want to configure.
4. Click Jobs Integration.
5. Click the delete icon to the right of the trip type you want to reset. The row goes back to using the asset's default crewing requirement.
6. Click SAVE.