(15 Apr 2014, 6:29 pm)NEBCD Malarkey wrote Would I be right in thinking that for a 5 Hour Shift Pattern, Full 21 Drivers would get a total of around 30 Minutes Layover and then that would be the end of there Shift, and Short's about an Hour as they would then go onto to do the 21's that run after 7pm, I definitely think it runs as 2 Standalone rather than Interworking as there is always at least 3 Together at some point during the Day.
How it works in a nutshell, is that all the timetables are loaded into a Scheduling System (GNE use Austrics), and then the system builds the shifts the most efficient way. The shifts are built based on certain criteria (ie number of 4 day week shifts per day, minimum meal break length, maximum driving times, etc). It could build a shift with a couple of hours driving at the beginning of a shift then a long back half and vice versa - It is a pretty clever piece of software!