Runcutting: Explore every option with Runcut Explorer
Last week, we explored rostering and how Remix applies a visual approach to help communicate tradeoffs. This post covers the runcutting process of transit scheduling.
Runcutting is the process of creating daily operator assignments from a set of vehicle blocks. Runcutting manually is an exercise in logic, precision, and creative problem solving. The quality of the runcut can produce very different outcomes in terms of operator happiness and the cost of delivering transit service.
A runcutter lives in a world of tradeoffs, working to reduce the cost of delivering service while improving different facets of operator happiness. Through our experiences with 19 transit agencies across the US, we’ve found that the best way to navigate these tradeoffs and satisfy all the stakeholders at an agency is to consider multiple options at the same time.
The challenge
Runcutting is inherently an optimization problem with numerous constraints, variables, and potential definitions of “optimal.” The constraints may come in the form of mandated rules around operator safety or negotiated rules to preserve operator rights and benefits. Andy Metz, Remix’s Scheduling Implementation Manager, puts it in simpler terms: “incorporating labor rules and operator preferences is like ordering pizza for a baseball stadium.”
Similar to rostering, the runcutting process has a major human component, as transit operators’ preferences are critical pieces of the puzzle. An extremely stringent runcut may save budget, but may also increase driver turnover if the work is overly burdensome. On the flipside, a runcut can save resources, which can then be reinvested into more service for the public. Further, we find that many transit agencies are tackling this process using inadequate tools. Spreadsheets are powerful, but are not designed to explore and identify the best runcut.
Finding the “optimal” by exploring every option
Given all the permutations of ways that blocks can be chopped, for a typical agency there are literally billions of runcut possibilities that technically fit their labor rules. Finding the “best” runcut on the first try seems unrealistically optimistic. Yet most schedulers, whether they’re manually runcutting in Excel or using scheduling software, typically can only explore one option at a time. This makes it prohibitively time-consuming to understand the space of possibilities and make an informed decision.
We believe that the exploration of options is at the heart of a good runcut. A scheduler’s intuition to weigh both objective and subjective variables is equally as important as the most cost-efficient solution. Remix designed the Runcut Explorer to specifically address this need. The Runcut Explorer never returns a single option — instead, it returns a representative sample that enables schedulers to visualize the tradeoffs and settle on a solution with confidence.
The Runcut Explorer is especially useful for explaining options to others at the agency who have a stake in the scheduling process. Operations managers and union representatives can sit with the scheduler, understand the options available to them, and discuss their concerns from an informed perspective.
Here’s how it works:
Remix Scheduling is designed to be powerful, but simple to understand for the new or the experienced scheduler. This design thinking carries across each of our products, including the runcutting interface.
Step 1: Seamlessly take inputs from blocking:
After you’ve completed your blocking (vehicle assignments), you can move right into runcutting. Your previous work in Remix Scheduling sets the foundation for the runcutting process. Remix Scheduling will be configured with your existing labor rules, but will leave certain preferences available for modification.
Step 2: Explore Options:
Using Runcut Explorer, you can evaluate multiple runcuts at a high level, then investigate the specifics with a single click.
Step 3: Understand, compare, and adjust:
Review the outputs and make further edits. If you’d like to investigate other options, simply edit your settings and runcut again.
Summarize the tradeoffs and find your unique solution
Using Runcut Explorer, you can quickly scan across multiple solutions to understand the tradeoffs between options. Showing the differences all at once enables the discussion of what is “optimal” by potentially identifying what is not.
Runcutting is often the most complicated component of the transit scheduling process. Software should not only help you find a solution; it should help you find all of the solutions, enabling you to compare and make decisions. Remix Scheduling is unique in how it enables your agency to find the best solution for every runcut.
Want to learn more about Remix Scheduling?
Visit us at https://www.remix.com/scheduling
Next week’s Post: Blocking: A bridge between planning and scheduling. In the next post, we’ll discuss blocking and how it serves as a bridge between planning and scheduling,.
Series note: A transit scheduler’s work can be complex, involving a certain level of personal creativity paired with an analytical mind. Transit software helps one see the big picture while tackling the intricacies of a transit system. This series outlines the key pieces of the transit scheduling process and how Remix Scheduling addresses each.
