by John Brandt
The recent Aerolineas Argentinas strikes are an example of a severe, yet self-inflicted, scheduling challenge. But weather, equipment issues and illnesses can all add up to just as many or more cancelled flights. Any of these scenarios pose a difficult prospect for an operation of any scale. While employees have their own agendas and priorities to attend to, business operations do not sit idly by waiting for their required work to be covered. It’s a real burden for managers to keep track of the various actions and activities of their company’s workers, especially when relying on the use of a dated three-ring binder and bulletin board-centric system. ARCOS RosterApps addresses these issues head-on.
RosterApps, which is airline ground crew scheduling software, helps managers organize their scheduling information in one centralized, digital location. Company employees can submit requests and communicate with one another in a convenient, instantaneous manner. The transition to a digital platform eliminates the need for paper-based submissions, ridding managers of potentially mishandling time-management issues. Different tiers of authority allow for various levels of access and freedom. The base level is given to the standard employee, while upper levels can be assigned to supervisors and both company and location administrators. These upper tiers allow designated users to grant permissions and regulate lower-level profiles. They can also send out notifications and alerts on a large scale if need be, which is critical when it comes to messages, specifically emergencies, that require employee response on short notice.
ARCOS RosterApps gives airlines a way to automate many of the manual work-management processes relied upon behind the scenes. According to one manager for airport operations, “RosterApps standardizes the way we manage the requirements of our union agreements and company policy and ensures an equitable process for thousands of ground staff.”
From a base-level employee perspective, it assures users that their scheduling requests were received and addressed, in real time. For supervisors, RosterApps enables them to access individual scheduling concerns at the click of a button. Finally, for consumers, improved, in-house ground crew communication and scheduling helps keep flights on time. RosterApps may not prevent a strike like the one at Aerolineas Argentinas, but it certainly can get ground crews back on schedule in the wake of an interruption in service.
