The N-PBS Scheduler tracks the number of language-qualified crewmembers for each language, and language credit. Coverage Awards occur if the amount of credit remaining is greater or equal to the amount of credit that the remaining available people who speak that language can legally take.
Language Coverage Awards force pairings that cover a critical period for particular languages on junior crewmembers to ensure that an excessive number of open-time positions requiring that language does not occur in the critical period.
If overall demand for pairings requiring a given language is insufficient, language Coverage Awards also force as much language-required credit as possible on junior crewmembers, while still honoring their bids (as much as possible) within the pool of language-required pairings.
It is possible to have both Language Coverage Awards and Operational Coverage Awards within the same bid.
Coverage Awards Example
December 25th is a typical example of a critical period in which a pairing stack occurs. Many crewmembers request the day off which causes too many pairings on December 25 to remain in open time.
To ensure coverage for this critical period, the N-PBS Scheduler uses the parameters set by administrators, and determines how many bid preferences for December 25 can be met. Anyone lower in the seniority list is assigned a pairing from the stack first, and then the rest of their block is built using their bid preferences.