An intervening activity is a pre-awarded pairing, absence or a pairing from an Award bid. Followed By has multiple options depending on your configuration. These options are not available if you do not see them on your interface. You can use Maximum Time Between Pairings and Allow Intervening Activities together.
When selected, Allow Intervening Activities instructs the N-PBS Scheduler:
to award pairings-if legal and preferred by an Award bid preference-between a requested Followed By sequence.
to allow pre-awarded pairings between the requested Followed By sequence, if legal.
to allow absences between the requested Followed By sequence, if legal.
If you select the Allow Intervening Activities checkbox, (Allow Intervening) is displayed in your bid preference after Followed By Pairings in the bid preference.
You can use multiple combinations Allow Intervening Activities in one bid preference For example, you could use Allow Intervening Activities in the first Followed By sequence and not in the next - Award Pairings If Departing On Jun 19, 2011 If Pairing Number 4187 Followed By Pairings (Allow Intervening) If Departing On Jun 23, 2011 If Pairing Number 4187 Followed By Pairings If Departing on Jun 28, 2011.
Example
Award Pairings If Departing On Jun 19, 2011 If Pairing Number 4187 Followed By Pairings (Allow Intervening) If Departing On Jun 23, 2011 If Pairing Number 4187
Details:
Bidder has been awarded a pairing on Jun 21, 2011 and the pairings available in the above example are available and legal with the pairing awarded on Jun 21.
If the Allow Intervening Activities checkbox is selected, the pairings would be awarded by the example bid preference. If the Allow Intervening Activities checkbox is not selected, the pairings would not be awarded by the example bid preference.
Reminders
Depending on the order of your Award bid preferences, a pairing can be awarded before or after the Followed By sequence has been awarded.
Followed By has multiple options depending on your configuration. These options are not available if you do not see them on your interface.
A Followed By bid preference is an all or nothing bid preference. In other words, if the N-PBS Scheduler can find pairings that match all of your Followed By bid preferences, it awards you the pairings. However, if the N-PBS Scheduler can find pairings that match your first Followed By option, but nothing that matches the second Followed By option, none of the pairings are awarded.