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Post by mikerice on Oct 9, 2017 9:43:05 GMT -6
Hello everyone,
I had a few primary objectives with the creation of SRS, and certainly providing the opportunity for more folks to operate trains under dispatcher control was at the top of the list. As the SRS server is operated under Oligarchy dispatching mode, only the on duty Dispatcher(s) have the password to control powered switches and clear signals. The Dispatcher has the responsibility of ensuring traffic is prioritized and routed appropriately, and with the mode of dispatching we are using these responsibilities come down to less than a handful of people.
One of the challenges "opportunities" we are facing is to staff Dispatchers at times that align with when folks are on the server. I realize that not everyone desires to work in a yard or switch an industry every time they are on the server, including me. So far our dispatchers are primarily located in the US Central time zone, we have had a couple located in the US Eastern time zone sometimes. The range of hours we have attempted to cover start as early as 6am CDT and as late as 11pm CDT, and primarily on weekdays (but not Friday afternoon/evenings) The hours that we staff between 6am and 11pm CDT are based on a few limiting factors such as personal schedule limitations and not dispatching more than 4 consecutive hours (beyond the 3 to 4 hour mark, dispatcher errors increase significantly). The other limiting factor is in regards to how quickly we can move a train from origin to destination when we have lots of dispatching hours, not a problem for through trains but it does cause challenges with arrivals in the region.
One thing I haven't done so far is ask the community for input on what days and time frames would make them more likely to get on the server to operate trains under dispatcher control, or at least work a yard, industry or local while trains are moving on the mainlines. So here's your chance, I'd really like to hear your thoughts on this subject. I'll gather all inputs and analyze against our current staffed dispatcher hours, and then identify actions that can be taken to improve dispatcher coverage. I have a few ideas already, but I would really like to understand the wishes of the community rather than guessing.
Thank you,
Mike
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Post by ksgreybear55 on Oct 9, 2017 14:58:51 GMT -6
Typically (at least in my experience), folks have time to come onto the server on weeknights and weekends, as most have daytime commitments which prevent participation during those times. The last Thursday session as I understand it was proof of that as it had several people participating in a variety of functions.
My suggestion would be this based on the above; focus DS coverage during weeknights and weekends.
Lets hear from other folks please!
Bear
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Post by mikerice on Oct 9, 2017 17:51:50 GMT -6
I posted this to get the requirements from folks, and then we can address any coverage changes with current DS staff or incremental staffing. I don't want to throw options out there until the needs are comprehended.
From my previous server hosting experience we had good success running a bit later in the night during the week which attracted folks from the US Pacific timezone or late night US folks in general, and early risers in Europe. We also had some great Friday evening sessions which we don't offer right now as well as Sunday evening. Saturday mornings (late morning US Central) were also be a pretty popular time.
Yes please, let's here from other folks to understand what they would like.
Thanks,
Mike
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Post by MagnusA on Oct 10, 2017 2:05:50 GMT -6
I am probably quite odd here since I live in a completely different time zone (Europe), 9 hours ahead of server time (US Pacific Time?). My evenings are about 6 am to 12 am on the server and then I am quite alone working there (while the sun is rising in a very beautiful light). On the other hand I am happy to work industries and simple yard jobs without any need for DS. But of course someone needs to sometimes bring work into the industries.
Me taking a share in dispatching to get trains through to their destinations? Well, maybe (much) later, I do need (a lot) more practice and "feel" for the SRS logistics first.
/Magnus
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Post by hawk777 on Oct 17, 2017 1:13:59 GMT -6
I live in Pacific and am generally not available until about 2000–2030 on week days (usually stay up until after 2400). Occasional weekends too. I would be interested in doing some dispatching if that’s something someone’s looking for, though it would be one-offs as I can’t commit to regular availability week after week.
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Post by Clint on Oct 17, 2017 1:17:30 GMT -6
Hawk, I saw you mention somewhere else that you would like to see some later night DS sessions so you could run on the server. I'm getting my DS legs under me now, but if Mike is up for it and when he feels I'm ready I wouldn't mind doing some later night sessions as well so you would have the opportunity to run and not just always DS when you are available.
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Post by mikerice on Oct 17, 2017 9:26:35 GMT -6
Hawk, thanks for your reply. It helps to have details like you provided to understand where we can potentially adjust some things to increase participation. As Clint mentions he is coming up to speed on being a DS and seeing how he hardly ever sleeps, that opens up lots of possibilities. (LOL) Seriously, I could see us extending our current DS sessions on a few nights to open up some better opportunities for the Pacific time zone, either dispatching or running trains and working with a dispatcher.
Magnus, thanks for your reply as well. We absolutely need folks to work the yards and industries, and in your case you normally have some hours during our US day/afternoon where there is an on duty dispatcher during the week. But down the road if you are looking to explore some dispatching work we can certainly give it a try.
Thank you both!
Mike
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Post by hawk777 on Nov 1, 2017 1:17:35 GMT -6
I’m curious if you have any documentation online anywhere about a dispatcher’s duties in SRS. I mean, some of it is pretty obvious: controlling signals and switches, authorizing drivers to throw mainline hand switches, and looking up train destinations in order to figure out where to send them. There’s a lot more that I don’t know, though. On this thread you mentioned writing up a job description for dispatchers, but I can’t find that if it’s been written yet. Examples of questions I don’t know the answers to: - Is it the dispatcher’s responsibility to spawn the non-random trains at the fringes when they’re scheduled to enter the simulated territory? The operating concept says the dispatcher and server owner can do that, but who actually does it in practice?
- When a train arrives at a yard, who decides which receiving track to put it in? Who operates the hand switches on the yard ladder? I could see any of the driver, the yardmaster, or the dispatcher doing this. Does the answer change if the train is driven by AI? What if the train is driven by AI and is too long to fit in one receiving line so it needs to be cut in half immediately on arrival?
- When a train is ready to depart from a yard, who operates the hand switches in the yard ladder? I could see any of the driver, the yardmaster, or the dispatcher doing this.
- In this thread you say that paperwork (by which I assume you mean updating the registry) is almost entirely handled by yardmasters and dispatchers. But who does which part? If a train enters an arrival yard from, or leaves a departure to, the mainline, is it the yardmaster or the dispatcher who updates the registry?
- If a train is in the departure yard and ready to leave, but nobody wants to drive it, who decides how long it sits there and, after that timeout, who gives it an AI crew and gets it moving?
- For Amtrak trains, the AI will just sit at the station for a minute or two and then drive on, regardless of what time it arrives. Should it be held to its scheduled time based on an actual, real-world Amtrak timetable? If so, is the dispatcher responsible for setting hold mode on the AI when it arrives and releasing it when it leaves, if there’s no human driver?
- In this thread you say that dispatchers have to be authorized by staff, but I can’t find anything that says how that actually happens—that is, who has to be asked, what does the requester have to do to be approved, what’s the process?
Basically, I’m interested in being a dispatcher at some point, and I’ve mentioned this once or twice before, but I have no idea how to move forward from “yes, that sounds like a good idea, we want more dispatchers” to “here are the steps you need to take to receive the password and be able to post a calendar event”. |
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Post by Clint on Nov 1, 2017 6:01:01 GMT -6
Hi hawk777. The detailed description of the dispatcher duties is not complete yet. Mike is working on updating a lot of the information about the server. - The scheduled, non random trains are spawned by the on duty dispatcher. The files are available in a Google Drive folder once you have been authorized as a dispatcher. Because it is a 24/7 server, the server owner is not always online when a dispatcher is on duty.
- The key goal to remember is that the dispatcher has a lot to do when he is on duty. The less the dispatcher does to take his focus off of the dispatch board the better. The answer to this question follows kind of a hierarchy. If the train is being driven by a human player, they will be responsible for any hand throws and choosing an appropriate track to arrive on, if there is not one indicated by the Yard Master. If the Yard Master is on duty, the engineer should contact the Yard Master for arrival instructions. If the train is under AI control, if there is a Yard Master on duty, the dispatcher will contact the Yard Master to notify them of the arrival, and then line the train to the appropriate yard entry as requested by the Yard Master. The yard master would then handle all of the manual and automatic switches within the yard to arrive the train. If the train is under AI control and there is no Yard Master on duty, the dispatcher will choose an appropriate track and ensure that all manual and automatic switches are lined for arrival. On our server, there are very few times that a train will be too long to arrive on one track. One place this does happen is in San Bernardino at the GM facility (and possibly the Intermodal facility but that is a question better suited to the SBD Yard Master (ksgreybear55) also the daytime dispatcher).
- Departure is a similar hierarchy to arrival. Train driver, Yard Master, or dispatcher, depending on who is on duty at the time.
- Registry updates, again, follow a similar hierarchy to arrival and departure. Basically if there is someone else available other than the dispatcher to do a task such as arriving or departing and registry updates, they should be doing these things to allow the dispatcher to continue to focus on the main task of dispatching and routing trains.
- The wait time of a train before departing on AI is something that has been discussed by myself and the server owner recently. It used to be that it would just be departed AI by the dispatcher or yard master as soon as it was ready. I would like to see a waiting time incorporated to allow people the opportunity to drive the train themselves, however there is no specific policy on this matter at the current time.
- Amtrak is a different beast on this server because of the cycles that we we run. Because the server time (in game time) is not the same as the simulated time, Amtrak doesn't really have a schedule of station stops. It is spawned at the appropriate simulated time but then either runs its entire course on AI or with a human crew, but does not hold at the stations. Because of the slow down factor that we run, a 15 minute simulated time station stop, would equate to about 6 hours of real time. (Current slow down factor is 21 which puts us at about 1 hour and 8 minutes of simulated time per real time day. The cycle can be complicated but feel free to ask for further explanation if you need more help understanding it.)
- If you are interested in dispatching, the best thing to do is to contact mikerice, the server owner, and let him know you have interest. I started by joining him on his Tuesday and Thursday dispatch sessions, that way you can have an on the job training type of environment. There is no procedure laid out for this process, but these are all good questions you have asked, most of which have been discussed recently, but have not been implemented or the procedural documentation has not been written yet.
I hope these answers are helpful and I'm sure if Mike sees anything I may have misstated or misunderstood myself, he will clear it up. Hope to see you on the rails soon!
-Clint
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Post by ksgreybear55 on Nov 1, 2017 7:59:11 GMT -6
The Inbound vehicle trains will fit if they are arrived on track 671 and the Lead Unit is taken all the down to Rana on the GM Lead. Likewise, when the outbound trains are built, they will fit between the EB control signal controlling track 671 and Rana. The trains do use up about 99% of 671 but they will fit.
*Usually* Inbound IM trains to A Yard will fit (Mike has created trains of a specific length so that they will) There is the odd exception when a 4100 foot train comes into a 3850 foot siding (A yard Tracks 202-204 are shorter than 205-207). Arrive the train on its assigned track. If there is some overage, make a note on the SBD Yard Board. The SBD YM will assign the Switch Crew to get it fully into it's siding :-)
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Post by hawk777 on Nov 3, 2017 1:40:56 GMT -6
Clint, thanks for that big writeup. Very informative! I might be able to make the Saturday morning session for a couple of hours.
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