Break Cover

• The shift is divided into 15-minute slots. In every slot, the officers who are on duty and not on their break are matched to the posts they can cover, one officer to one post, until each post reaches its minimum. An officer is never counted on two posts at once.
• Break windows, break lengths and minimum staffing are all yours to set. The planner checks the requirements you enter; it does not impose any of its own.
• It searches every combination of break start times at 15-minute steps, with pruning. If it finds a rota where every slot is covered and every break is taken, it shows it. If every combination fails, it says the rota is impossible with these settings and shows the closest partial rota, with each uncovered period (post, time, shortfall) and each missed break marked. If the search limit is reached first, it says "no valid rota found" rather than claiming impossibility.
• Change any break in the list and the whole rota is re-checked immediately. The briefing sheet prints the break list and the coverage table.

The preloaded example is a 21:00 to 03:00 shift with a front entrance needing two, an internal patrol needing one, three door supervisors on from 21:00 and a relief officer on from 22:00, each due a 30-minute break between 23:00 and 01:30. Four officers for three seats leaves one spare at any time, so breaks can be staggered one after another. Delete the relief officer and generate again: with only three officers for three seats, no break is possible without a gap, and the planner shows which post is short and when. Then try shortening the breaks or widening the windows and watch what changes.

Breaks are a welfare and safety issue, and uncovered posts are a licensing and contract issue. Working it out on paper at 23:00 with a radio going is how posts get left empty. A rota planned before the doors open, printed and handed to the team, is part of the supervision taught on the Door Supervisor course. Combine it with the event queue calculator when planning the start of the night.