Configuring the break rule

To configure meal and break rules to require a break to be scheduled at a specific time of day, use the rule on the LFSO Schedule Rules Setup page. On the Setup page you have the option to select start and end times for the meal break. In addition, you can configure breaks as you did in prior versions of LFSO. These options mean that you can leave the Starts Before and Ends After fields blank.

The rule functions by blocking specific fields on the Schedule Rules Setup page. You can only use one method for break allocation. Either use the Hours range from and to method as in prior versions of LFSO. Or, use the new fields for Break Starts Between where start and end times are specified. When either set of fields are selected, the other set of fields become unavailable. For example, if you enter hours in the Hours range to and Hours range from fields, then the Break Starts Between fields are unavailable. See Setting up break rules.

LFSO allows you to configure a set of rules for a range of shift lengths. These rules are applied to shifts by the optimizer automatically or manually when shifts are edited. The optimizer first applies the rules with the most specific rule conditions to the shifts. The most specific conditions include both the starts before and ends after time parameters. If there are no rules with these conditions, then the optimizer applies the rules with less specific conditions to the shift. These rules include only a starts before or ends after time parameter. If there are no rules with specific conditions, then the optimizer applies the rule with no "starts before" and "ends after" parameters to the shifts.