As we’ve previously reported to you, the company began testing our new Reserve Preferencing System this month. The ability for Reserves to preference criteria was a part of our 2012-2016 Contract ratified last year.

During the testing this month, two issues were identified in the software developed for this system.  The first issue is a problem lining up Reserves in Time Accrued (TMAC) order.  While researching a resolution to this problem, the second issue was discovered.  This involves how trips with the same attributes (check-in time, trip credit, number of days) but with a different ID number are organized in the Open Trip file.  There were inconsistencies in the ordering of assignments in the trip file, which needs to be resolved before testing can continue.  The exact source of both of these problems is still being researched.
 
The company continues to work with their IT department in collaboration with the software vendor to determine an estimate of the time necessary to isolate and address these discrepancies.  The company representatives have told us that new “rules” for the software will need to be written before testing and training can move forward.  Therefore, testing has been delayed which will impact the implementation and training for Reserve Preferencing.  When we get more definitive dates and a revised timeline we will keep you updated.
 
We remain fully engaged with the company to ensure that the terms of the Letter of Agreement on Reserve Preferencing are implemented as negotiated.