Quite often standbys are used in cover planning. In certain periods one ore more teachers are on standby, i.e. they are readily available for possible substitutions. The standbys are scheduled after the timetable is completed. The following points shall be considered.
| • | The standbys shall be distributed evenly among the teachers. |
| • | In certain periods, e.g. the first period, more than one standbys are needed. |
| • | There has to be a limit of how many standbys a teacher can be assigned to. |
| • | The standbys have to fit into the regular timetable of the teacher. The teacher must not teach while he is on standby, of course. On the other hand the standbys shall not be scheduled on (half) days without regular lessons. Ideal are periods that are between two lessons or periods that are adjacent to lessons. |
| • | Usually several standbys on one day are not wanted. |
The functionality of standbys shall be explained with the following example.
