Secondary base support for helicopters

Configure where helicopters pick up and drop off personnel and where they wait between jobs.

Helicopters can use a Secondary base in addition to their Primary base. This makes it possible to model helicopter operations where technicians are located offshore while the helicopter's main home base remains elsewhere.

When a Secondary base is configured, that location becomes the helicopter's personnel pickup and dropoff location.

The helicopter's Idle location is configured separately and determines only where the helicopter waits between jobs.

How secondary bases work

The Primary base, Secondary base, and Idle location have different purposes.

Setting	Purpose
Primary base	The helicopter's primary home base.
Secondary base	The location used to pick up and drop off personnel when a secondary location is configured.
Idle location	Determines whether the helicopter waits at its Primary or Secondary base between jobs.

The Secondary base and Idle location settings are independent.

For example, if you configure an offshore base as the helicopter's Secondary base and select Primary (home port) as the Idle location, the helicopter still picks up and drops off personnel at the offshore base. It simply returns to its Primary base while waiting between jobs.

The resulting behaviour is:

Secondary base	Idle location	Personnel pickup/dropoff	Helicopter waits at
Not configured	Primary	Primary base	Primary base
Configured	Primary	Secondary base	Primary base
Configured	Secondary	Secondary base	Secondary base

Important: Selecting a Secondary base changes the location used for personnel transfers. The Primary base is no longer used for technician pickup and dropoff while a Secondary base is configured.

Personnel requirements

Personnel transported by the helicopter must be based at the same location the helicopter uses for pickup and dropoff.

If the helicopter has a Secondary base configured, eligible personnel must therefore be based at that secondary location.

They must also meet the normal requirements for the task, including:

Having the required personnel skills.
Being allowed to travel by helicopter.
Being available during the required work period.
Meeting any other task or scheduling requirements.

If no eligible personnel are based at the helicopter's Secondary base, the helicopter cannot carry out work that requires those personnel.

Important: Changing the helicopter's Idle location does not change personnel eligibility. Personnel must still be based at the Secondary base whether the helicopter idles at the Primary or Secondary location.

Configure a helicopter with a secondary base

Open the relevant simulation case.
Go to Build → Logistics.
Open or add the relevant Helicopter.
Set the helicopter's Primary base.
Select the required Secondary base.
Set the Idle location:
- Select Primary (home port) if the helicopter should return to its Primary base while waiting between jobs.
- Select Secondary base if the helicopter should remain at the Secondary base while waiting between jobs.
Configure the remaining helicopter settings as required.
Save the helicopter.

Configure personnel at the secondary base

After configuring the helicopter, make sure suitable personnel are based at the same secondary location.

Go to Build → Personnel.
Add a new personnel group or edit an existing group.
Set Home base to the same location selected as the helicopter's Secondary base.
Make sure the group has the skills required by the relevant maintenance tasks.
Make sure the personnel are allowed to travel by helicopter.
Configure their schedule and other personnel settings as required.
Save the personnel group.

If personnel are also required at the Primary base, create separate personnel groups and assign the required number of technicians to each Home base.

This lets you keep personnel available at both locations without changing the total workforce unnecessarily.

Example: idle at the primary base

A helicopter is configured as follows:

Primary base: Humber Port
Secondary base: Offshore Base 2.40
Idle location: Primary (home port)

A group of technicians is configured with:

Home base: Offshore Base 2.40
Transport: Helicopter allowed
Skills: Skills required by the helicopter maintenance tasks

In this configuration:

The helicopter waits at Humber Port while idle.
When work is scheduled, it travels to Offshore Base 2.40.
It picks up eligible technicians from Offshore Base 2.40.
It transports them to the work location.
After the work transfer, the technicians are returned to Offshore Base 2.40.
The helicopter can then return to Humber Port to wait for its next job.

Selecting the Primary base as the Idle location does not cause the helicopter to pick up personnel from Humber Port.

Example: idle at the secondary base

Using the same configuration, change only:

Idle location: Secondary base

The personnel transfer behaviour remains unchanged:

Technicians are still picked up at Offshore Base 2.40.
Technicians are still returned to Offshore Base 2.40.
Personnel must still be based at Offshore Base 2.40.

The only difference is that the helicopter waits at Offshore Base 2.40 between jobs instead of returning to Humber Port.

Using an SOV as the secondary location

A helicopter can also operate with an SOV as its offshore location.

When an SOV is selected, the personnel who use the helicopter must also be based on that SOV and meet the required task and transport requirements.

The same principle applies as for an offshore base: the helicopter and the personnel must use the same transfer location.

Comparing Primary and Secondary idle locations

When comparing helicopter scenarios, keep the rest of the case configuration unchanged.

For a controlled comparison between Primary and Secondary idle locations:

Use the same helicopter.
Use the same Primary base.
Use the same Secondary base.
Use the same personnel groups and Home base assignments.
Use the same personnel skills, schedules, and availability.
Change only the helicopter's Idle location.

This makes it possible to isolate the effect of where the helicopter waits between jobs without also changing personnel eligibility or workforce capacity.

Troubleshooting

The helicopter does not carry out any tasks

Check that personnel are based at the helicopter's configured Secondary base.

If all eligible technicians are still based at the Primary base, they cannot be selected for helicopter transfers from the Secondary base.

Also confirm that:

Enough personnel are available for the task.
Personnel have the required skills.
Personnel are allowed to travel by helicopter.
Personnel and helicopter schedules overlap.
The helicopter is available for the relevant wind farm and task.

The helicopter is moving but no maintenance is completed

If the helicopter is configured to idle at the Secondary base, it may still show movement related to positioning, mobilisation, or idle-location behaviour even when no eligible personnel are available.

Movement by itself does not mean that technicians have been picked up or that maintenance work has started.

Check the personnel Home base and task eligibility settings.

Personnel are still being picked up at the Primary base

Check whether a Secondary base is actually configured for the helicopter.

If no Secondary base is configured, the helicopter retains the previous behaviour and uses its Primary base for personnel transfers.

Behaviour to remember

Secondary base controls personnel transfers. Idle location controls where the helicopter waits.

When a Secondary base is configured:

The helicopter uses the Secondary base for personnel pickup and dropoff.
Personnel using the helicopter must be based at that secondary location.
Selecting Primary (home port) as the Idle location does not move personnel transfers back to the Primary base.
Selecting Secondary base as the Idle location does not change which personnel are eligible.
Removing the Secondary base restores the previous Primary-base transfer behaviour.