Optimize your routes

Overview

The Route optimization feature allows route managers to optimize the order of stops on an individual route in Routing. It helps dispatch teams reduce drive time and distance when creating daily routes and helps crews complete more work each day.

Things to know

• Route optimization applies to individual routes only, not multiple routes at once.

• Optimization considers driving time and driving distance.

• If jobs overlap or conflict, the system will prompt you to resolve these before finishing.

• Jobs with fixed arrival windows may limit the optimization flexibility.

• Only assigned stops on a route are optimized.

• This feature does not replace route optimization in Dispatch.

• Optimized routes can still be manually adjusted after optimization.

Best practices

• Use optimization daily to account for changing traffic patterns and job locations.

• Review arrival windows and service durations before optimizing to avoid unnecessary rework.

• Use optimization as a starting point, then fine-tune the route to match operational needs.

Use cases

• A dispatcher has 10 jobs on a single route and needs to find the most efficient driving order.

• A route manager needs to reduce fuel costs by minimizing "back-and-forth" driving between neighborhoods.

Set up technician start and end locations

Route optimization uses technician start and end locations to calculate the most efficient driving order. In order for route optimization to work, you need to configure these locations from the technician profile.

Note: Start and end location setup is optional. Optimization can work without it but just won't take into account start and end.

1. Go to the top navigation bar and click Settings.

2. In the side panel, click People>Technicians.

3. Select the technician profile you want to update.

4. In the Profile tab, scroll to the Routing section.

Here you have three options for setting up the start and end location.

Option 1: Use Dispatch Pro start and end locations

If you're using Dispatch Pro, enable Use Dispatch Pro settings for start and end locations toggle. Routing automatically pulls the technician's start and end locations from Dispatch Pro.

Note: This toggle is enabled by default if you've Dispatch Pro enabled.

Option 2: Set default start and end locations (without Dispatch Pro)

If you do not use Dispatch Pro, follow these steps:

Note: Use Dispatch Pro settings for start and end locations toggle is turned off by default, if you do not have Dispatch Pro.

1. Select a default location in the Start Location dropdown.        

   1. Default

   2. Office

   3. Home

   4. Custom

2. Select a default location in the End Location dropdown.        

   1. Default

   2. Office

   3. Home

   4. Custom

These default locations are used for all routes unless you configure weekday-specific locations.

Option 3: Set start and end locations

If a technician starts or ends their day at different locations depending on the weekday, you can set start and end location by the weekday.

1. Enable the Start and End locations will vary depending on the day of the week toggle.

2. Select the days of the week. 

3. Set the Start and End Location.        

   1. Default

   2. Office

   3. Home

   4. Custom You can repeat the same steps for other days as needed.

Routing uses the locations that match the route date when optimizing.

Optimize an individual route

You can optimize a route regardless of whether appointments are already on the calendar. Optimization reorders stops to minimize driving time and distance.

Option 1: Optimize appointments not yet on the calendar

Use this option when appointments exist on the route but are not scheduled on the calendar.

1. From Dispatch > Routes, select a route with unscheduled appointments in the Route section. 

2. In the right side pop-up window, click Optimize. 

What happens:

• Appointments are automatically placed onto the calendar.

• Stops are ordered based on optimal driving sequence.

• You can manually adjust appointment times after optimization if needed.

Option 2: Optimize appointments already on the calendar

Use this option when all appointments are already scheduled.

1. From Dispatch > Routes, select a route with scheduled appointments in the Route section.

2. In the right side pop-up window, click Optimize. 

What happens:

• Appointments remain on the calendar.

• The system reorders stops to create the most efficient route.

Option 3: Optimize a partially scheduled route

Use this option when some appointments are scheduled and others are not.

1. From Dispatch > Routes, select a route with partially scheduled appointments in the Route section.

2. In the right side pop-up window, click Optimize. 

What happens:

• Unscheduled appointments are placed onto the calendar.

• All stops are reordered to produce an optimized route.

Identify and resolve route conflicts

Identify route conflicts

When optimization results in a conflict:

• The route instance is highlighted in red in the left-hand panel.

• Conflicts can occur for a variety of reasons, such as limited availability, scheduling constraints, overlapping appointments, or situations where the route cannot be optimized within the current parameters.

View conflict details

1. In the Route section, click the highlighted route. 

2. Review the conflict details in the right-side panel. 

Appointments that cannot fit within route constraints are moved to the Unassigned appointments and marked with the Need to Assign section for that route as shown on the image above.

Resolve conflicts

You can resolve conflicts in one of the following ways:

• Reassign appointments: Manually move the conflicting appointments to a different route.

• Remove from route: Remove the appointments from the current route. This places them back into the job pool, ensuring they aren't lost and remain available for reassignment.

• Manual Calendar Adjustment: Use the calendar view to manually place the appointment back into a specific time slot, using the locations of other appointments on the route as a visual guide for the best fit.

• Re-optimize: Click Optimize again. The system attempts to keep the appointments on the same route while rebalancing the schedule to eliminate the conflict.

Want to learn more?

• See Pool and Spa