Route optimization

  • Release version: Washingtondc
  • Updated February 1, 2024
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Route Optimization Using Field Service Management

    Route optimization in Field Service Management enhances the efficiency of scheduling and dispatching work order tasks to agents by reordering tasks based on geolocation or straight-line estimation. The Dispatch Map will soon be deprecated, transitioning functionality to Dispatcher Workspace starting with the Vancouver release. This optimization is effective when agents have fewer than 15 tasks; beyond this, auto-routing based on proximity is applied.

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    Key Features

    • Optimizes routes for agents with fewer than 15 tasks per day.
    • Auto-routing for agents with more than 15, with limitations if over 200 tasks.
    • Integration with Google Maps API for accurate travel time and distance calculations, requiring API key setup.
    • Configurable properties such as travel time buffers, toll road allowances, and rush hour adjustments.
    • Scheduled job capability to optimize routes daily at 3:00 AM, which runs automatically when activated.

    Key Outcomes

    Customers can expect improved task efficiency and agent productivity through optimized routing. The system considers various factors, including agent schedules and travel constraints, providing timely messages for any routing issues. By leveraging these features, organizations can enhance service delivery and operational efficiency in field service management.

    Optimizing task routes reorders agent tasks for the day as efficiently as possible using either geolocation or straight-line estimation.

    Important:
    This Dispatch Map is being prepared for future deprecation. It will be hidden and no longer available for activation but will continue to be supported. Starting with the Vancouver release, much of the Dispatch map functionality can be found in Dispatcher Workspace. For details, see the Deprecation Process [KB0867184] article in the Knowledge Base.

    An agent task route is optimized when an agent has fewer than 15 tasks assigned to be completed in a day. Route optimization takes all those tasks and the agent travel time into consideration and then reorders the tasks to provide the optimal route to execute those tasks. If an agent has more than 15 tasks to be executed in a day, the system auto-routes the tasks based on the next closest location where the agent has to execute the task.

    Note:
    If an agent has more than 200 tasks assigned to be completed in a day, auto-routing fails and the system displays a message describing the error.

    View the agent's schedule and events from the Workforce Optimization for Field Service application, on Dispatcher Workspace calendar by enabling the Enable Shift Scheduling for FSM to Determine Availability configuration. For more information, see Global domain configurations.

    The system takes the settings for the following properties into consideration to evaluate auto-routing or for optimizing the task route for an agent:
    • Amount of time (in minutes) to add between the end of a task and the travel start of the next.
    • Allow toll roads to be used.
    • Use Google Maps API or straight-line estimates to calculate travel time and distance. This value is set in Route Optimization in the Property for calculating estimated travel time and distance setting.

      If you use Google Map API, which uses Google route data for travel time and distance estimates, you must set the Google Maps API key or the client ID to use Google Maps API for Business. For more information, see Set up Google Maps API. If straight-line estimate is used, the system uses built-in time and distance estimates based on latitude and longitude.

    • Default start time for all work agents if no schedule is specified.
    • Default end time for all work agents if no schedule is specified.
    • Percentage to add to all travel times.
    • Percentage to add to rush hour travel times.
    • Morning rush hour span.
    • Evening rush hour span.
    If the values for these properties are defined in the Field Service Management application properties, those values are used. If not, the values for the properties defined in the Geolocation application properties are used. If no values are defined in either of these application property settings, the default value is used.

    The system also takes the agent schedule, agent travel time outside of work hours, and agent time off into consideration to optimize task routes.

    If a task can’t be optimized because the task location is impractical, missing, or if the task window can’t be scheduled, the system displays a message with a reason that the task couldn’t be routed. It then returns the task to the Pending Dispatch state.

    Automatic execution of route optimization

    You can set a scheduled job to optimize agent task routes for a given day. The Optimize Task Routing scheduled job is inactive by default. When you set the Active field for this scheduled job to true, the job runs everyday at 3:00 am system time. The scheduled job considers the tasks assigned to or accepted by agents on the current date and automatically optimizes the routes for those tasks.