| # Route-based planning process Group planning can plan time based and route based. When a route is planned for group planning activities, travel distances and travel times are calculated for activities. The route can influence the sequence in which the activities are executed. After planning a route, the route planning data is copied from group planning to the original service order activity, when the plan is released from group planning. Note Route planning is only applicable for service order activity. A route can be planned/calculated based on the set of orders assigned to the engineers of one group. Note When different characteristics have to be planned in one route, characteristics are merged into one activity set. With the activity set, the travel times based on distances can also be calculated. The addresses contain GPS co-ordinates (GPS co-ordinates are required to be able to calculate distances and also to locate the current location of the service engineer). Therefore the distances can be calculated. The travel time is combined with the duration of the various activities that have to be executed on location. This results in the new planned start and planned finish times. These new planned start and planned finish times data is transferred to the standard service orders. A route can be planned/calculated for every activity set of a group, that may or may not be assigned to an engineer. When various activity sets have to be planned for a route, the merging of activity sets is mandatory before such a multi-characteristic route is calculated. With the activity set, the travel times based on distances can also be calculated for every location in the activity set. The addresses contain GPS co-ordinates (GPS co-ordinates are required to calculate distances). Optionally, the home address of an engineer can be planned as part of the route. These distances can be calculated based on various methods (as a crow flies or web service based). The travel time is combined with the duration of the various activities that have to be executed on location. This results in the updated planned start and planned finish times that are transferred to the standard service orders. Following are the possible methods to calculate the route: Calculate distance using 'As a crow flies' or true distance calculated by a dedicated web service. When no distance is found for two locations the distance is calculated with a simple formula (As the crow flies). The calculation for 'As a crow flies' is as follows: Based on Bing map. An internet connection is required where Infor10 ERP Enterprise request the bing maps web service to calculate the distance. Perform a route calculation or a distance calculation only (based on sorted data): For a set of sorted orders, enter the group sequence. LN calculates the distance between the various addresses of the activities. Based on an average speed and initial start up time, Infor10 ERP Enterprise makes an estimate, based on the distance.
    time(distance) =  distance(km) * speed (km/hr) + initial time (hr)
Take time constraints into account yes or no : The shortest route taken into account. Otherwise the earliest start and latest finish of the activities is considered. These time constraints can be configured using the Respect Earliest Start Time and Respect Latest Finish Time parameters in the Service Planning Parameters (tsspc0100m000) session. If these check boxes are selected, and if the specified locations are not part of the route, Infor10 ERP Enterprise does not allow you to release the activity; the activity remains in the group plan and the status of the activity is set to Not Planned. Take the home address of the service engineer into account yes or no: The time period between departure and arrival. When the service engineer departs from home and arrives at home in the evening, the tour is closed, otherwise it is open ended The planner can also manually define the sequence of the route. To do so: Modify the sequence numbers Select the Keep Sequence check box Re-plan the route Consequentially, Infor10 ERP Enterprise updates the travel times in a pre-defined sequence. However, this sequence is not optimal and can lead to more travel time and a higher mileage. Related topics Priority Rule Check Resource Availability Group planning process Group planning data set-up Territory planning process Route-based planning process |