Route optimisation compares the driving order of a technician's day with the fastest possible order, shows how much time and distance a better order would save, and lets you apply the new order to the calendar.
Route optimisation is enabled per account. If you do not see the Calculate routes button or the car icons in the calendar, contact Frontu support to have it turned on.
Before you start
Route optimisation works with driving distances, so a few things must be in place:
Client objects need saved coordinates. Objects without coordinates cannot be routed.
The technician needs an office with coordinates. The office is used as the start point of the day.
Routes are calculated only in the calendar Day view. In other views you get a message asking you to switch to Day view
See where routes can be improved
Go to Calendar.
Switch to Day view and select the date you want to plan.
Click Calculate routes in the calendar toolbar.
Frontu then adds these indicators to the day:
Car icon next to each technician's name — green means the current order is already the fastest, red means the order can be improved. Hover over a red icon to see how many minutes and kilometres would be saved. A grey icon means the route could not be calculated, usually because the technician's office has no coordinates.
Blue striped blocks between work orders — the driving time from the previous stop. Hover over a block to see the duration.
Red exclamation badge on a work order — the object has no coordinates, so this stop is left out of the route. Open the object and add coordinates, then calculate again.
Optimise one technician's day
Click the car icon on the technician's row. The route optimisation view opens with that technician's stops for that day and the driving route drawn on the map.
Review the suggested order. The savings shown compare the suggested order with what is currently in the calendar.
Add stops if you want to fill the day. Unassigned work orders are available in the backlog, and Best fit suggests the stops that fit the route with the least extra driving.
Lock any stop that must stay where it is. Locked stops keep their position while the rest of the day is reordered.
Click Apply to write the new order to the calendar, or Discard to close without changing anything.
Have in mind that the day is planned from the start of the working day, and stops that would fall outside working hours are marked in red. Frontu will not suggest an order that is slower than the one already in the calendar.
Protect an agreed time with Fixed time
Some visits are agreed with the client and must not be moved. Tick Fixed time next to Planned time on the work order to protect it.
A fixed work order keeps its planned time when routes are optimised, and it is marked with a padlock and a Fixed time label in the route optimisation view. A small check-box icon next to the planned time shows the same thing in the work order list, preview and details, in the calendar and in the unassigned panel.
Have in mind that other stops are still moved around a fixed stop — only the fixed one keeps its time.
Good to know
If a work order is missing coordinates, the notice lets you open the object and add them, and the route is re-checked after you save.
Adding a very long work order can push the rest of the plan into the next day. This is flagged, but only the time is shown, not the date.
While the map is open, the calendar auto-refresh does not reset your route or filters. Close the map to load fresh data.
The unassigned work orders panel also has a Stopped filter, so you can pick up paused jobs and slot them into a route. Stopped work orders show the technician they are assigned to.