Vehicles move at different speeds on different roads in different parts of a town. Sometimes, users face the problem when the planning system calculates the driving time and arrival time incorrectly, particularly when different points of one route are located in the centre of busy city and in relatively free suburb, i.e. the speed correction factors differ at different points of the route.
The Speed Zones functionality allows the dispatcher to draw various speed zones on the map (for example, city centre and suburb) and specify different speed correction factors for these zones. As a result, using these correction factors, the system will plan in such a way that a vehicle will drive slow in the city centre and will drive fast in the suburb. It will allow getting more accurate scheduling results and more realistic plans.
Note The speed zone correction factor will work only if the order is located within the speed zone. If the vehicle crosses the speed zone to reach the customer location outside of it, the speed correction factor will not be considered.
How to set up the option of using Speed Zones for time estimations in MaxOptra
The feature of using speed zones for time estimations is optional. If you need to set up this option in MaxOptra, please, contact MaxOptra support ([email protected]).
How to create Speed Zones in MaxOptra
To create speed zones, under the role of Account Administrator or Dispatcher go to Settings> Scheduling configuration> Speed Zones. Then click the Add button to create a speed zone.
The system allows you to draw the zone on the map - simply click on the map to start drawing. When the speed zone is drawn, choose a name and a colour and specify the speed correction factor that will be used when calculating the time for driving from one point of the route to another. Do the same for all the speed zones that you add. You may draw as many speed zones as you need. The screen will display the following:
Now, when specifying an order address in the system, this order will be automatically assigned to a certain speed zone and the information on the order belonging to a certain speed zone (speed zone name and speed correction factor) will be displayed on the order card. These fields are available in the read-only mode:
Using of Speed Zones for time estimation
By default, the using of speed zones for time estimation is turned off. If you want to use speed zones for actual time estimation, contact the MaxOptra Support Team.
Having the Use Speed Zones for time estimations functionality enabled, while planning, the MaxOptra system will automatically calculate the driving time from one point of the route to another using speed correction factors of the zones a vehicle drives through. In this case, the calculated time will most closely resemble the actually spent time.
To see the speed zones on the Planning screen, click the
Speed zone button in the map actions menu (View modes of the Map ):
On the Planning screen, each speed zone is displayed with it's name and its speed correction factor:
