About Automatic Travel Time Calculation
Service Board automatically calculates estimated travel times for Appointments and Events based on the Enable Auto Travel Time Calculation setting, which is enabled by default. Typically, estimated travel times to scheduled locations are calculated from the associated previous locations, which can be the location for the previous item or the current or default Resource location. Travel times back from service locations are calculated for the last Appointment or Event in a work segment, typically from the associated scheduled location to the default Resource location. Travel times are calculated based on average historical traffic flow, based on the assumption that assigned Resources and Crews are in the same time zone as the associated scheduled locations. Departure and arrival times are localized to the time zones associated with assigned Resources and Crews.
For automatic travel time calculation to work properly, the following conditions must be met:
• Enable Auto Travel Time Calculation must be enabled.
• Map providers must be correctly configured and support the Directions Service (Google, MapBox, ...).
• Appointments and Events cannot be assigned to equipment.
• Appointments and Events cannot be in an end status (such as Canceled, Finished, Incomplete, or Rejected).
• Appointment end times must be in the future.
• The Travel Time ToLocation and Travel Time Back From Location fields were NOT set by a user in the same create/update transaction.
• Start or end times fall within work segments.
• The From Location and To Location values are correctly set, so that a valid geocode is included in the address.
Travel time calculation is based on the effective shift and relevant work segment for the assigned Resource or Crew. The start time for the Appointment or Event must be scheduled after the start date for the shift, and if no effective shift is active, the full 24 hours on the relevant day (from 00:00 to 23:59) is used. For more information, see Working With Shifts.
After the effective shift and relevant work segment are identified, Service Board determines Appointment and Event locations and calculates travel times from each location to the next based on the following rules:
Events and Appointments:
1. If the assigned Resource is currently working on an Appointment in progress that has valid location data and whose end time is in the future, travel time is calculated from the location of the previous Appointment in progress to the next location.
2. If there is no current Appointment in progress or valid current Appointment location, valid current location data for the assigned Resource is used.
3. If no valid current location data is available, and there is a previous Appointment in the same work segment that has valid location data and ends before the current time, its location is used.
4. If no previous Appointment or valid previous Appointment location exists in the same work segment, the default Resource location is used.
5. If no default location data is available, or the route cannot be driven (for example, because an ocean crossing is required), no travel time is calculated.
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Current Resource locations have a configured lifespan, which means that location information remains valid for a specified number of minutes after it is reported. This value is configured in the Resource Location Lifespan (in minutes) setting. For more information, see Configuring Resource Recommendations With Travel Time.
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Crew Appointments:
1. Travel times for Crew Appointments are calculated in the same manner as Events or Appointments if the Crew Appointment is not the first or last item in a work segment.
2. If a Crew Appointment is the first item in a work segment, travel times to all related Resource Appointments are calculated, and the travel time to the Resource Appointment with the earliest departure time is used as the travel time to the Crew Appointment.
3. If a Crew Appointment is the last item in a work segment, travel times for all related Resource Appointment information are calculated, and the travel time back from the Resource Appointment with the latest arrival time is used to calculate travel time back from the Crew Appointment.
Travel times are calculated or recalculated based on the following prioritized rules:
1. Travel times for new Appointments and Events are calculated when they are created. Travel times back from new Appointments and Events are calculated only if they are the last items in work segments. When Appointments and Events are added at the ends of work segments, travel times back from the items that were previously last in the work segment are reset to NULL. When new Appointments and Events that are not the first or last items in work segments are created or updated, travel times to the next items in segments are recalculated.
2. Travel times to rescheduled or reassigned Appointments and Events are recalculated when they are updated. Travel times back from updated Appointments and Events are recalculated if items become the last in work segments after updates, and travel time back from items that were previously last in work segments are set to NULL. When updates to Appointments or Events cause previous items to become the last items in work segments, travel times back from those location are calculated. When Appointments and Events are updated to times that are not the first or last items in work segments, travel times to the next items in the segments are calculated.
3. When Appointments and Events are deleted or canceled, travel times back for previous items that become the last in the work segment are recalculated, and travel times to the next items in segments after deleted or canceled items are recalculated.
4. When Appointment or Event locations are updated, travel times to those locations are recalculated, and travel times to the next items in the segment are recalculated if needed.
5. When the shifts configured for assigned Resources and Crews are set or updated, travel times for affected Appointments and Events are recalculated.
6. When Appointments or Events match the rules configured in the Ignore Travel Time Calculation Rules for Appointments or Ignore Travel Time Calculation Rules for Events settings, travel times are not calculated.
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In cases where Appointments and Events are assigned to the same Resources or Crews with overlapping intervals, travel times for all items are processed as a group. Service Board calculates travel time to the first item (in ascending order by start time, creation date, and UUID), and calculates travel time back from the last item (in descending order by end time, creation date, and UUID) within the work segment. All other travel time fields of items in the group are reset to NULL.
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When Appointments and Events do not require technicians to travel to specific physical locations, travel time calculation is not needed. For example, certain types of Appointments can be completed through the use of remote service technologies, and Events such as calls and meetings can be held online or in the office. You can configure valid SQML query expressions in the Ignore Travel Time Calculation Rules for Appointments and Ignore Travel Time Calculation Rules for Events settings to exclude the following types of Appointments and Events from travel time calculation:
• Travel time calculation for new or updated Appointments or Events.
• Estimated travel time calculation in the Dispatch Job dialog box.
• Delayed travel time calculation after initial sync.
• Travel time calculation on the Map Panel in Planning Mode.
• Travel time calculation for updated Crew or Resource shifts.
• Travel time calculation for new, updated, or deleted Shift Exceptions.
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• No default values are specified in the Ignore Travel Time Calculation Rules for Appointments and Ignore Travel Time Calculation Rules for Events settings that ship with Service Board.
• The SMQL query expressions you specify in these settings must follow proper syntax. Refer to the code samples in Nearby Jobs Filtering Examples for details. Keep in mind, however, that Nearby Jobs filters apply to the Job object, and the Ignore Travel Time Calculation Rules for Appointments and Ignore Travel Time Calculation Rules for Events settings apply to the Appointment and Event objects.
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For more information: