Feb-March 2003

Knowing your trucks have been held up in traffic is all very fine, but what do you do about it? Real-time rescheduling sounds a logical solution, and in spite of unavoidable obstacles, it's starting to offer real benefits

Routing and scheduling systems have been around for a long time now. Back in the 1980s they were slow to get off the ground; computers weren't really powerful enough for what some of them were attempting, and operators didn't always appreciate that you have to invest time in setting them up properly to get the best out of them.

Things have moved on now, and these systems have become an established feature of the transport management scene. Increasingly, users are discovering that more efficient routing and scheduling bring benefits in the shape of reduced fuel consumption, enhanced driver productivity and better vehicle utilisation. Delivery and collection times are more predictable, so customers are happier too.

Now, however, a real-time ingredient is being added to these systems, taking them into a further phase of their evolution. Historically, you scheduled your vehicles, sent them out to do their deliveries, and then reviewed their success when they got back. Now operators are being encouraged to think of the schedule as something more flexible ­ something that can be amended "on the fly" according to what happens while the vehicles are actually out on the road, or before they even leave.

 

Real-time routing and scheduling is being made a reality because of the rapid advance of several related technologies: real-time vehicle tracking, on-board communications and live traffic updates.

Additionally, computers are now powerful enough to handle the quite complex underlying algorithms quickly and relatively cheaply, and can display complex graphics vividly and effectively.

When it comes to real-time scheduling, there are in fact degrees of "real". At the simplest level, historic "real-time" journey data (in other words, data gathered from on-board computers) can help optimise your fixed delivery patterns. You might identify, for example, that on the basis of actual journey times, delivering to a certain address at certain times of day can help you avoid congestion hot spots.

At the other end of the scale, it is now possible to correlate routing and scheduling software with real-time traffic information or changes to delivery requirements, and to deliver new routes or delivery instructions to drivers by some form of mobile data system while they are out on the road.

For example, your system might calculate time of arrival based upon the vehicle's current location, and if it is diverted away from its original route for whatever reason, recalculate the remainder of the journey and provide new estimated arrival times. If a vehicle deviates from its set route, or fails to arrive at a predetermined point on time, the traffic office can be alerted.

There is also another kind of "real-time" scheduling, which describes the process of fine-tuning a delivery schedule in advance as new orders come in. This isn't real-time in the sense of reflecting what happens out on the road, but it is real in that the advance schedule can keep on changing until a final cut-off point is reached.

Paragon Software Systems, one of the UK leaders in routing and scheduling, has developed a module specifically for this requirement, aiming it particularly at e-tailers and home delivery operators. The thinking is that such operators may want to offer customers the opportunity to choose from a selection of delivery time windows at the moment they place their order.

By evaluating a selection of routing options, the Paragon system can automatically present a choice of time windows that incur minimal extra transport cost. This helps the operator to avoid undue extra expenditure, while still offering what is perceived as premium delivery windows. Paragon conducted what it calls an "e-service study" on this concept, and concluded that it could produce an overall reduction in home delivery costs of up to 36 per cent.

A similar concept has been developed by Descartes Systems, and has been applied in various e-tail applications, especially in the US. Descartes of course took over the Roadshow routing and scheduling system some years ago. An additional refinement in Descartes' system is its ability to weight the pricing of the various delivery options presented to the consumer according to the incremental cost of making the journey at particular times.

Meanwhile, Descartes has also developed what might be called "real" real-time routing and scheduling capabilities ­ that is, capturing performance data from vehicles already out on the road, and giving the staff back at base the chance to react to problems as they arise. It handles this through what it calls its Mobilelink product range.

Through this, on-board systems feed data on the vehicle's progress to and from the depot via one of the wireless networks, providing the despatch team with information as necessary. For instance, they can informing customers of delays, or reschedule deliveries.

Kingswood MapMechanics has been a pioneer in setting up real-time links between routing and scheduling systems and vehicles out in the field, and in capturing real-life journey distances and speeds.

Historically, the TruckStops routing and scheduling system supplied by the company always used a flexible time and distance method to calculate routes, rather than relying on digital maps. It breaks journeys down into their main elements (local, long distance and so on), and adds a range of user-definable correction factors to reflect real-life journey times and distances more precisely.

However, TruckStops can now also use data from road network maps, or combine this data with the time and distance approach; and in either case it can also take account of known "stem" and "inter-call" times and distances for specific journey segments.

The latest version of TruckStops can output schedules in a format which makes it specially compatible with vehicle tracking systems, and even with on-board computers in the vehicle cab, so it is well suited to dynamic rescheduling situations.

In view of these capabilities, it might seem ironic that Kingswood MapMechanics' managing director, Mary Short, is inclined to reserve judgement about the extent of demand for dynamic scheduling. However, she points out that there are limits to the amount of rescheduling that can realistically be done on the fly. "After all, the driver can only deliver product that is already on board, and that somebody wants further along the route."

She agrees, though, that real-time communication between the driver and base can help the traffic office reschedule failed or problematic deliveries another day ­ "and that may be just as important in terms of customer service as re-routing the vehicle along the way." She adds: "In any case, there's always a point at which the traffic manager must decide to part company with a computer and take a practical decision on what needs to be done."

DPS International is another routing and scheduling system supplier predicting that real-time rescheduling will soon become a way of life for many distribution companies. Its Track-LogiX Professional software combines tracking with routing, allowing operators to compare where vehicles are with where they should be in real time, and to take corrective action when necessary. DPS has also developed eRoute, a planner that can be integrated into a Web site or intranet.

Optrak, another major player in the routing and scheduling market, also uses the Internet in a system called OptrakWeb. This allows data on delays and failed deliveries to be gathered from vehicles in real time and processed back at the office, so that remedial action can be taken. Estimated arrival times can be amended, recipients can be notified of revised arrival times, and deliveries can be rescheduled. The system uses intranets or the Internet to disseminate the data to the relevant parties.

A new contender in this market, in Britain at least, is German-based IVU Traffic Technologies, which started life in the 1970s writing software for public transport operations. It later turned its attention to the transport and logistics market, and now offers a sophisticated system called Contour, which is said to be in use at 30 companies across Europe.

This allows staff to process customer orders arriving by telephone, fax or the Internet, and at the same time harnesses mobile data and GPS tracking to allow them to interact with vehicles making the deliveries in real time. This means they have a constantly updated status report in front of them on delivery progress, and can intervene if remedial action is required.

The company has tailored the system for certain vertical markets such as the construction industry, where a version called ReadymixExpress is offered. A particularly ambitious implementation of this has recently been rolled out in the UK for Rugby Cement, and is described in detail in the Keeping Track section on page 36 of this issue.

Traffic information systems ­ essential to dynamic scheduling

The UK has two main providers of real-time traffic information data: ITIS Holdings and Trafficmaster.

ITIS compiles traffic data from a variety of fixed and dynamic sources, including what it calls Floating Vehicle Data. This involves measuring actual speeds along key routes by vehicles from large representative fleets. Data collection units are fitted to various such fleets, including Eddie Stobart trucks, National Express coaches and over 4,000 AA patrol vehicles, giving the vehicle's speed and position at any given time.

The data from probe vehicles is aggregated to determine the average speed for a given stretch of road. The National Express fleet alone contributes 180 million miles' worth of data a year.

Data is also fed in from third-party suppliers including police control centres, urban traffic control centres, regional Government transport sources and the Highways Agency.

ITIS has the sole UK licence to broadcast traffic information on the RDS/TMC channel, providing data which can be decoded by on-board equipment and then integrated into various navigation system, providing dynamic route guidance as well as visual instructions.

Trafficmaster, the other major traffic information provider, derives its data from infra-red sensors on motorway and main road overbridges, and from the now-familiar blue-pole roadside sensors. It now covers 8,000 miles of UK roads, and has 7,500 sensor sites. Information is updated constantly on a three-minute cycle.

Last year Trafficmaster sold on its fleet management system to Cybit, but the two companies maintain a harmonious relationship. Richard Horsman, Cybit chief executive, believes traffic information is under-valued, and has become regarded as merely a commodity. "Because people can get free traffic updates via their radio, they don't recognise the value of it."

However, he thinks more and more fleet operators will come to recognise the role of real-time traffic data in cost optimisation, and will accept the financial case for it. "You only have to look at the bill-out rate for a service engineer. To cope with unpredictable traffic, the employer must either take steps to confront the problem, or accept that engineers will be delayed at certain times of the day, and maybe employ extra staff to handle jobs"

The combination of real-time navigation and traffic information delivers powerful tools to fleets ­ a fact the Internet-based telematics companies such as Cybit, Isotrak and Thales have realised. All offer integrated planning modules that incorporate real-time capabilities.

Real-time navigation is not just an executive toy, Cybit maintains; it can contribute substantial bottom-line savings. "On average, every second or third journey will be delayed because of traffic congestion. Companies are beginning to realise that historic analysis has limits," says Richard Horsman. "True efficiency comes from the ability to make real-time decisions and perform what we call 'event integration'. That means timed capture of data, including for instance proof of delivery data and engineer arrival times."

Cybit has now launched a next-generation intelligent navigation system. It links traffic monitoring technology with satellite navigation and mobile phone technology from Motorola. There is also a system called Route Guard, which monitors traffic conditions proactively and offers drivers alternative routes when required. SmartNav allows you to store pre-defined routes.