About Optimization Criteria and Maximums

When running a job, optimization criteria must be specified.

Optimization Criteria

The options that appear on the Optimization Objective lists include the following:
  • Time Worked
  • Driver Shifts
  • Shifts plus Vehicles
  • Combined Cost (paid plus deadhead time)
  • Deadhead
The following is a recommended optimization strategy:
First Optimization Objective
Select Minimize shifts plus vehicles.
Second Optimization Objective
Select Minimize combined cost.
Third Optimization Objective
Leave blank.

Maximum Drivers

In the Maximum Drivers field, type the maximum number of available drivers. Initially, this should be populated with the number of employees with status.

Once a number has been saved, that number is shown in lieu of running the query of the PASS database. This tells Matcru that there is a maximum of this number of shifts, either straight or split.

Maximum Vehicles

In the Maximum Vehicles field, type a maximum number of available vehicles that can be on the road simultaneously.

Tolerance

The Tolerance value is a measure of how rigidly the rules must be enforced. (This feature is not currently supported.)

Pull-out and Pull-in Deadhead Times

Typically, the Pullout deadhead time and Pullin deadhead time should be set at the default value of zero unless non-revenue time needs to be built in at the beginning and end of each run. (It is more common to do this in Weekly Planning.)

Maximum % Split Shifts

The Shifts step (in Manage Rules) allows that a maximum number of duties be set by duty type class. Alternatively, or additionally, a maximum percentage of driver runs that may be split shifts can be defined in the Info step.

In the Maximum % split shifts field, type the percent value that you want to apply as a constraint.

Minimum Time Between Runs

Typically, there is a minimum turnaround time that a site wants to impose before a vehicle that has returned to the garage may be scheduled to leave for another run.

In the Minimum time between runs field, type the amount of time to apply for this time period. Set the minimum time between runs to a value greater than zero. This will prevent the runcutter from producing solutions that include on-street reliefs.

Maximum Shifts Per Garage

The Max Shifts field defines a maximum number of driver shifts for a garage. This may be specified for one or two garages.

Select a garage, and then type the maximum number of shifts to permit in the solution for that garage.