A LOAD OFF TH1 PLANNER'S MIN]
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When it comes to daily vehicle scheduling, there is no substitute for the human touch. David Wilcox describes how computer packages can help route planners to do a more effective job
COMPU'FERS will handle the payroll without even breaking into a swcat. They will monitor vehicle costs without batting an eyelid. And they will sort out the stock levels in the warehouse before breakfast.
But ask a computer to have a go at vehicle scheduling. It is a tough task and that partially explains why the traffic office is one of the last places for the computer to penetrate. For instance, last November a major computer company launched a "complete" package of distribution management programs that covered every aspect of the distribution operation — except vehicle scheduling.
it is the enormous number of variables and factors that conic into daily scheduling that have the computer scratching its head. Planning a delivery round inevitably entails a series of decisions about payloads, volumes, vehicles, drivers, customers, routes, priority levels, time constraints . . . It is obviously difficult for a computer program to replicate these decisions, sonic of which are made almost subconsciously by die experienced planner.
Computers are more easily used for strategic distribution planning, such as depot location, determining fleet size or drawing up a series of optimised fixed routes for milk-round type deliveries.
Moving up to daily scheduling where the rounds are planned afresh every day It is possible to use a computer solely to assemble the loads. It will group deliveries together to produce legal and practical rounds, but will not lay down the drop order.
Full daily scheduling (the subject of this article) includes the formulation of loads and rounds in drop order. Although the computer plans the round using a specific route between the drops, only the drop order is usually given to the driver; it is seen as a good idea to provide a route for him.
Most scheduling packages comprise several sections or modules so that users can specify how much computerisation they want in their scheduling.
In the past few years the suppliers of scheduling packages have had to change their sales pitch. They originally promoted computerised scheduling almost as a panacea for distribution, virtually taking over the work of the planner. Understandably, some of the schedules produced were crude, lacking the human touch and refinement. The distribution industry was therefore sceptical and the computer companies now admit that they met a fair degree of resistance.
So they thought again about the of the computer and wisely decide promote it as a tool for the planner a substitute. To emphasise this the) stress how flexible computerised scheduling can be; it is interactive s that the planner can use it as he wis Perhaps "computer-aided planning' more accurate and more acceptable description.
Not every traffic office can justif computerised scheduling. There has be slack in the existing manual plan to give the potential for savings wh switching to computer scheduling. change will be expensive and the payback period must be realistic.
Therefore there is a minimum siz distribution operation to which computer scheduling may be economically applied. Most of the computer package suppliers agree tl depot with around 15 vehicles each doing 15 drops a day can start to consider the use of a computer in th traffic office. There is some latitude this figure, depending on the comp], of the delivery operation.
Judging by the computer col/1par]. claims for their client lists it would appear that around 60 companies arc using computerised daily scheduling However, this figure is open to question; some people believe that although the systems were bought fi daily planning they have been relega to a strategic role by sonic dissatisfic users.
The vast majority of companies is computerised scheduling are nationa. high street names and breweries witl large own-account fleets. This still leaves a substantial untapped market HOW DOES COMPUTER SCHEDULING WORK?
The computer has no brain and so arrives at the optimum loads and rot
:rial and error. It will try every sible combination of deliveries until nds the best by a process of iination, working within the
straints dictated by the planner. hough the computer lacks the )wledge and experience of the planner ompensates with amazing speed and sistence.
he time taken for the actual
eduling program to run varies from package to the next and depends on size and complexity of the planning I the type of computer on which it is .fling. The quickest will do it in a few• lutes, although it may take up to 30 40 minutes. (These figures refer to a glc depot's planning, not an
:grated multi-site set-up.) With ■ dern micro computers it is feasible to licate the computer just to eduling, rather than using time on a infra me.
[he computer will produce the ,uired number of rounds, each >cated to a particular vehicle and with deliveries summarised in drop order. ,proximate arrival and departure times each delivery are indicated and the ite mileage is calculated. The total mber of cases/pallets/weight/volume, delivered is also given.
To produce this schedule the rnputer needs a mass of information. is can be divided into three groups of nding information databases pplemented by a daily input of current pirements and adjustments.
sstomer Database This contains details of every stomer or delivery point name, dress, account number, delivery time vindows", access restrictions and pical unloading times and booking quirements may be included. Vehicle and Driver Database All the details of the fleet are kept on this file. This covers payload, volume, configuration (artic, rigid, drawbar) and compatibility of tractive units and trailers. Some scheduling packages include additional information such as the door configuration (side, rear, etc).
The driver details are the legal driving hours restrictions so that the computer does not plan schedules that are illegal. Road Database This contains all the road information to enable the computer to route plan. The user does not necessarily have to buy the whole UK road network database; he can purchase just the region in which the deliveries will be made.
The network is recorded on the database as "junctions and links", with the information drawn from the Ordnance Survey maps.
The route is planned from one road junction to the next using the linking roads; most of the road databases claim around 17,000 junctions and 45,000 links are used on the UK road network.
Delivery points anti road junctions arc related to one another via Ordnance Survey grid references. Eight-figure grid references are commonly used, pinpointing a location to within 100 metres.
Post codes can also be used if the customer's post code is known, this can be converted to a grid reference and some scheduling packages have an optional post code/grid reference converter.
The road database is updated frequently to take account of new roads. Knowing routes and distances the computer then assesses road speeds to produce journey times. Anything from 10 to 20 types of road and associated speed can be used, and these can be adjusted to suit the customer's vehicles.
Refinements that can be included in the road database include weight limits, width restrictions, gradients and congestion factors.
The road database has potential in its own right, even without the rest of the scheduling programme, and so most of the computer companies also sell the road database as a separate package. It can be used for journey planning or even putting together a workload for a company representative.
These standing databases need to be supplemented by daily adjustments. For example, vehicles can be temporarily removed from those available on the vehicle file to allow for servicing.
The major daily input is the orders to be delivered. Most companies that go into computerised scheduling have already computerised their order processing and so the scheduling computer can simply be asked to pull the appropriate orders forward.
If the order processing is not computerised then the day's pile of ▪ orders has to be keyed into the scheduling computer. Once the account number is tapped in the customer database will supply the standing delivery information on the customer.
Keying in orders is undoubtedly a chore, but replaces the "pigeon-holing" of orders done under the manual system.
REFINEMENTS
It is the refinements introduced into scheduling programs that help turn earlier crude computer packages into more usable tools. Many enable the program to be more closely tuned to a particular user's needs.
Booked-in and timed deliveries are common and so the computer program must allow for these in its scheduling. Programs should also permit various levels of priority to be attached to particular deliveries. Related to this, they should be able to select those orders that can safely be deferred if necessary.
Orders that come through late must be catered for. The planner should have the option of incorporating these late orders into the existing rounds, or maybe even re-planning whole delivery areas at a late stage.
Many companies use measures, such as standard minutes, to assess drivers' performance. The program should be able to calculate these, too, as it plans the rounds.
A useful feature of some scheduling packages is the ability to vary the amount of effort the computer puts into the planning. In other words, a very tight series of rounds can be planned, or a relatively slack one using more vehicles. The computer will take more time to find the first answer.
INTERACTIVE USES
As mentioned earlier, control by the planner over modern computerised scheduling is now promoted as a strong selling point. This interactive characteristic indeed relies on the human element of planning.
If, for instance, a driver requests an early finish it is quite feasible for the planner to plan such a round manually and use the computer for the rest. The planner can also modify rounds produced by the computer.
EXPECTED SAVINGS The most significant saving derived from computerised scheduling should be a reduction in the vehicles used as a result of better utilisation. Mileage covered by each vehicle should also be cur.
These two easily-quantifiable factors are usually reckoned to be worth about a 15 per cent saving in distribution costs.
There are other benefits, too. Because the actual scheduling time on the computer is so short, planning can be done later in the day, giving a later cutoff time. And if the planning is better service levels should improve.
Managers and planners can also use the scheduling program to solve hypothetical problems, enabling them to test ideas without any risk of investment. For example, the sizes of vehicles in the vehicle database can be changed and the actual day's planning re-run to see the effect of the new vehicle specification.
Similarly, the schedule can be used to calculate likely costs where companies are tendering for distribution contracts.
It is also possible to use the computer to assess manual planning by comparing the same day's work planned by both methods.
IMPLEMENTATION
Computerised scheduling is not likely to be an overnight success in any company. Most computer companies say that implementation will take around three months, so be prepared for longer. Fixing the appropriate work study standards for delivery performance is a large part of the task and the setting up of the databases is time consuming.
Most companies go into computerisation by forming a project team to manage the job. Industrial relations are likely to be under pressure; managers, planners and drivers can all feel threatened if they perceive that their role is being diminished by a computer.
The price of a full daily scheduling package for a single depot installation ranges from around £8,000 to £25,000. The average is about £15,000, although this-price is usually reduced if there are repeat orders to equip further depots.
This buys the software; the hardware is extra. It is important to check on "hidden" costs. Some quoted prices include varying amounts of consultation time during the setting-up period. Extra consultation beyond the "free" period is charged on a daily rate.
The other on-going cost to include is an annual service, maintenance or retainer fee. This can be substantial and covers the cost of updating the system to ensure that latest improvements made to a program are added to the user's system_ While perhaps 80 per cent of a scheduling package is universal, the remaining 20 per cent has to be dos( tailored to a particular user's operatic it is to produce any worthwhile answers.
This specialisation and developmet work for each user explains why computer scheduling packages are lic cheap, although the computer comrn say they are very reasonable when compared with the price of the vehic they will save.
Computerised scheduling still has long way to go in gaining full acceptance in the distribution world. There are many companies that in theory could benefit from it, but yet have so far chosen to stick with mant planning.
The arrival of the IBM PC micro computer seems to be having a beneficial effect in that most program can run on it. This introduces a degre of unversality and flexibility in the choice of scheduling packages.