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Vehicles and Drivers

Without a vehicle, nothing can be transported. This is why a plan is required to contain at least one vehicle. A driver can be assigned to a vehicle but this is not required. That is, some vehicles may have a driver assigned to it and some not. A driver's parameters complement the parameters of a vehicle.

Parameters of a vehicle

  • Equipment: Some transports may require a certain equipment that not every vehicle has. The available equipment can be specified for every vehicle, whereas for every transport, the requiredEquipment can be specified. With this feature, it can be determined that some transports never go with some vehicles. A code sample illustrates the use of this feature.
  • Capacity: A vehicle has a limited capacity. So while one transport alone may fit on a vehicle, a sequence of several transports may not fit. A vehicle comes with three capacity-related parameters (capacities, alternativeCapacities and capacitiesChangePosition) that are explained in detail on a separate concept page. The counterpart of the capacities are the quantities of the transports. A code sample illustrates the use of this feature.
  • Mixed loading: Some goods must not be mixed with some other goods. There may be an exception for certain special vehicles. The parameter ignoreMixedLoadingProhibitions is explained in detail on a separate concept page on mixed loading prohibitions.
  • Driving time and distance: Some vehicles go faster than others and some roads may be blocked for certain vehicles. The necessary information about the vehicle is collected in a profile. This parameter is explained in detail on a separate concept page on profiles and countries.
  • Service time: Maneuvering, loading and unloading takes time. The so-called service time is computed on the basis of a couple of parameters, two of which are vehicle-dependent (serviceTimePerTransportStop and serviceTimeFactor). These parameters are explained in detail on a separate concept page on service times. A code sample illustrates the use of this feature.
  • Vehicle location: Not every vehicle starts or ends its route in the same place. With startLocationId and endLocationId, the location where the vehicle is at the beginning or has to be at the end of its route can be specified. 
  • Route start: With routeStartInterval, the possible start time of the route can be limited to lie within a given interval or even to be an exact point in time.
  • Limits: A user may want to limit the driving distance of a vehicle or the number of visited customer stops (maximumDistance and maximumNumberOfCustomerStops). A limit on driving time or travel time can be specified for the assigned driver (see below).

Parameters of a driver

  • Availability time: Drivers may have fixed working hours or a few days off. The availability time of the driver can be specified as up to 30 time intervals (availabilities). Driving time and service time must only be scheduled within an availability interval. Furthermore, each trip must start and end within the same interval. This implies that the vehicle must be empty again when an interval ends.
  • Breaks and rests: Drivers need to take breaks and get some rest. In most countries, there are compulsory rules when to take the time for a break or a rest at the latest. These rules can be set up manually via the parameters breakRule and dailyRestRule. However, for the most common rules like those stated in Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 or the Hours of Service Regulations of the FMCSA, presets are defined that make the manual set-up unnecessary (via workingHoursPreset). These parameters are explained in detail on a separate concept page on drivers' working hours. A code sample illustrates the use of this feature.
  • Logbook: Without a logbook, breaks and rest periods are scheduled as if the driver had never worked before. If this assumption is not correct, a logbook of the conducted work should be given (via workLogbook). Again, this parameter is explained in detail on a separate concept page on drivers' working hours.
  • Limits: The driving time and/or the travel time of the driver may be limited, for example when working hours regulations apply. These limits can be set via the parameters maximumDrivingTime and maximumTravelTime. A limit may be indirectly set when a workingHoursPreset is used. If a workLogbook is given, the already conducted work counts towards the limits. The latter two parameters are explained in detail on a separate concept page on drivers' working hours. A code sample illustrates the use of this feature.