Patent Application
20050288948
The present invention relates to systems, methods, and computer-readable media for creating more accurate management and scheduling tools. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems, methods and computer-readable media for the creation of travel time standards that more accurately reflect the variables associated with traveling from one job to the next.
Companies are constantly striving to improve the efficiency of their operations. Often, this entails gathering data on various aspects of their operation and analyzing this data for improvement opportunities. The data that is gathered is often used to develop performance metrics that are used as a standard against which future performance will be measured. One common example relates to developing time standards for technicians for each job that they routinely perform. For example, a telecommunications company may determine that installing a new telephone line in a house takes an average of 45 minutes. This standard may be determined from analyzing an historical sample of telephone line installations for which the actual time on the job was tracked.
Many routine job tasks may be assigned a time standard with a high degree of accuracy due to the lack of variables involved. For example, a telephone line installation may consist of steps A, B, C, and D, with little variance from house to house. Using this time standard, and other similar job task time standards, a telecommunications company may attempt to efficiently schedule and distribute work orders amongst the various technicians assigned to a shift. A problem arises when travel time to, from, and between the various jobs is taken into consideration. Travel time can account for approximately 25% of the time that technicians spend during the course of a shift. Unfortunately, travel time includes many variables, including but not limited to road type, road conditions, type of vehicle used, weather, seasons, amount of traffic, time of the day, day of the week, and urban versus rural locations.
There are products on the market, such as MapQuest by MAPQUEST.COM, INC., that will map the distance between points A and B and provide an estimated travel time between those points. However, these products only use the distance and the speed limit to determine the estimated time. A large number of variables, many listed above, exist that may greatly decrease the accuracy of an estimated travel time based solely on a speed limit and distance. With an accurate measure of travel time, coupled with accurate job task time standards, a company is able to more efficiently schedule jobs for its technicians, and may accurately measure and monitor their job performance.
Aspects of the present invention address these issues by providing a method for creating a technician performance measure for job-related travel and a method and computer-readable medium for measuring the efficiency of a technician. According to one aspect of the present invention, the segment distance between locations within a defined area is obtained. An average speed measurement from within the defined area is received from a database. The average speed measurement is determined by calculating an average of all speed measurements that are stored within the database that correspond with a travel characteristic stored with the speed measurements. The travel characteristic describes at least one variable travel condition within the defined area. A to-job travel time estimate is calculated by dividing the segment distance measurement by the average speed measurement. An in-job travel time estimate, determined from historical measurements within the defined area, is added to the to-job travel estimate to arrive at a total planned travel time estimate.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the efficiency of a technician is measured. An estimate of the amount of time required for the technician to complete a plurality of tasks is calculated. An estimate of the amount of time required for the technician to travel is calculated using a historical sample of travel times within the defined area where the plurality of tasks will be completed. The task completion time and travel time estimates are added to arrive at a total planned job time estimate. The time to actually complete the tasks is measured, including the actual travel time. The measured actual time to complete the tasks and travel is compared with the total planned job time estimate to determine the efficiency of the technician. The measured actual travel time may also be compared to the planned travel time estimate to determine a travel efficiency figure. A further aspect of the present invention is directed to computer readable media to instruct a computer to measure the efficiency of a technician in the manner summarized above.
These and other features and advantages, which characterize the present invention, will be apparent from a reading of the following detailed description and a review of the associated drawings. It is to be understood that both foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.
Developing accurate performance measures for employees is an important step for a business to take. By being able to accurately measure the performance of its employees, a company can take measures to increase the efficiency of its employees and corresponding operations. One method for determining how efficiently an employee is managing her time is to compare the time that it takes for the employee to perform each task to a standard that represents the time that it should theoretically take to perform the same task. Similarly, the time that it takes for an employee to drive from job to job can be compared to a standard to determine if it is taking the employee too long to travel between jobs, or if the employee is diligent in her efforts to work efficiently. According to embodiments of the present invention, a method creates standards against which the actual performance of an employee is measured against. Further, the present invention creates travel time estimations that take into account multiple variables that can change the amount of time it takes to drive from point A to point B along the same route.
Actual column 114 lists the actual times taken to perform each task listed in dispatch column 110. As an example, prior to the beginning of a work shift, the plan columns 112 will be filled out according to the appropriate standards. As the technician performs each task throughout her shift, she keeps track of the time it took to perform each task and records the time corresponding to each task in actual column 114. Alternatively, the time taken to complete each task may be recorded by the technician or other personnel at the end of the shift. In the example shown in
Row 116 provides a sum of the individual times listed under the plan and actual columns 112 and 114 respectively. Sum 118, for example, shows that the total time required for the technician to complete her required tasks for that day is estimated at 5.02 hours. Sum 120 shows that it actually took the technician 8.06 hours to complete her work, including the time required to drive between jobs. As will be discussed, planned travel times as well as other miscellaneous planned times will be added to sum 118 before comparing the number to sum 120 which includes work and travel. Miscellaneous section 104 includes estimated times for any variety of miscellaneous factors that the employer may wish to add to the total planned work day for the technician. In the example shown in
Similar to the estimated task times listed under plan column 112 of the work section 102, the time estimations listed under plan column 124 corresponding to the miscellaneous tasks listed under column 122 may be based on historical samples, or may simply be theoretical based on other factors. Row 126 provides a sum of the individual times listed under plan column 124. In this example, sum 128 shows that the total time required for the technician to complete the listed miscellaneous tasks for the day is estimated at 1.14 hours. It should be noted that the actual times taken to complete the miscellaneous tasks listed in column 122 are included in the times listed in actual column 114 in the work section 102. As will be discussed, the times listed in the actual column 114 could be limited only to the time taken to complete the corresponding task, with all other miscellaneous and travel times appropriately listed in the miscellaneous and travel sections 104 and 106, respectively.
Travel section 106 shows the planned travel time for the technician for the day, the actual travel time, and an efficiency indication based on a comparison of the two times. Travel column 130 includes two travel components, in-job travel 132 and to-job travel 134. In-job travel 132 includes the total time that a technician travels after he has traveled from one service address to another. For example, this type of travel for a telecommunications technician might include driving to and from connection boxes and a commercial or residential building while installing or troubleshooting telephone lines. To-job travel 134 includes the time that a technician spends traveling between jobs. For example, when a technician completes a service order at one address, she will drive to the next address to begin work on the next service order. The estimations for in-job and to-job travel for a technician for a given day are listed in the plan column 136. The manner in which these estimations are determined will be described in detail with respect to
Column 142 is labeled “GPS Time.” The total actual travel time 144 represents the actual time that the technician's vehicle was in motion during the day, from the time that the vehicle left the service center for the first job, until the vehicle came to a stop back at the service center after all of the jobs were completed. This time is preferably measured using precision instrumentation such as a global positioning system (GPS) mounted within the technician's vehicle. The GPS system can be programmed to record only the time that the vehicle is in motion or stopped for less than a predetermined time, i.e. 90 seconds. By programming the system to continue recording when the vehicle is stopped for less than 90 seconds, the time that the vehicle is stopped at traffic lights and stop signs will be captured. It is to be understood that the actual travel time may be measured not only using a GPS, but also using any means now known or developed in the future. The total actual travel time 144 is compared to the total planned travel time 140 to arrive at an efficiency indicator 148. In the embodiment shown in
The total performance summary section 150 shows the plan sum 152 of the planned times 118, 128, and 140 from work section 102, miscellaneous section 104, and travel section 106 respectively. Also listed here is the actual sum 154 carried forward from sum 120 of the work section 102. This sum 154 represents the actual time that the technician spent on the job that particular day. The actual sum 154 spent on the job is compared to the estimated plan sum 152 on the job to arrive at an efficiency indicator 156. In this example, the technician spent 0.05 hours more than was planned for that day. Report 100 allows a manager to look at efficiency indicators 148 and 156 to determine how well the technician is doing as compared to the plan.
It is to be understood that report 100 is not limited to the format and information shown in
Rather than using the posted speed limits of the routes mapped by the mapping software 206, one embodiment of the present invention uses historical travel time and distance data to calculate the average MPH 212. Sample MPH measurements 216 are taken while technicians drive during their work shifts. These sample MPH measurements 216 are stored in database 214. The sample MPH measurements 216 may be noted by the driving technician or other personnel riding with the technician, or may preferably be recorded using precision instrumentation such as GPS systems installed in the vehicle driven by the technician which provide GPS data 226. The GPS data 226 may be downloaded into database 214 from each vehicle used in a day at the end of each day in order to create a large sample of sample MPH measurements 216 to create more accurate average MPH 212 calculations, or periodic samples of actual GPS data 226 may be downloaded into database 214.
Travel characteristics 228 corresponding to variables having an effect on traffic are also stored along with the sample MPH measurements 216 in database 214. One such characteristic is location. The sample MPH measurements 216 are associated with at least one defined area. In the example shown in
In other words, it may take an average of 10 minutes to travel a 10 mile stretch of highway with a posted speed limit of 60 MPH within the geographical area assigned to service center 1, while it takes 90 minutes to travel a similar 10 mile stretch of highway with a posted speed limit of 60 MPH within the geographical area assigned to service center 2. By taking an average of only the sample MPH measurements 216 taken within the area defined by the applicable service center 218, a more accurate average MPH 212 will result, improving the to-job travel time estimation 220.
To further improve the accuracy of the average MPH 212 calculation, additional travel characteristics 228 may be stored with the sample MPH measurements 216 in database 214. For example, characteristics 228 such as day of the week, time of the day, season of the year, weather descriptions such as “rain” or “clear,” technician, or any other identifiable variable that could affect travel time in a particular geographical area may be stored with each sample MPH measurement 216. After doing so, a user or software application may search database 214 for sample MPH measurements 216, sorted by characteristic, to arrive at a pool of sample MPH measurements 216 taken under similar conditions as will be experienced by the technician for which travel is planned.
For instance, assume that technician Smith will be driving the next day from point A to point B within the geographical area assigned to service center 1 at approximately 8 am in January. When estimating the to-job travel time 220 for Smith, the average MPH 212 may be taken from a pool of sample MPH measurements 216 that are associated with service center 1. This average MPH 212 will be more accurate than simply using the posted speed limits in that area since, as discussed above, the average will be taken from actual travel times measured from the area. For improved accuracy, the sample pool may be further limited by sorting the sample MPH measurements 216 according to the time 8 am, or a range of time that includes 8 am. The resulting average MPH 212 should give a clearer picture of the amount of time that it will take Smith to travel, as 8 am may be in the middle of rush hour, requiring additional time. For greater accuracy, the pool of sample MPH measurements 216 may be further limited to those taken in January, or even by the sample MPH measurements 216 taken when Smith was driving, or any combination of stored characteristics.
Once the to-job travel time 220 is calculated, it may be entered into row 134 of report 100, shown in
The purpose of contingency travel table 300 to arrive at to-job travel estimations is to provide time estimations that are more accurate than using estimated distances and posted speed limits when more precise estimations calculated using the segment miles 210 and average MPH 212 is not available due to imprecise addresses, lack of data in database 214 for a particular characteristic 228, or any other error. The in-job travel times 224 are usually much less than the to-job travel times 220 since shorter distances or no distance is driven while performing a job when compared to the distances driven between jobs. For this reason, there is less error involved and less impact on the total planned travel time 140 if not precisely accurate. Therefore, using time estimations based on density areas is sufficiently reliable and calculating in-job travel times 224 in a manner similar to the to-job travel time calculations described above is not necessary. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the in-job travel times 224 may be similarly calculated using GPS historical measurements and variable travel characteristics similar to the to-job travel time calculations described herein.
As an example, assume a technician's work day will consist of performing job A in D2 and job B in D4 and that the address of job B cannot be mapped by mapping software 206. To calculate planned travel time 140, a user or software application would add 17.20 minutes, which is found at the intersection of to-job travel row 302 and column D2, and 14.30 minutes, which is found at the intersection of to-job travel row 302 and column D4, to arrive at a contingency to-job travel time 222 of 31.50 minutes. The in-job travel time estimation 224 would be 9.90 minutes, calculated by adding 5.80 minutes from the intersection of in-job travel row 304 and column D2 to 4.10 minutes from the intersection of in-job travel row 304 and column D4. The total planned travel time 140 would be the sum of contingency to-job travel time 222 and in-job travel time 224, which is 35.60 minutes.
The process proceeds to blocks 414 and 416 where the actual time worked 154 and the actual travel time 144 are measured respectively. The actual time worked 154 is the total time that the technician spent on the job, including travel time. The actual travel time 144 is preferably measured using a GPS installed within the vehicle driven by the technician and includes the time that the vehicle is in motion plus time stopped for less than a predetermined amount of time, as discussed above. At block 418, the actual time worked 154 determined at block 414 is compared to the technician service measure determined at block 412 to arrive at an efficiency indicator 156 that is indicative of how efficient the technician was over the course of the day. Similarly, at block 420, the actual travel time 144 determined at block 416 is compared to the planned travel time 140 determined at block 410 to arrive at an efficiency indicator 148 that is indicative of how efficient the technician was in traveling within and between jobs over the course of the day. It should be noted that the procedural blocks shown in
If the addresses could not be found and could not be manually input by a user at block 504, the process proceeds to block 510. At block 510, the contingency to-job travel time 222 is retrieved from contingency travel table 300 and used as the to-job travel time in place of the to-job travel time 220 determined at block 508. At block 512, the in-job travel time 224 is retrieved from contingency table 300. At block 514, the in-job travel time 224 from block 512 is added to the to-job travel time 220 from block 508, or the contingency to-job travel time 222 retrieved from the contingency table 300 at block 510, to arrive at a planned travel time. At block 516, a determination is made as to whether all addresses have been entered, and therefore if planned travel times have been determined for all travel segments. If not, the process proceeds back to block 502. If all addresses have been input, the planned travel times from all travel segments are added at block 518 to arrive at a total planned travel time 140.
The systems, methods, and computer-readable media according to the present invention enable a company to monitor and maximize technician efficiency, including both work-related and travel-related efficiency. By developing improved performance and travel measures, a technician's work day can be planned more accurately than ever before. The accuracy with which the planning can be accomplished provides an incentive for technicians to adhere to and attempt to surpass the planned performance times. This accuracy also allows for improved scheduling, increasing the efficiency of a company's operations.
The above specification, examples and data provide a complete description of the manufacture and use of the composition of the invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the invention resides in the claims hereinafter appended.
The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to co-pending U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/582,229 entitled “Method and System for Management of Freight Travel Time” filed on Jun. 23, 2004, and which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60582229 | Jun 2004 | US |
