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Configure technician shifts for routing

The quality of the optimizer’s output depends directly on how accurately you have set up each technician’s shift hours, start location, and skills. This article covers what to configure and why it matters.

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Before you start

  • You must have Admin role to edit technician profiles and shift templates.
  • Confirm you have the correct working hours for each technician.

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Shift windows

The optimizer will never schedule a job that would require a technician to start before their shift begins or finish after it ends. This is a hard limit. What to configure:
  • Set shift start and end times to match each technician’s actual working hours, including reasonable travel time back to base if required.
  • If a technician typically finishes their last job by 4:30 PM even though their contract ends at 5:00 PM, set the shift end to 4:30 PM to leave a buffer.
To update a shift template:
  1. Go to FSM Settings → Shifts.
  2. Select the shift template, or create a new one.
  3. Set the Start time and End time.
  4. Assign the template to the relevant technicians.

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Start location

The optimizer routes each technician from their start location to their first job. An incorrect start location produces routes that look wrong on the map and results in longer real-world drives than the optimizer estimated. What to configure:
  • Set each technician’s home address (or depot address if they start from a company location) in their profile.
  • Technicians who commute from different locations on different days should have their start address updated before optimization runs.

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Skills and certifications

Jobs that require a specific skill or certification can only be assigned to technicians who hold that qualification. If no technician with the required skill is available, the job will appear as unassigned. What to configure:
  1. Go to FSM Settings → Skills and add any skill or certification types your business uses (e.g. “HVAC”, “Electrical”, “EPA 608”).
  2. In each technician’s profile, assign the skills and certifications they hold.
  3. When creating a job, set the required skill if only certain technicians should be assigned.

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Tips for better results

  • Accurate shift windows produce tighter routes. If shifts are set too wide (e.g. 6 AM – 8 PM when the tech actually works 8 AM – 5 PM), the optimizer may produce schedules that look correct but would leave technicians working unusually late.
  • Use specific skills rather than assigning all skills to all techs. The optimizer uses skill matching to narrow assignment candidates. If everyone has every skill, the optimizer has more flexibility but dispatchers lose the guarantee that a job goes to the right person.
  • Review routes after updating start locations. If a technician’s home address changes, re-run optimization for any upcoming days already scheduled.

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Result / verify

After configuring shifts and skills, run a test optimization for an upcoming day and confirm that:
  • Each technician’s route starts near their configured home or depot address.
  • Jobs requiring specific skills are assigned only to qualified technicians.
  • No technician’s route extends beyond their shift end time.

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Troubleshooting

Jobs requiring a skill are always unassigned. Confirm that at least one technician has that skill assigned in their profile, and that their shift covers the job’s appointment window. Technician routes start from the wrong location. Check the technician’s start location in their profile. The optimizer uses this address, not their current GPS location.