The Blackout Window is a time-constraint feature that you may indicate for your stops for the systems to avoid assigning vehicles to it during a time range, i.e. the generated Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) will be out of the Blackout Window.
It functions like a Do-Not-Deliver time range for your stops, and be used in cases when the recipient is not at home or that the stop is unavailable to receive the goods a particular time range.
Without Blackout Window
Assuming there are 8 stops, and without indicating any Blackout Window for any of the stops, the systems will try to plan a route to service all of the stops normally.
Image Of Planned Results Without Setting Blackout Window
Various Examples Of Blackout Window
Stops with the Blackout Windows
Assuming that all of the stops have the same Blackout Window from 10 am to 12 pm, the systems will plan the run in a way that would avoid the generation of an ETA within that time range for all of the stops.
Notice that none of the stops have an ETA within the Blackout Window from 10 am to 12 pm, with the ETA of the fourth stops starting from 12 pm.
Image of Planned Results With The Same Blackout Window
Single stop with a Blackout Window
Assuming that there is a “Special" Stop that cannot be served from 10 am to 11 am. You may indicate the Blackout Window for that particular stop; and during planning, the systems will plan to avoid assigning the vehicle to that stop within this time range.
Image Of Planned Results Of A Single Stop With Blackout Window
Stops with varying Blackout Windows
This Blackout Window feature may further be applied to all of your stops, for the systems to perform planning; with all of the generated ETAs outside the Blackout Window.
Image Of Planned Results With Varying Blackout Windows
How To Set Up
- Navigate to Settings > Blackout Windows.
- Click Add Blackout Window.
- Fill in the data. For example:
- Click Save.
Repeat Steps 2 – 4 if required.
How To Use The Blackout Window
Manual Addition of Stops
When creating jobs, you may specify the Blackout Window.
Import Of CSV File
In your CSV file, you may specify the Blackout Window, prior to importing the file.
| Name | Latitude | Longitude | Blackout Window |
|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | 1.39003103 | 103.8711549 | 10 am to 11 am |
| S2 | 1.39509898 | 103.8893044 | 10 am to 11 am |
| S3 | 1.38474266 | 103.9285193 | 10 am to 11 am |
| S4 | 1.37138351 | 103.9436361 | 10 am to 11 am |
| S5 | 1.33344644 | 103.9461218 | 10 am to 11 am |
| S6 | 1.32590878 | 103.9246479 | 10 am to 11 am |
| S7 | 1.32856144 | 103.9004074 | 10 am to 11 am |
| S8 | 1.34379895 | 103.8808246 | 10 am to 11 am |
Results
A list of stops was planned to demonstrate the effects of the Blackout Window feature.
Screenshot Of Stops Before Planning
Stops with the Blackout Windows
From the table below, with the use of the Blackout Window feature, the ETA of the stops was out of the defined Blackout Time Window of 10 to 11 am.
Results Without The Use Of Blackout Windows
| Name | Latitude | Longitude | Blackout Window | ETA | Blackout Window | ETA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | 1.39003103 | 103.8711549 | None | 9:08 AM | 10 am to 11 am | 9:08 AM |
| S2 | 1.39509898 | 103.8893044 | 9:24 AM | 9:29 AM | ||
| S3 | 1.38474266 | 103.9285193 | 9:46 AM | 9:55 AM | ||
| S4 | 1.37138351 | 103.9436361 | 10:02 AM | 11:00 AM | ||
| S5 | 1.33344644 | 103.9461218 | 10:21 AM | 11:24 PM | ||
| S6 | 1.32590878 | 103.9246479 | 10:36 PM | 11:45 PM | ||
| S7 | 1.32856144 | 103.9004074 | 10:51 PM | 12:05 PM | ||
| S8 | 1.34379895 | 103.8808246 | 11:05 PM | 12:24 PM |
Screenshot Of Stops After Planning Without Blackout Window
Screenshot Of Map Display Of Stops After Planning
Screenshot of Stops After Planning With Blackout WIndow Set to 10 to 11 am
Screenshot of Map Display Of Stops After Planning With Blackout Window
Single stop with a Blackout Window
The following was being imported into ElasticRoute for demonstrating the use of the Blackout Window for a single stop, S4.
| Name | Latitude | Longitude | Blackout Window |
|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | 1.39003103 | 103.8711549 | |
| S2 | 1.39509898 | 103.8893044 | |
| S3 | 1.38474266 | 103.9285193 | |
| S4 | 1.37138351 | 103.9436361 | 10 am to 11 am |
| S5 | 1.33344644 | 103.9461218 | |
| S6 | 1.32590878 | 103.9246479 | |
| S7 | 1.32856144 | 103.9004074 | |
| S8 | 1.34379895 | 103.8808246 |
Results Without The Use Of Blackout Windows
As shown in the below table, the systems had re-routed the entire run to avoid the Blackout Window Timing.
| Job Sequence | Name | Blackout Window | ETA | Name | Blackout Window | ETA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | S1 | None | 9:08 AM | S1 | None | 9:08 AM | |
| 2 | S2 | 9:24 AM | S2 | 9:29 AM | |||
| 3 | S3 | 9:46 AM | S8 | 9:59 AM | |||
| 4 | S4 | 10:02 AM | S7 | 10:18 AM | |||
| 5 | S5 | 10:21 AM | S6 | 10:39 PM | |||
| 6 | S6 | 10:36 PM | S5 | 11:00 PM | |||
| 7 | S7 | 10:51 PM | S4 | 10 am to 11 am | 11:24 PM | ||
| 8 | S8 | 11:05 PM | S3 | None | 11:43 PM |
Screenshot Of Stops After Planning Without Blackout Window
Screenshot Of Map Display Of Stops After Planning
Screenshot Of Planned Results With A Single Stop With Blackout Window Enabled
Screenshot Of Planned Results With A Single Stop With Blackout Window Enabled
