Sorting and filtering trips and resources

6.Sorting and filtering trips and resources

You may find that the current view in both Planning Worksheet grids does not reflect how you use Dispatch. For example, you may need to quickly determine which resource is located closest to a specific trip. Other times, you may need to know if there are available trips with a starting location close to an available tractor and/or driver. Moreover, in other situations, it may be most efficient to list your resources according to a specific load requirement.

The Planning Worksheet has features that allow you to quickly and easily check all of these situations. To sort resources closest to a trip, trips closest to a resource, filter resources by load requirement, or filter trips based on origin and/or destination,use the procedures described on the following pages:

Sorting resources closest to a trip

Sorting trips closest to a resource

Filtering the resource list based on load requirements

Retrieving available trips by date instead of hours

Setting up the system to use a date range when retrieving available trips

[Dispatch] PlannerRetrieveByDate

Creating views that work with the date range

Using a start date and number of days when retrieving trips

Using a date range to retrieve trips

Setting up your system to increase retrieval time limit

Restricting data displayed in the Planning Worksheet using the Quick Restriction fields

[Dispatch] PlanningWorksheetQuickRestrictions

[Dispatch] PlanningQuickRestrictTripCol1 PlanningQuickRestrictTripCol2

[Dispatch] PlanningQuickRestrictResCol1 PlanningQuickRestrictResCol2

Filtering trips based on origin and destination

Filtering trips based on their origin/destination city and state

[Dispatch] PlannerFilteronOriginDest

Filtering trips based on the origin/destination state or province

[TmwSuiteAddins] EnablePWStateChooser

Filtering trips using a specific city/state and multiple states

Sorting resources closest to a trip

To list the information in the Tractor/Trip Segment grid according to the distance from a selected trip in the Available Trips grid, follow these steps:

  1. To refresh the information in the Available Trips and AvailableResources grids, do one of the following:
  • Click both of the Refresh buttons at the top of the window.
  • Click the Retrieve icon in the sheet toolbar.
  1. In the Available Trips grid, highlight the desired trip.
  2. In the Tractor/Trip Segment grid, click the All Resources tab on the right of the grid to organize the resource information according to tractor, driver, or trailer.

Note: Where possible, reduce the number of resources displayed in the AvailableResourcesgrid by selecting a different view. For more information on using different views, see the "Defining views" chapter.

  1. Do one of the following:
  • Select View > Sort Power Closest to Trip
  • Click the MT Power;Sort MT Power icon in the sheet toolbar.

The resources closest to the start location of the selected trip move to the top of the Tractor/Trip Segmentgrid.

Note: The start location for the selected trip is found in the OriginCity column in the AvailableTrips grid. The locations of resources are found in the FinalDestCity column in the Tractor/Trip Segment grid.

In this sample sorted Planning Worksheet, a message at the bottom of the AvailableResources grid indicates how the resources were sorted. The MTMiles column identifies the number of miles from the destinations of the tractors to the origin of the trip selected in the AvailableTrips grid.

  1. To return the Available Resources grid to the previous view, click theRefresh button at the top of the window.

Sorting trips closest to a resource

To list the information in the Available Trips grid according to the distance from the resource selected in the Available Resources (Tractor/Trip Segments, Driver, Trailer, and All Resources) grid, follow these steps.

  1. To refresh the information in the Available Trips and Available Resources grids, do one of the following:
  • Click both of the Refresh buttons at the top of the window.
  • Click the Retrieve icon in the sheet toolbar.
  1. In the Available Resources grid, highlight the desired resource.

Notes:

  1. You can highlight a resource on any of the view tabs, (Tractor/Trip Segment, Driver, Trailer, or All Resources) except the Driver Plan when sorting trips closest to a resource.
  2. Sorting a large number of records slows down system performance. When possible, reduce the number of resources displayed in the AvailableResourcesgrid by selecting a different view. For more information on using different views, see the "Defining views" chapter.
  1. In the Available Resources grid, highlight the desired resource.
  2. Do one of the following:
  • Select View > Sort Trip Closest to Power.
  • Click the MT Trip:Sort MT Trips icon in the sheet toolbar.

The trips closest to the location of the selected resource move to the top of the AvailableTrips grid.

Note: The location for the selected resource is found in the FinalDestCity column in the AvailableResources grid, and the start locations of the trips are found in the OriginCity column in the AvailableResources grid.

A message at the bottom of the Available Trips grid indicates how the trips were sorted.

The MTMiles column in the Available Trips grid identifies the number of miles from the trips' origins to the destination of the tractor selected in the AvailableResources grid.

  1. To return the grid to the previous view, click the Refresh button at the top of the window.

Filtering the resource list based on load requirements

If your company routinely records load requirements to ensure that resources match the loads they haul, your planning process should begin with a review of the requirements for each available trip. As part of this review process, you can filter the listing on the Tractor/Trip Segment and Driver tabs in the Available Resources grid to resources that satisfy the load requirements for a specific trip.

To look up load requirements and determine which resources meet those requirements, follow these steps.

  1. To refresh the information in the Available Trips and Available Resources grids, do one of the following:
  • Click both of the Refresh buttons at the top of the window.
  • Click the Retrieve icon in the sheet toolbar.
  1. In the Available Trips grid, highlight the trip for which you want to review load requirements.
  2. Select Options > Show/Hide Requirements. The system overlays the Load Requirements window on the Planning Worksheet. For example:

This load requirement was recorded for the trip highlighted in the Available Trips grid.

If load requirements have been recorded for the trip you highlighted, they will display in the window. If none were recorded, the window is empty.

Note: You cannot add, modify, or delete requirements in this window. To perform any of these tasks, you must use the Edit > Load Requirements command.

  1. To see load requirements for a different trip, highlight the row for that trip in the Available Trips grid. The Load Requirements window will list any conditions that were recorded for the trip you selected.

Note: You cannot use the Show/Hide Requirementscommand to look up load requirements for trips listed in the AvailableResources grid.

  1. To filter the Available Resources grid to just those resources that satisfy the requirement(s) currently displayed, do one of the following:
  • Click the Filter icon in the sheet toolbar.
  • Select View > Filter to Qualified Power.
  1. The system will reduce the Available Resources list to those trip segments having resources that match the load requirement(s).

Note: To return the filtered list to its unfiltered state, click theAvailableResourcesgrid's Refresh button again.

Retrieving available trips by date instead of hours

First available TMWSuite: 2007.06_10.0762

By default, the Planning Worksheet's Available Trips grid uses the Hours Back and Hours Out field values for the current view as the order age criteria when determining which trips to display.

Note:Hours back and hours out are just two of the criteria specified in a view. For more information on setting up views, see the "Defining views" chapter in the Planning Worksheet guide.

However, you can set up the system to retrieve trips based on the trip's start date. You can use a specific date and a number of days after it, or you can use a date range. To use dates as retrieval criteria, you must perform these setup tasks:

  • Activate the functionality.
  • Create dispatch views compatible with using a date range.

Setting up the system to use a date range whenretrieving available trips

The PlannerRetrieveByDate=INI setting controls the use of dates for trip retrieval.

[Dispatch]
PlannerRetrieveByDate
Applies to / TMWSuite: 2007.06_10.0652
Description / This setting controls whether the Dispatch Planning Worksheet's Available Trips grid will display fields that allow you to retrieve trips based on the trip's start date instead of the hours back and hours out specified in the dispatch view.
Options /
  • N (default)
The Available Trips grid will use the Hours Back and Hours Out field values for the current view to determine which trips to display.

Note: Retrieved trips must meet all other criteria specified by the current view.
  • Y
The Available Trips grid will display the Startdate and Days fields. You use these fields to specify the initial start date and the number of days after it as a date range that the trip's start date must fall within to be displayed.

Notes:
  1. When this option is used, the view's Hours Back and Hours Out field values must be 0 (zero).
  2. Retrieved trips must meet all other criteria specified by the current view.

  • YD
The Available Trips grid will display the Startdate and To fields. You use these fields to specify an actual date range in which the trip's start date must fall to be displayed.
Notes:
  1. When this option is used, the view's Hours Back and Hours Out field values must be 0 (zero).
  2. Retrieved trips must meet all other criteria specified by the current view.
  3. This option is required when using the Status Based Loadgrid. The Status Based Loadsgrid isavailable only when you are licensed for the Enhanced Brokerage add-on module. For more information, contact TMW Sales.

Creating views that work with the date range

When using the PlannerRetrieveByDate= setting with the Y or YD option, you must have dispatch views that will work with the date range functionality.

The Hours Back and Hours Out fields must have a value of 0 (zero). If the value in either of these fields is anything other than 0, the system will use the hours back and hours out values to determine the age of the trips that should be displayed, instead of the specified date and days or date range.

You can edit existing views or create new ones to use with this feature.

Using a start date and number of days when retrieving trips

When you have the PlannerRetrieveByDate=Y setting in the [Dispatch] section of your TTS50.ini file, you can retrieve trips having a start date between the specified date and the specified number of days after that date.

Available Trips grid restrictions without the date range fields

Available Trips grid restrictions with the Startdate and Days fields

Follow these steps to retrieve trips using a date and number of days after that date.

  1. If needed, select a view that has 0 in the Hours Back and Hours Out fields.

Note: Using a view that has values other than 0 for the hours back and hours out will override the date range you enter.

  1. Make entries in the date range fields:

Startdate / Enter the beginning date of the date range in the MM/DD/YY format.
Days / Enter the number of days after the date in the Startdate field for which the system should retrieve available trips.
  1. Click the Available Trips grid's Refresh button. The grid will display available trips having a start date matching the entered date within the specified number of days after that date. These trips will also meet all other criteria specified by the view.

Using a date range to retrieve trips

When you have the PlannerRetrieveByDate=YD setting in the [Dispatch] section of your TTS50.ini file, you can retrieve trips having a start date in the specified date range.

Available Trips grid restrictions with the Startdate and to fields

Follow these steps to retrieve trips that are available within a date range.

  1. If needed, select a view that has 0 in the Hours Back and Hours Out fields.

Note: Using a view that has values other than 0 for the hours back and hours out will override the date range you enter.

  1. Make entries in the date range fields:

Startdate / Enter the beginning date of the date range in the MM/DD/YY format.
To / Enter the ending date of the date range in the MM/DD/YY format.
  1. Click the Available Trips grid's Refresh button. The grid will display available trips having a start date within the specified date range. These trips will also meet all other criteria specified by the view.

Setting up your system to increase retrieval time limit

First available in V. 2014.13_07.0434

By default, the maximum length of time allowed for returning results on the Planning Worksheet window is 30 seconds.If you have a large number of orders to retrieve, you may find that your system will time out before the results appear. You can set up your system to increase the length of time allowed to retrieve results. To do this, you must make an entry in your ttslocal.ini file.

  1. Open your ttslocal.ini file in a text editor, such as Notepad.
  2. In the [DBMS] section, find the dbparm= setting:
  3. Add this text as the value:CommandTimeout= and enter the number of milliseconds to allow (10 minutes= 600 milliseconds, 15 minutes=900 milliseconds, etc.).

If the dbparm= setting already contains an entry, separate the two entries by a comma, as shown here:

  1. Save your changes.

Note:You must exit and restart the Dispatch application to have the increased time limit take effect.

Restricting data displayed in the Planning Worksheet using the Quick Restriction fields

First available in TMWSuite: 2007.06_10.0281

The Planning Worksheet displays data in the Available Trips and Available Resources grids. To limit the data shown in these grids, you can set up restrictions sets known as views in the Define Views window. You can further modify the current view by clicking the Restrict button for the Available Trips grid or the Available Resources grid, then editing the Modify Restriction Set window.

Note: Modifications made in the Modify Restriction Set window are temporary. They apply only during the current Planning Worksheet session.

You can set up the Planning Worksheet so that some of the restriction fields available in the Define Views window also appear in the Planning Worksheet header.

These Quick Restriction fields allow you to restrict displayed data without having to open the Modify Restriction Set window.

The Quick Restriction fields are used to apply these restrictions:

  • In the Available Trips grid you can filter data based on:
  • Origin Region 1– 4.
  • Destination Region 1– 4.
  • RevType1– 4.
  • In the Available Resources grid you can filter data based on:
  • Final Region 1– 4.
  • RevType1– 4.
  • Division.

Follow these steps to use the Quick Restriction fields.

  1. Open the Planning Worksheet.
  2. If the restriction you want to use for retrieving trips or resources is not displayed, select the set from the drop-down list.
  1. Next to the field below the restriction set, click .
    A selection window opens.

  1. Select as many of the available options you need, and then click Add.
    The selections move from the Available list to the Assigned list.
  2. Click OK.
    The options you selected display in the field.

The Quick Restriction fields provide the same filtering capability available with the Region1-4, RevType1-4, and Division fields in the Define Views andModify Restriction Set windows. For more information on defining and modifying views in the Planning Worksheet, refer to the "Defining views" chapter of this guide.

You should also perform these preliminary checks:

  • Confirm that the necessary regions have been defined,and that the city file has been updated with the current region data. Dispatch regions are defined in theRegion Definitions window, accessed in System Administration. Cities can be associated with regions individually in City File Maintenance. However, the Write button in the Region Definitions window can be used to update all cities in the city file with the current region data. For more information, refer to the "Defining dispatch regions" chapter of the System Administration guide.
  • Divisions are user-defined in the Divisions label, which can be accessed in System Administration. A driver, tractor, and trailer can be associated with a division in File Maintenance. For more information, refer to the System Administration guide and File Maintenance guides.
  • Revenue types 1-4 are created as options in the label file, which can be accessed in System Administration.

To enable the Quick Restriction fields, use this setting in your TTS50.ini file.