HVAC Route Planning and Routing

Optimizing HVAC routes will save on drive time and allow your business to squeeze more jobs into every workday.

Route planning represents an important daily task for HVAC companies. Dispatchers tasked with scheduling jobs must schedule and organize routes so that technicians will not travel from one side of town to another and back multiple times throughout the day. Instead, they should schedule work in such a way that the technician spends more time working and less time driving. This process is called route optimization, and it leads to increased efficiency and cost savings.

Increase Productivity

HVAC service companies can increase their productivity by ensuring that their HVAC technicians are driving the most efficient route to their next service call.

With optimized routes, technicians will spend less time driving between jobs. With a limited number of hours in the workday, less time driving means more time working. Therefore, each technician can fit a few more jobs into each day, providing additional income to the company instead of wasting time. 

HVAC route planning also allows HVAC service companies to track their technicians’ drive times and vehicle maintenance. In addition, HVAC route planning can help HVAC service companies dispense their technicians more efficiently to prevent overlap in service calls.

Scheduled Stops

Optimized routes provide an organized schedule for a tech’s day. Dispatchers can see which job the technician should be at a given time or if they are running behind. By planning routes, your company can provide customers the approximate time the technician will arrive at the job. This keeps them happy and in-the-loop.

Cost Savings

HVAC route planning saves HVAC service companies money by reducing travel time between service calls. This increased efficiency leads to more service calls being completed per day, which leads to more work being completed overall and more money being earned.

HVAC route planning can also help HVAC service companies avoid traffic congestion, which can further reduce travel time and increase efficiency. By utilizing HVAC route planning, companies can save time and money, resulting in increased profits.

Less time driving means less money spent on fuel. And, with less mileage put on vehicles, maintenance costs will also decrease. 

The Route Planning Process

For HVAC companies, route planning probably involves gathering a list of jobs for each technician for the day. Then, the dispatcher maps them and orders them based on their location. To do this, the dispatcher may take the list of addresses and enter them into Google Maps. Once mapped, dispatchers can order the jobs and give them to the technician.

The old route planning process of HVAC services was cumbersome, For example, if a customer called in and requested service, the company would have to look up the customer’s address, find the nearest technician, and then manually dispatch the technician to the customer’s home. This process was not only time-consuming, but it also often resulted in errors.

At least, that’s the old way. 

HVAC Route Planning Software

Fortunately, new HVAC software like Smart Service has made route planning much easier. The new software allows companies to input customer addresses and then automatically generates the most efficient route for the technicians. As a result, Dispatch times have been reduced and customer satisfaction has increased.

HVAC companies can save a lot of time and energy by investing in route planning software. Manually entering jobs into Google Maps quickly becomes tedious and time consuming. Route planning software like Smart Service (which would already have your scheduling and customer information) can optimize your routes in much less time. Once optimized, you can see the route order and the newly scheduled time for each job.

The software takes into consideration of HVAC units, service calls, and traffic patterns to find the most efficient route possible. HVAC companies can also input special instructions or notes to ensure that each job is completed correctly. This new software is revolutionizing the HVAC industry, and it is sure to make a positive impact on HVAC companies of all sizes.

Best Practices for Optimizing Your HVAC Routes

There are a few best practices that you can follow to optimize your HVAC routes:

• Make sure to input all relevant information about each job, including the type of service, customer location, and special instructions.

• Plan your routes carefully, taking into account drive times and traffic patterns.

• Schedule appointments at similar times to minimize drive time between appointments.

• Use HVAC route planning software to find available time slots for additional or emergency services.

• Keep track of customer appointments and service history to provide better customer service.

By following these best practices, you can ensure that you are using HVAC route planning software effectively. In doing so, your HVAC business can save even more time and money.

Accounting for Drive Time

With Smart Service, drive time gets factored into your routes. This measures the amount of time it takes to drive from one job to the next. Scheduling that takes drive time into account will prove much more accurate. For example, if a technician has an HVAC maintenance job in the morning, it might take them half an hour to drive to their next appointment. In this case, Smart Service will automatically schedule the second appointment half an hour after the first job. With this ability, dispatchers can more accurately fit the right amount of jobs onto a technician’s route for the day. 

Looking for Available Times

Need to find a window for additional or emergency services in the course of the day? Smart Service can help dispatchers determine the best available time slot on the schedule based on technician location and the proximity of their other scheduled jobs. So, if you already have a technician close by, they’ll get the new job over a technician from another part of town.

Technician Called Off

What if a technician gets sick and you need another technician to take over? With Smart Service, you can move all assigned jobs from one technician to another. Then you can optimize the route again with these new jobs. Also, if technicians start their day from their home, dispatchers can optimize their route with their home as the starting point. This saves additional drive time. 

Common Pitfalls in HVAC Route Planning

There are a few common pitfalls that can occur when using HVAC route planning software:

• Not inputting all relevant information about each job. This can lead to inefficient routes and scheduling conflicts.

• Not taking into account drive times and traffic patterns. This can lead to wasted time and fuel costs.

• Not keeping track of customer appointments and service history. This can make it difficult to provide good customer service.

By avoiding these pitfalls, you can ensure that you are using HVAC route planning software effectively. In doing so, you can save time and money on your HVAC business.

Conclusion

As you can see, Smart Service can be a great tool for your HVAC routing needs. Smart Service saves labor costs and fuel expenditures. To learn more about Smart Service, request a free demo today.