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Troubleshooting the Optimizer

This topic includes some recommended values for the setup configurations and information that you can review if problems occur when using the Optimizer.

All of the following settings are required to run the Optimizer:

• A service region
• Server key mapping
• Cost function
• Cost list
• Travel cost
• Minimum travel time
• Travel U/M
• Parameter set
• Parameters, which include:
  • Optimizer - Activity Category
  • Optimizer - Default Priority
  • Optimizer - Glued
  • Optimizer - Save Interval
  • Optimizer - Tardiness Cost
  • Optimizer - Task Excl Cost
  • Optimizer - Timeout

    NOTE:  You can set the values for these parameters. For more information, see Creating Parameter Sets for Schedules.

The Optimizer has the following additional requirements:

• An activity cannot span more than 1 day. Multiday activities are not scheduled. The Optimizer can schedule other activities during the time intended for multiday activities. However, the penalties for not scheduling these activities still contribute to evaluating the potential success of an optimized schedule. For more information, see Defining Cost Functions for the Optimizer.
• The Optimizer and ABS treat activities that cross between the end of the Optimizer horizon and the beginning of the ABS period as locked.

When loading activities into the Optimizer cache for the first time, the Optimizer produces an initial solution to the schedule by accepting the existing order and assignment of appointments. While finding the initial solution, the Optimizer first processes the activities with Lock Assignment and Lock Schedule check boxes that are selected to make sure that these activities are considered in the optimized schedule. For more information, see Locking Assignments and Schedules for Activities (End User).

While the schedule for a service region is optimized, only Insert Activity and Stop Optimization requests are accepted. These requests are queued, and the queue is processed when the optimization finds the next solution. Any other request is returned. For more information, see About Running Contract Scheduling and Stopping Optimization of Schedules for Service Regions.

Guidelines for Obtaining Good Results for Optimization

This topic provides guidelines for obtaining good results for optimization.

The following recommendations can help you to obtain good optimization results at the best speed:

• Make sure that the Optimizer is on its own process in the server key mappings. This guideline is the most important way to return good results from the Optimizer.

  Run the Optimizer when the server has a light load, preferably overnight. For more information, see Setting Up Server Key Mappings.

• Examine the Optimizer heuristic settings for the scheduling parameters.

  In general, a higher number produces a better result quality, but the time to find a solution is longer. Most companies find that setting the Optimizer heuristic parameters to 5 or 6 and running the Optimizer for 3 to 4 hours is sufficient. The Optimizer - Timeout parameter determines how long the Optimizer is run. For more information, see Creating Parameter Sets for Schedules and About Heuristic Methods for Schedules.

• Check the service region setup because more constraints lead to a faster solution.

  The Optimizer frames the scheduling problem as a solution space to explore and find the best answer. More constraints mean that the solution space decreases, and the Optimizer must explore fewer permutations to arrive at the best solution. For more information, see Defining Service Regions.

• Subdivide your field service engineers into types to help speed up optimization.

  For example, a cable company has several different activity types (cable install, cable problems, cable modem install, and cable modem problems). Specific field service engineers handle each type. Even in a large service region of over 50 engineers, the company can receive optimum solutions quickly because the engineers are subdivided in this way. The Optimizer solves several small problems instead of 1 large problem.

Optimizer Parameter Set Configuration

Table 8 describes the recommended parameter value settings for the Optimizer.