Multi-Man Jobs Routing and Scheduling for Field Service and Distribution Operations

What this means for distribution businesses

Delivering a 200kg commercial fridge requires two people and the optimizer needs to schedule both drivers to arrive at the same time. Multi-man jobs synchronize crew arrivals so the customer is not waiting for the second person to show up 30 minutes later. Furniture retailers scheduling sofa and bed deliveries need two-man teams coordinated precisely to avoid wasted waiting time. Building materials operators handling steel beam or heavy aggregate drops can assign crane operator plus driver combinations. For appliance distributors delivering and installing washing machines, the fitter and driver need synchronized scheduling that accounts for both skill sets and arrival timing.

What this means for field service businesses

Health and safety regulations require two-person crews for many field service tasks. A facilities management company sending engineers into confined spaces needs both the entry worker and the safety observer arriving together. HVAC companies installing large commercial units need a lead engineer and assistant coordinated to the same appointment. Electrical contractors working on live circuits require a qualified supervisor present alongside the working electrician. For solar installation teams, panel lifting and wiring tasks require two or three people on site simultaneously, and the optimizer must account for all crew members' routes.

How it works

• Link tasks that need simultaneous execution with a shared Synchronization Key
• Set the Number of Assignees Required to specify crew size (2, 3, or more)
• Configure an Arrival Tolerance so crew members can arrive within a window (e.g. 15 minutes of each other)
• The optimizer creates one task instance per crew member and schedules them at the same time
• Skills matching ensures each crew member has the right qualifications for their role