Terminology

This section lists frequently used terms and their meanings:

Scheduled periods within a driver shift when a driver is not available for jobs. Floating breaks (such as lunch breaks) can be taken at any location between stops. Fixed appointments occur at a specific time and location, with travel time included in the route. Learn more about lunch breaks and personal appointments.

The total load that can be transported by a driver’s vehicle at any one time. Learn more about driver capacity.

The hard, medium, and soft rules that must be taken into account when creating a pick-up and delivery schedule. Learn more about constraints.

Timefold accepts input datasets that include information about the drivers and the jobs to be scheduled and optimized. Input datasets are created using our predefined model schema which follows the OpenAPI specification. Timefold returns output datasets that contain the optimized solution. See the API spec for more information.

The amount of vehicle capacity consumed by a job’s stops at any given point in a route. When a pick-up stop is completed, the demand increases; when the corresponding delivery stop is completed, the demand is released. Learn more about driver capacity.

A person who can be assigned jobs. Drivers work shifts with defined start and end times, and can have skills and tags that determine which jobs they can be assigned.

A break that occurs at a specific start and end time. When a location is provided, Timefold includes travel time to and from the break in the route. When no location is provided, the time is blocked but travel time cannot be accounted for. Fixed breaks model personal appointments and other scheduled commitments. Learn more about fixed breaks.

A break with a defined duration that can be taken at any location within a specified time window. Timefold schedules floating breaks in around stops to minimize disruption to the route. Lunch breaks are a typical example. Learn more about floating breaks.

A series of stops that typically include a pick-up location and a delivery location, and can include additional service stops in between. All stops in a job must be completed by the same driver and in the order they are listed.

Completing stops from multiple jobs concurrently by interleaving them in a single route. For example, picking up two parcels before delivering both saves travel time compared to completing each job separately. Pooling can be prohibited on individual jobs when a customer requires a direct route. Learn more about job pooling.

The amount of vehicle capacity currently in use at a given point in a route. The load fluctuates as stops are completed: pick-up stops increase it, delivery stops decrease it.

The maximum amount of extra time a job’s stops can take compared to the direct travel time between them. Limits how long passengers or items spend in transit when jobs are pooled, ensuring they are not excessively delayed by other stops. Learn more about maximum time burden.

A mandatory job incurs a medium-level penalty when left unassigned, meaning it takes priority over all soft constraints. An optional job incurs a soft-level penalty when left unassigned and may be deferred when other soft constraints compete. Learn more about priority jobs and optional jobs.

A stop with a time window spanning multiple days that can be scheduled on any of those days. Contrast with non-movable stops, which have a single-day time window. Learn more about multi-day schedules and movable stops.

Locking a stop to its assigned driver and position in the route so it cannot be moved during re-planning. Useful when a driver is already en route to or working on a stop. Learn more about pinning stops.

A constraint that prevents two specific jobs from overlapping in the same driver’s route. Useful when passengers or items must not be transported together, for example when customers have requested not to travel with each other. Learn more about prohibited job combinations.

The time period that will have jobs scheduled during a planning session. Learn more about planning windows.

The ability to re-run the solver after an initial plan has been generated, to incorporate new jobs, cancellations, or driver availability changes while retaining the existing solution as a starting point. Learn more about real-time planning.

An API that quickly provides a range of time window options for a job when a customer is requesting service, without waiting for a full solve. Learn more about recommendations.

The process of minimizing the travel time or distance drivers spend driving between stops. By default, Timefold minimizes travel time. Learn more about route optimization.

A work period with start and end times when a driver is available for jobs. Learn more about shift hours and overtime.

Capabilities that drivers possess and jobs may require. Skills can have levels, allowing jobs to specify a minimum proficiency (for example, basic or advanced first-aid). Learn more about skills.

A commitment that a stop must be completed by a specific time. Stops that miss their SLA deadline incur a soft score penalty. Learn more about stop SLAs.

A location within a job where the driver performs work, such as picking up or delivering an item. Stops must be completed in the order they are listed within a job. Learn more about time windows and opening hours.

Labels applied to driver shifts to model binary requirements such as certifications or vehicle attributes. Jobs can require specific tags, restricting which drivers can be assigned. Learn more about tags.

The period during which a stop can be serviced. If the driver arrives before the time window opens, they must wait. If they cannot arrive before the time window closes, the stop (and potentially the whole job) may be left unassigned. Learn more about time windows and opening hours.