Slot refinement allows you to automatically reduce the delivery or intervention time window of a mission, based on the actual estimated time of arrival (ETA) within the route.
This provides more operational flexibility for planners (wider slots = more optimisation possibilities) while improving customer satisfaction, as the final slot is more precise — the best of both worlds!
Setting up slot refinement
Go to the "sector" page, in the "Slot Refinement" section. In this block, it is possible to activate slot refinement at a fixed time for missions on the same day or the next day.
- Slot refinement is only possible once per day.
- Refinement is triggered automatically at the time set in the sector settings, with no manual action required.
Slot refinement criteria
A mission's slot can be refined if:
- The mission is part of a planned route,
- The mission is not in a BROKEN route,
- The mission is not "unplanned",
- Its initial slot is strictly greater than 2 hours
All missions meeting these criteria will be refined once the refinement is launched for the relevant day.
Example: if on 01/01 I have scheduled my refinement for 7pm for the next day, then at 7:00pm all missions on 02/01 meeting the criteria will have a refined slot.
Calculation of the refined slot
Refinement is based on the estimated time of arrival (ETA) calculated during planning:
The ETA is rounded to the nearest hour or half-hour.
The refined slot is then constructed by adding ± 1 hour around this rounded ETA.
Note: The refined slot must never exceed the bounds of the initial slot (neither starting before nor ending after)
Example of refined slot calculations
| Initial Slot | ETA | Rounded ETA | Refined Slot |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7am - 1pm | 10:27am | 10:30am | 9:30am - 11:30am |
| 7am - 1pm | 9:48am | 10am | 9am - 11am |
| 7am - 1pm | 12:08pm | 12pm | 11am - 1pm |
| 7am - 1pm | 12:15pm | 12:30pm | 11:30am - 1:00pm (as not before the initial slot) |
| 7am - 1pm | 7:18am | 7:30am | 7am - 8:30am (as not before the initial slot) |
Displaying the refined slot on the mission
Optimisation behaviour
⚠️ Important: to ensure the best possible consistency of refined slots, it is recommended to launch refinement once all missions are received and the last optimisation is completed.
If new missions are added and an optimisation is relaunched after refinement, some missions may be unplanned.
To limit this effect:
missions with already refined slots gain priority in the optimisation engine;
during the next optimisation, these missions will be preserved as much as possible in their new, more restricted slot.
In summary, refinement makes forecasts more accurate without blocking the initial flexibility of the plan.
Examples of settings we recommend:
You accept missions for the same day until 07:00
Optimisation at 07:00
Slot refinement at 07:15 for the current day
You take missions for the next day until 18:00
Optimisation at 18:00
Slot refinement at 18:15 for the next day
Customer Notification of Refined Slot
👷 The feature is under development and will be available very soon!
FAQ
When is slot refinement triggered?
Refinement occurs automatically at a fixed time, set in the settings. The refinement can apply to either the routes of the same day or those of the next day.
Can refinement be deactivated for a single sector?
Yes.
Refinement is set sector by sector, directly from the Sector page. You can deactivate it at any time.
Does refinement reduce the flexibility of the plan?
No.
Routes are initially calculated based on broad slots to maximise optimisation possibilities.
Refinement occurs afterwards, only to specify times to customers, without constraining the initial calculations.
When should slot refinement be launched?
It is recommended to refine slots only once all missions for the sector have been received and the last optimisation has been completed.
This ensures the best possible consistency between the refined slots and the actual route plan.
What happens if I rerun an optimisation after refining the slots?
If you add missions or rerun an optimisation after refinement, some missions may be unscheduled. To minimise this effect, missions whose slots have already been refined are given a higher priority in the optimisation engine.
They will therefore be preserved as much as possible in their new restricted slot.
Can a refinement already applied be deactivated or cancelled?
No, not for missions that have already been refined.
However, you can temporarily deactivate the feature at the sector level so that future routes are no longer refined.