Avoidance Zones – Plan Routes With High-Risk And No-Go Areas
Route4Me enables enterprise businesses to create customized Avoidance Zones to exclude high-risk or undesirable areas, such as those unsuitable for commercial vehicles or certain types of cargo. This feature enhances final mile route efficiency and security, ensuring specific team members, like delivery drivers or field service technicians, bypass these zones. At the same time, our Avoidance Zones feature lets you tailor defined service zones to specific field team members, helping you streamline operations and ensure that only the right team members visit certain areas. Use this guide to create and incorporate Avoidance Zones into your multi-stop and commercial route planning.
Table of Contents
Create Avoidance Zones – Improve Route Safety And Efficiency
To create an Avoidance Zone, go to “Account” in the Navigation Menu and click “Account Settings“. Under “Admin“, click “Avoidance Zones“. Then, click the “Add Avoidance Zone” button.
To draw an Avoidance Zone on the map, right-click the map to access the Shape Menu or select a shape from the panel in the upper-right of the map. NOTE: Use the arrow in the Shape Menu to drag and reposition the map.
Then, click on the specific location where you want to define the Zone’s parameters. To create a free form shape, click on the polygon. Or click on the rectangle and drag it to cover the area you wish to define.
If you make a mistake and want to start over, click “X” in the “New Shape” box to erase your shape. To save your shape, click the Save Icon and give the Avoidance Zone a title as prompted. All Avoidance Zones will appear in the list on the right.
For even greater efficiency and precision in defining an Avoidance Zone, you can also import KML (Keyhole Markup Language) text. KML text defines geographic data in browsers such as Google Earth or Google Maps. To use this option, simply click the “KML Text Import” button, import your text, and click “OK” to save and add the Avoidance Zone to your list.
You can also adjust map settings. Simply click the Frame Icon in the top left to access a full screen map. Click the Gear Icon below it to open the Map Settings menu where you can change map view modes and enable a map traffic layer.
Manage Avoidance Zones – Adjust No-Go Zones For Vehicles And Field Personnel
To edit an Avoidance Zone, click the Three-dot Icon next to it to access the edit feature. Then, to adjust the shape of the Zone, click on any point in the drawing and drag it to make the alteration. When finished, click “Save“.
To delete an Avoidance Zone, click the Three-dot Icon next to the zone to access the delete feature. Alternatively, check the box next to zone and click “Delete“.
Add Avoidance Zones to Route Optimization Profiles
Once you’ve created Avoidance Zones, you can add them to Optimization Profiles.
Go to “Settings” in the Navigation Window and select “Optimization Profiles”. Then, click the “Create New Profile” button and follow these steps:
- Go to “Restrictions” and click on “Avoidance Zones”.
- Toggle “Enable Avoidance Zones”.
- Click on “Select Avoidance Zones”.
- Choose the Zones you want to enable.
- Click “Done” to finalize.
If you have many Avoidance Zones, use the “Search Avoidance Zones” field to quickly find and enable specific Zones.
Route Avoidance Zones – Steer Clear Of Problematic Or High-Risk Areas
Once created, you can plan routes which take into account your Avoidance Zones. To plan a route, go to “Operations” in the Navigation Menu and click “Plan New Route“. Then, select your preferred route data import method: Copy-and-Paste, Upload a File, Import Data, Upload Scans, or the Interactive Map Editor.
You can only select Avoidance Zones when you manually adjust optimization settings. To do this, click “Skip” when asked if you’d like to use a pre-existing Optimization Profile.
Then, in the pop-up window, click “Avoidance Zones“. Select one or multiple Avoidance Zones to apply to the route by checking the corresponding boxes. Once chosen, the selected Avoidance Zones will appear on the map. When done, click “Create Route and Proceed to Add Addresses“.
View Avoidance Zones on the map after importing your route addresses. Click the Gear Icon in the upper left, check the “Avoidance Zones” box, and select the Zones you want to display.
