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Operations• 9 min read

Route Optimization for Field Service: Save Time & Fuel

The average field service technician spends 30% of their day driving. Cut that to 20% and you've added capacity without hiring.

Poor routing costs field service businesses more than they realize. Fuel, vehicle wear, wasted labor hours, and missed jobs all add up. A crew doing 5 jobs per day at $200 average could be doing 7 with better routing, a $104,000 annual difference.

Here's how to optimize routes whether you have one truck or twenty.

The Basics: Geographic Clustering

Divide Your Service Area

Don't let jobs scatter randomly across your territory. Create geographic zones and assign specific days to each zone.

Zone Strategy Example:

  • • Monday: North zone (ZIP codes 12345, 12346)
  • • Tuesday: East zone (ZIP codes 12350, 12351)
  • • Wednesday: South zone (ZIP codes 12360, 12361)
  • • Thursday: West zone (ZIP codes 12370, 12371)
  • • Friday: Overflow and callbacks

When scheduling new jobs, push customers toward their zone day. "We're in your area Tuesdays. I can get you in this week or next, which works better?"

Cluster Jobs Within Zones

Within each zone day, group jobs by neighborhood. A crew servicing 5 houses on the same street finishes faster than 5 houses scattered across a zone.

Real example: A lawn care company switched from random scheduling to zone clustering. Average drive time between jobs dropped from 22 minutes to 8 minutes. Same crews, same trucks, 40% more jobs completed.

Smart Sequencing

Start Farthest, End Closest

Begin the day at the job farthest from your shop, then work your way back. This concentrates driving at the start (when traffic is predictable) and gets you home faster at the end.

Consider Job Duration

Put quick jobs between longer ones. A 30-minute job between two 2-hour jobs keeps the route efficient while filling gaps.

Optimal Day Structure:

  • 1. 8:00 AM: Start with a medium job (farthest point)
  • 2. 9:30 AM: Large job nearby
  • 3. 12:00 PM: Quick job (lunch area)
  • 4. 1:00 PM: Large job (working back toward shop)
  • 5. 3:30 PM: Medium job
  • 6. 5:00 PM: Small job closest to shop

Account for Traffic Patterns

Avoid scheduling jobs that require crossing congested areas during rush hour. Schedule downtown or commercial jobs for mid-day when possible.

Multi-Crew Optimization

Assign Territories, Not Just Days

With multiple crews, give each crew ownership of specific zones. They learn the area, build customer relationships, and routes become more efficient over time.

Territory Assignment:

Crew A (Lead: Mike)North and Northeast zones
Crew B (Lead: Carlos)South and Southeast zones
Crew C (Lead: James)West and commercial accounts

Balance Workloads

Review route density weekly. If one crew consistently finishes early while another runs late, rebalance territories or reassign accounts.

Measuring Route Efficiency

Key Metrics to Track

Average Drive Time Between Jobs

Target: Under 15 minutes for residential, under 20 for commercial

Jobs Completed Per Day Per Crew

Track trend over time, aim for steady increase

Miles Driven Per Revenue Dollar

Lower is better; indicates route efficiency

First Job Start Time

Are crews starting promptly or wasting morning hours?

Weekly Route Review

Every Friday, pull the week's route data:

  • • Which days had the most drive time? Why?
  • • Were there any backtracking patterns?
  • • Did any crews have significant idle time?
  • • Which jobs took longer than estimated? Update your estimates.

Real-Time Adjustments

Handling Same-Day Changes

Cancellations and emergencies happen. Have a system for:

  • • Cancellations: Move up later jobs or pull from waiting list
  • • Emergency adds: Slot into existing route without major detours
  • • Job running long: Alert affected customers early
  • • Traffic delays: Reroute around congestion

The Waiting List Advantage

Maintain a list of customers who want earlier appointments. When a slot opens, text the waiting list: "We had a cancellation in your area today. Want to move your service up?" First response wins.

This recovers revenue from cancellations and keeps routes full.

Quick Wins: Implement Today

Start with these changes:

  1. Define 4-5 geographic zones in your service area
  2. Assign specific days to each zone
  3. When scheduling new jobs, offer zone day first
  4. Sequence tomorrow's jobs: farthest first, closest last
  5. Track drive time between jobs for one week

These basic changes typically reduce drive time 15-25% with no technology investment. Add routing software for another 10-15% improvement.

Smart Routing with CrewNest

Automatic route optimization, real-time tracking, and drag-and-drop scheduling. See your day on a map and optimize with one click.

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