Assignments and fleet

A Load Assignment joins one load to a driver and a vehicle for a start and end interval. It can be Held while a dispatcher checks feasibility, Confirmed when the commitment is accepted, and later Dispatched, Completed or Cancelled. Keeping the interval on the assignment lets the team compare planned work with other commitments for the same person or vehicle.

Driver records carry an active flag, an eligibility end date and an external authority reference. Vehicle records carry equipment class, capacity, active state, readiness and an external fleet identifier. These are the facts the Fleet Coordinator and Dispatcher should check before accepting a load. A vehicle marked Held or Maintenance is a visible reason to revisit the assignment. Vehicle Defects retain severity, repair evidence and release time for that decision.

• Check. Fleet Coordinator reviews driver eligibility, vehicle readiness and equipment class against the load’s needs.
• Reserve. Dispatcher places an interval on the load assignment, checking overlap before confirmation.
• Follow. Dispatcher updates the assignment as the load dispatches and completes, preserving the original commitment interval.

A load’s Equipment Class is a planning requirement; a vehicle’s Equipment Class is the fleet fact. The team should compare them directly. The vehicle stores capacity in pounds. Agree how the team obtains the load weight before using that capacity for a fit decision. A record marked Active is a starting signal, and the eligibility date and readiness still need review.

Choose who maintains Drivers and Vehicles, who records Vehicle Defects and who releases a vehicle after repair. Decide how the external authority reference is obtained and how often it is checked. An external fleet system can supply current authority information as a configured connection; the Fleet Coordinator remains responsible for the readiness decision in the operating record.

Define the exact interval boundaries for a load assignment. Include loading and unloading time when that is how the team schedules a driver or vehicle. Agree how held assignments expire or are cancelled and how dispatchers respond when a previously ready vehicle moves to Maintenance. The Dispatcher should approve the route against the assignment that was feasible at that time.

A Dispatcher prepares a load with a named equipment class and a morning pickup. The Fleet Coordinator checks an active driver whose eligibility remains valid through the trip and a vehicle whose class matches, whose readiness is Ready. The Dispatcher records the assignment with start and end times, initially Held. Before confirming it, the team checks other intervals for both driver and vehicle.

If a critical defect is reported before departure, the vehicle’s defect record carries repair evidence and release time. The team should keep the load out of dispatch until a ready vehicle and feasible interval are recorded. When pickup occurs, the assignment and load can reflect dispatch. After delivery, the assignment can be Completed while its original interval stays available to explain how fleet time was committed.

• Assignment schedule — Driver and vehicle commitments by load and time interval.
• Assignment board — Held, confirmed, dispatched, completed and cancelled commitments.
• Vehicle readiness — Fleet equipment class, capacity and current readiness for selection.

See planning and route review and pickup and transit.