Fleet and assignments

A load assignment connects one load to a driver and vehicle for a committed start and end interval. The Fleet Coordinator maintains the driver roster and vehicle records. The Dispatcher checks those records before confirming an assignment. That check matters most when a vehicle looks available on a board but is held for maintenance, or a driver has an eligibility date that expires before the planned movement.

The driver record carries an external authority reference and an eligibility date. The vehicle record carries its equipment class, capacity, readiness and external fleet identifier. A defect record adds severity, repair evidence and release time for a vehicle. These records help the team judge whether the proposed equipment and person fit the load. The load can also state an equipment class for the dispatcher to compare with the selected vehicle.

• Maintain. Fleet Coordinator keeps driver eligibility, vehicle readiness and defect records current.
• Reserve. Dispatcher enters a held assignment with the actual committed interval for the planned load.
• Confirm. Dispatcher checks eligibility, readiness and overlap with other assignments before confirming the driver and vehicle.

Assignments can be held, confirmed, dispatched, completed or cancelled. The start and end times define the period that must be checked for conflict. Two assignments for the same driver or vehicle are a real overlap risk even if they belong to different partners or operating organizations. A board showing only one load at a time is not a substitute for the interval check.

Decide which external authority supplies driver eligibility and how often the Fleet Coordinator checks it. Decide when a vehicle moves from ready to held or maintenance, and what repair evidence permits release. Use the same time-zone convention for assignment intervals and load commitments, particularly when operations cross organization time zones.

Agree who may change an assignment after confirmation. A change to the driver, vehicle or interval should prompt another conflict and eligibility check. If an external fleet system owns the definitive readiness decision, connect it and define what the local vehicle record means until its answer arrives. The app’s assignment is the dispatch commitment that the team can inspect with the load.

Start with a load needing a particular equipment class. Choose an active driver whose eligibility covers the interval, and a ready vehicle whose class and capacity suit the movement. Hold the assignment, then compare it with other assignments for both resources. Confirm it only when the two intervals are clear.

Now add a major defect to the chosen vehicle or move its readiness to held. The Fleet Coordinator and Dispatcher should see that the earlier choice needs review before release. Run another case where the same driver is committed to an overlapping interval. The dispatcher must resolve the conflict instead of confirming both movements. Keep the load promise in view while choosing another resource; changing the resource does not rewrite what was promised to the recipient.

• Assignment schedule — Driver and vehicle commitments laid out by start and end time.
• Driver eligibility roster — Active drivers and the dates on which their eligibility ends.
• Ready vehicles — Equipment class, capacity and readiness for dispatch planning.

See load planning and dispatch and exception review.