ArcGIS Help 10.1 - Output from Solve Vehicle Routing Problem

The Solve Vehicle Routing Problem geoprocessing tool produces the following table and feature classes as output: Stops, UnassignedStops, Routes, Directions. Descriptions about the output tables and feature classes, and their corresponding field attributes, are described in the subsections below.

Routes feature class

The Routes line feature class represents the drivers, vehicles, and vehicle route paths of a vehicle routing problem. The default name of this output feature class is Routes, but you can give it a different name by changing the Output Routes Name parameter (output_routes_name for Python) prior to solving.

ArcGIS assigns the same coordinate system that the underlying network dataset uses for the Routes feature class. This can be controlled by specifying a value for the Output Coordinate System geoprocessing environment.

The field names of the Routes feature class are listed and described below.

Field name	Description
ObjectID	The system-managed ID field.
Name	The name of the route.
Shape	The geometry field indicating the shape of the route. Use the Populate Route Lines parameter (populate_route_lines for Python) to choose whether to populate this field. The Routes feature class is always created and populated with data during the execution of Solve Vehicle Routing Problem. However, the Populate Route Lines parameter (populate_route_lines for Python) allows you to choose whether to generate and store Shape field values for the line features. Not populating Shape field values makes the solve operation faster and reduces the size of server-client data exchanges; but people often want to visualize routes on a map, so populating the Shape field may be required.
ViolatedConstraints	This field contains a summary of violated constraints and is set after a solve operation. If a route causes a constraint to be violated, a combination of one or more of the violations listed below could be assigned to the field. Dive-in: The coded value that represents the text description is shown in the list below in parentheses. Notice that the coded values are part of a geometric sequence that increases by doubling the last value. This allows various combinations of violations to be coded. For instance, the combination of Capacities exceeded (2) and Hard route zone (128) is coded as 130 (2 +128). MaxOrderCount exceeded (1)—The preassigned orders can't be assigned to the route since assigning the orders would exceed the maximum number of orders that can be assigned to the route as specified by the route's MaxOrderCount field value. Capacities exceeded (2)—The preassigned orders can't be assigned to the route since assigning the orders would exceed the total route capacity as specified by the route's Capacities field value. MaxTotalTime exceeded (4)—The travel time from the start depot to the end depot plus the service and wait times at both depots and any break exceeds the total time for the route as specified by the route's MaxTotalTime field value. MaxTotalTravelTime exceeded (8)—The travel time from the start depot to the end depot exceeds the total travel time for the route as specified by the route's MaxTotalTravelTime field value. MaxTotalDistance exceeded (16)—The travel distance from the start depot to the end depot exceeds the total travel distance for the route as specified by the route's MaxTotalDistance field value. Hard time window (32)—There is a hard time window violation on the start depot, end depot, or break associated with the route. Unmatched specialty (64)—The specialties required by an order are not found on the target route. Hard route zone (128)—An order that was preassigned to the route does not fall within a hard route zone. Order pair MaxTransitTime exceeded (256)—There is an order pair preassigned to the route, and assigning the orders in the order pair would exceed the maximum transit time for the order pair as specified by the order pair's MaxTransitTime field value. Order pair violation (512)—An order belongs to an order pair and can't be assigned to the preassigned route. Unreachable (1024)—A preassigned order is located on a network element that cannot be reached by the route. Cannot insert required break (2048)—A break for the route has a null sequence value in the presence of preassigned orders, and the break can't be inserted anywhere without introducing other violations. Cannot insert required renewal (4096)—A route exceeds its capacity and needs to visit a route renewal; however, the associated route renewal has a null sequence value in the presence of preassigned orders and can't be inserted anywhere without introducing other violations. MaxTravelTimeBetweenBreaks exceeded (8192)—The solver was unable to insert a break within the time specified by the break's MaxTravelTimeBetweenBreaks field. This is often caused by preassigning a sequence to a break such that it can't be reached within the maximum travel time. Break MaxCumulWorkTime exceeded (16384)—The solver was unable to insert a break within the time specified by the break's MaxCumulWorkTime field. This is often caused by preassigning a sequence to a break such that it can't be reached within the maximum work time.
OrderCount	The number of orders assigned to the route.
TotalCost	The total operating cost of the route, which is the sum of the following field values: FixedCost RegularTimeCost OvertimeCost DistanceCost
RegularTimeCost	The cost of regular work time, excluding any unpaid breaks.
OvertimeCost	The cost of overtime work, excluding any unpaid breaks.
DistanceCost	The distance cost component obtained by multiplying the TotalDistance and CostPerUnitDistance field values. This field value is set to zero if a distance attribute is not specified prior to solving.
TotalTime	The total route duration. This includes travel times as well as service and wait times at orders, depots, and breaks. The TotalTime value is the sum of the following field values: StartDepotServiceTime EndDepotServiceTime TotalOrderServiceTime TotalBreakServiceTime TotalRenewalServiceTime TotalWaitTime TotalTravelTime The unit for this field value is specified by the Time Field Units parameter (time_units for Python).
TotalOrderServiceTime	The total service time spent at all orders on the route. The unit for this field value is specified by the Time Field Units parameter (time_units for Python).
TotalBreakServiceTime	The total service time spent at all breaks on the route. The unit for this field value is specified by the Time Field Units parameter (time_units for Python).
TotalTravelTime	The total travel time for the route. The unit for this field value is specified by the Time Field Units parameter (time_units for Python).
TotalDistance	The total travel distance for the route. The unit for this field value is specified by the Distance Field Units parameter (distance_units for Python). This field value is set to zero if a distance attribute is not specified prior to solving.
StartTime	The starting time of the route. The route may start before the beginning of its start depot's time window, in which case there is a wait time at the starting depot. When using traffic data that covers multiple time zones, the time zone for this time-of-day value is taken from the network element on which the starting depot is located.
EndTime	The ending time of the route. The route ends upon completion of service at the ending depot. When using traffic data that covers multiple time zones, the time zone for this time-of-day value is taken from the network element on which the ending depot is located.
TotalWaitTime	The total wait time at all orders, depots, and breaks on the route. The unit for this field value is specified by the Time Field Units parameter (time_units for Python).
TotalViolationTime	The total violation time at all orders and breaks on the route. The unit for this field value is specified by the Time Field Units parameter (time_units for Python).
RenewalCount	For a route with renewals, this is equal to the number of stops at depots for the purpose of renewing a vehicle, that is, loading or unloading a vehicle.
TotalRenewalServiceTime	For a route with renewals, the total service time spent at all renewal visits on the route. The unit for this field value is specified by the Time Field Units parameter (time_units for Python).

Directions feature class

Directions is a line feature class representing turn-by-turn instructions to help drivers follow their assigned routes. The default name of this output feature class is Directions, but you can give it a different name by changing the Output Directions Name parameter (output_directions_name for Python) prior to solving. Also, the Solve Vehicle Routing Problem tool always creates the Directions feature class; however, you can use the Populate Directions parameter (populate_directions for Python) to choose whether to populate the feature class with features during solve. By default, it is not populated. If you don't need directions, you can significantly reduce solve times and the amount of data that is transferred from servers to clients.

ArcGIS assigns the same coordinate system that the underlying network dataset uses to the Directions feature class. This can be controlled by specifying a value for the Output Coordinate System geoprocessing environment.

The field names of the Directions feature class are listed and described below.

Field Name	Description
ObjectID	The system-managed ID field.
Shape	The geometry field indicating the shape of the lines.
RouteName	The name of the route that the driving action applies to.
ArriveTime	The time of day to initiate the given driving action. If the route spans multiple days, the date and time of day are displayed.
Type	This field is for advanced users who want to customize the driving-directions text. Most users can meet their requirements by ignoring this field and referring to the Text field instead. Type refers to a constant in one of two enumerations: esriDirectionsManueverType or esriDirectionsStringType. (See the SubItemType field description to learn which enumeration the Type value refers to.) You can see a list of constant values by searching the SDK of your choice for the enumeration name.
SubItemType	This field is for advanced users who want to customize the driving-directions text. Most users can meet their requirements by ignoring this field and referring to the Text field instead. SubItemType works in combination with Type to create the driving direction shown in the Text field. The SubItemType field specifies whether the Type field refers to a constant value in the esriDirectionsManueverType enumeration or the esriDirectionsStringType enumeration. If the SubItemType value is 1, the Type value refers to esriDirectionsManeuverType. If the SubItemType value is 2, the Type value refers to esriDirectionsStringType.
Text	A text description of the driving direction.
ElapsedTime	The time elapsed from when the current driving direction starts until the next one starts, or until the route ends for the last driving direction. Some driving directions include extra records for service time, violation time, and so on. In these cases, the elapsed time is replicated for each record. If you want to sum the total elapsed time, select those records with a Type value of 1 and sum those records. The unit for this field value is specified by the Time Field Units parameter (time_units for Python).
DriveDistance	The distance from where the current driving direction occurs to where the next one occurs, or to where the route ends for the last driving direction. This value is zero for driving directions that occur at the same location where the next one begins.

Stops table

The Stops table provides information about stops made at depots, orders, and breaks. The information includes which routes make the stops, the arrival and departure times, and the stop sequence.

The default name of this output table is Stops, but you can give it a different name by changing the Output Stops Name parameter (output_stops_name for Python) prior to solving.

The field names of the Stops table are listed and described below.

Field Name	Description
ObjectID	The system-managed ID field.
Name	The name of the stop. This is a foreign key to the name of the depot, order, or break in the input feature sets and record set. The input feature or record set is specified by the StopType field.
PickupQuantities	The amount of cargo or number of people to be picked up from a stop. If multiple dimensions are delivered to a stop, each quantity is separated by a space. The units for this field aren't stored. You should interpret the units according to the way in which you entered the Quantities field of the input routes and the PickupQuantities and DeliveryQuantities fields of the input orders. (All of these fields should have been entered using the same units and number of dimensions.)
DeliveryQuantities	The amount of cargo or number of people to be delivered to a stop. If multiple dimensions are delivered to a stop, each quantity is separated by a space. The units for this field aren't stored. You should interpret the units according to the way in which you entered the Quantities field of the input routes and the PickupQuantities and DeliveryQuantities fields of the input orders. (All of these fields should have been entered using the same units and number of dimensions.)
StopType	Indicates whether the stop represents a depot, order, or break. The field stores a coded value which can be interpreted in the following way: Order (0) Depot (1) Break (2)
RouteName	The name of the route that makes the stop.
Sequence	The relative sequence in which the assigned route visits the stop. Sorting by the RouteName and Sequence fields creates an ordered lists of stops for each route.
FromPreviousTravelTime	The elapsed travel time from the route's previous stop to the current stop. The unit for this field value is specified by the Time Field Units parameter (time_units for Python).
FromPreviousDistance	The distance along the route from the previous stop to the current stop. The unit for this field value is specified by the Distance Field Units parameter (distance_units for Python).
ArriveCurbApproach	Indicates which side of the vehicle the curb is on when arriving at the stop.
DepartCurbApproach	Indicates which side of the vehicle the curb is on when departing from the stop.
ArriveTime	The time of day when the route arrives at the stop. When the network dataset is configured with time zones, the time-of-day value corresponds with the time zone in which the stop is located; otherwise, it corresponds with the time zone that is configured on the computer used to solve the analysis.
DepartTime	The time of day when the route departs from the stop. When the network dataset is configured with time zones, the time-of-day value corresponds with the time zone in which the stop is located; otherwise, it corresponds with the time zone that is configured on the computer used to solve the analysis.
ArriveTimeUTC	The time of day when the route arrives at the stop. This value is given in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). This field is null if time zones aren't configured on the network dataset.
DepartTimeUTC	The time of day when the route departs from the stop. This value is given in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). This field is null if time zones aren't configured on the network dataset.
WaitTime	The wait time or layover at the stop. For example, a wait time is incurred when a route must wait at an order for a time window to open.
ViolationTime	The amount of time elapsed from the end of the stop's time window to the arrival of the route vehicle.

Visualizing Stops

Clearly, the Stops table is not a feature class, which means you can't simply add the table to a map to see where the stops occur. Instead, you need to take extra steps to visualize stops on a map. (Guidance on how to accomplish this is provided below.) This design may seem unnecessarily difficult if you need to display the stops of a route on a map; however, keep in mind this tool is meant to create VRP web services. As such, the output is engineered to be as lean as possible to minimize server processing and data transferring. Nonetheless, the output is not too lean; it still provides you with the essential information needed to visualize stops as point features.

For example, to see where stops occur at orders, link the Stops table to the original Orders feature set, which was used as input. You can select and join these datasets through the StopType and Name fields on the Stops table and the Name field on the Orders feature set. You can use a similar approach for viewing where stops occur at depots.

Tip:

Solve Vehicle Routing Problem creates several input feature sets, including the Orders and Depots feature sets. As the tool solves, these in-memory feature sets are removed from ArcMap. You can add them back, however. To do so, follow these steps:

Open the Results window from the Geoprocessing menu.
In the Results window, navigate to the results of the operation you want a feature set from.
Expand the appropriate Solve Vehicle Routing Problem result.
Expand Inputs.
Right-click the feature set you want to view and choose Add to Display. The feature set appears in the map and table of contents.
Optionally, click the List By Source button on the Table Of Contents window to see where the data is stored.

Unlike orders and depots, breaks aren't associated with an input feature set. So you need to use a different method to visualize them. You can generate directions in the analysis, select the lines that represent features, and use the Feature Vertices To Points tool to convert them to points.

UnassignedStops table

The UnassignedStops table lists the orders that couldn't be visited by any routes. It also states why the stop couldn't be visited so that you can make the necessary changes to fix the problem.

The default name of this output table is Stops, but you can give it a different name by changing the Output Unassigned Stops Name parameter (output_unassigned_stops_name) prior to solving.