DRA

[NC man]

We have had two overflow routes created by DRA almost every day with 80 plus stops in my loop. No way we can suck that up.

 

[McFeely]

In my loop one rte would have return to bldg 1530 and other two 1645

That could be on the engineer for putting in incorrect RTB times usually. Our engineer routinely hosed routes/loops and we constantly had to fix whatever crap he did on a weekly basis.

DRA did a horrible job of splitting up stops, but it usually (in my loop anyway) did a decent job at allocating the # of P1 and P2 stops per route. We did shuffle plenty of stops as couriers when it made sense, of course.

 

[CatMan]

I like the way they put the leave building time at 0815 , and the sort goes down at 0900...and you end up with over 30 scattered P1...but no worries, just do the business stops by 1030....then come back around and do the resi's, you have until 1200....it's almost like doing 2 P1 cycles....then you have 80 P2...starting at 1300.....and your pick ups are a few miles away closing at 1600....that's the daily battle!

 

[59 Dano]

The new Leo devices have a mapping function built in. The one thing DRA did that was a benefit was route balancing. Not sure if the company had any plans for what to do about that when we go back to SRA other than hoping couriers can work well (ha!) with their loops.

There is a balancing aspect to the E-star program. It goes about building routes differently than ROADS/DRA does, and can incorporate the multiple P1 commit times. I mentioned in another post that it's being field tested; it's performing much better than ROADS/DRA and some number of couriers don't like it, presumably because they don't like the way it builds routes.

 

[59 Dano]

That could be on the engineer for putting in incorrect RTB times usually. Our engineer routinely hosed routes/loops and we constantly had to fix whatever crap he did on a weekly basis.

DRA did a horrible job of splitting up stops, but it usually (in my loop anyway) did a decent job at allocating the # of P1 and P2 stops per route. We did shuffle plenty of stops as couriers when it made sense, of course.

It's good to see that some people still work together. Some will rely on ROADS to a fault and others might ignore it completely.

We had a loop meeting with our engineer several years ago. We held them every 3 or 4 months to address any significant changes in volume, stop counts, etc. Two guys were throwing a fit about having to go out into the middle of nowhere for one stop each, and those stops were about 2 minutes apart. Their boundary went right between the 2. I remember thinking, "You guys couldn't figure that out between yourselves????" The funny part is that they usually did as you do, which is shuffle some stuff around when appropriate.

 

[FedexGirl]

You must be a newbie. It's been done that way since day 1. You might have an occasional overlooked stop but your powerdad still gives you your stops and piece count. You know where they are and how to run them. I have never used DRA any of its predecessors and have managed just fine.

Well Mr Smarty Pants, all I’m saying is any tool that helps us out is welcome.

 

[falcon back]

Well Mr Smarty Pants, all I’m saying is any tool that helps us out is welcome.

You must be one of the few that likes DRA. I have read and heard nothing but complaints. Not sure it helps because I have never been exposed to it but there is nothing that can replace experience and knowledge of when a company opens, when a school zone becomes active and when traffic flow becomes too heavy to be in that area. All things that I hear DRA can't do

 

[AB831]

number of couriers don't like it, presumably because they don't like the way it builds routes.

So in other words, it sucks just like DRA? Sounds predictable.

 

[Star B]

Strange. Express ending DRA just as Ground finalizes implementation of DRO. Hard to believe it’s coincidence but I have no idea what that means.

DRA/DRO might work great at generating a route if you're not worried about time commits.

 

[FedexGirl]

You must be one of the few that likes DRA. I have read and heard nothing but complaints. Not sure it helps because I have never been exposed to it but there is nothing that can replace experience and knowledge of when a company opens, when a school zone becomes active and when traffic flow becomes too heavy to be in that area. All things that I hear DRA can't do

You must be one of the few that likes DRA. I have read and heard nothing but complaints. Not sure it helps because I have never been exposed to it but there is nothing that can replace experience and knowledge of when a company opens, when a school zone becomes active and when traffic flow becomes too heavy to be in that area. All things that I hear DRA can't do

I don’t like it- not one bit. The reasons why are too numerous to list lol

 

[McFeely]

DRA/DRO might work great at generating a route if you're not worried about time commits.

I think DRO (Ground) is just a sequencing tool, not a route balancing tool. DRA (Express) tries to do both sequencing and route balancing.

But I agree about it being decent if it didn’t have to deal with time commits.

 

[falcon back]

I don’t like it- not one bit. The reasons why are too numerous to list lol

But you commented earlier that it helps you do your job and it is easier than trying to remember your stops.

 

[bbsam]

DRA/DRO might work great at generating a route if you're not worried about time commits.

No. It sucks.

 

[It will be fine]

I think DRO (Ground) is just a sequencing tool, not a route balancing tool. DRA (Express) tries to do both sequencing and route balancing.

But I agree about it being decent if it didn’t have to deal with time commits.

DRO “does” both. Most contractors override the balancing part because it’s terrible and inefficient. It assumes every stop takes 3 minutes. It thinks my straight truck routes can be done in 2 hrs even though they deliver 400 pieces and pickup about double that. The sequencing on its own is trash as well.

 

[bbsam]

I think DRO (Ground) is just a sequencing tool, not a route balancing tool. DRA (Express) tries to do both sequencing and route balancing.

But I agree about it being decent if it didn’t have to deal with time commits.

No. It’s a route balancing program.

 

[McFeely]

Thanks both of you for correcting me. I probably shouldn’t talk about Ground stuff lolz.

 

[Nolimitz]

Why anyone thinks the next generation will be any better is beyond me. FedEx programing is so flawed it is beyond belief.

Roads that end at RR tracks w/ no crossings
golf courses
Rivers with no bridges
interstates with exits 10 miles apart

ALL ARE INVISIBLE

 

[floridays]

We have had two overflow routes created by DRA almost every day with 80 plus stops in my loop. No way we can suck that up.

Give @falcon back, aka @Old Fart a call, he knows who to.........
I'll let the others fill in the rest. I'm enjoying my new "freedom" legs.

 

[FedexGirl]

I like the way they put the leave building time at 0815 , and the sort goes down at 0900...and you end up with over 30 scattered P1...but no worries, just do the business stops by 1030....then come back around and do the resi's, you have until 1200....it's almost like doing 2 P1 cycles....then you have 80 P2...starting at 1300.....and your pick ups are a few miles away closing at 1600....that's the daily battle!

Every day -

 

[59 Dano]

So in other words, it sucks just like DRA? Sounds predictable.

No, they hate it because it's resulting in much more productivity and CAIN'T NOBODY KNOW HOW TO RUN MAH ROUTE GOODER THAN I DO 'SPECIALLY NO KOMPUTOR!!!