IronRoute AI takes the heavy lifting out of route planning by handling the kind of daily complexity that slows most dispatching teams down.
Because IronRoute AI uses a purpose-built optimization engine instead of relying on generic routing tools, there are some unique terms you'll want to be familiar with. We've also included some common error messages you may get when using IronRoute AI and our suggested troubleshooting steps.
Before You Start
Here are a few things to know before you continue:
- In order to use IronRoute AI, you need to be on Docket's Pro Plus plan. If you're interested in upgrading to this plan, please contact your original Sales Rep or our Support team to upgrade your contract in order to add DocketShop to your account.
- For a high-level overview of what IronRoute AI is, how it works, and how to use it, please review this overview article.
- Using IronRoute AI requires specific configurations in your Docket account. Please review this setup article and complete the 5 setup steps, if you haven't already.
Glossary of Terms
You may already be familiar with some or most of these terms as part of your previous use of Docket, but we recommend taking a look through all of these just in case!
Core Concepts
IronRoute AI: Docket's route optimization engine. It calculates the most cost-efficient path for your drivers based on vehicle capacities, disposal sites, and time constraints.
Technician: An ON/OFF setting in a user's profile. Only Employees marked as "Technicians" (toggle in their profile is ON=blue) are eligible for route optimization.
Optimization (or "Run"): The specific action of sending your task data to IronRoute AI to be calculated.
Solver: The backend "brain" that performs the calculations to build your routes.
Configuration and Assets
Default Starting Yard: The location where routes generally start and end. IronRoute AI uses your Default Yard in your Dumpster Management settings.
Equipment Capabilities (Carrying Capacity): The general list of asset types (10 Yard, 20 Yard, etc...) a vehicle can physically carry. This is set up in a vehicle's profile.
Carrying Capacity (Pick Ups): Specific assets a vehicle can pick up. If you don't fill out the Carrying Capacity (Pick Ups) field in a vehicle's profile, the system assumes the vehicle can handle all of your asset types.
Carrying Capacity (Drop Offs): Specific assets a vehicle can deliver. If you don't fill out the Carrying Capacity (Drop Offs) field in a vehicle's profile, the system assumes the vehicle can handle all of your asset types.
Asset Availability: The count of available dumpsters (by size) in your inventory. IronRoute AI checks this to ensure you have enough assets for the scheduled tasks it's optimizing.
Slack Time: A built-in 30 minute buffer the system may add to routes to account for traffic or delays.
User Interface
Preview Mode: A safe "sandbox" view to review proposed routes before applying them.
Apply: Saves IronRoute AI's routes to your live Dispatch Board and assigns all tasks accordingly.
Undo: After applying routes from IronRoute AI, you can Undo assignments and revert the Dispatch Board back to its original state.
Common Error Messages and Alerts
| Error / Alert | What It Means |
| "Day Optimization Failed" |
The system was unable to build a valid optimization request. This is typically caused by: • Account Configuration Issues: Critical data (like locations or vehicles) is missing or invalid. • Vehicle Compatibility: The selected vehicles cannot physically carry the dumpster sizes required for the tasks in the run. • Insufficient Tasks: Fewer than two valid tasks were found for the run. |
Recommended Troubleshooting Steps
When IronRoute AI doesn't behave as expected, small setup details or workflow gaps are often the root cause. Use the scenarios below to quickly identify common issues and apply targeted steps to get back on track.
Issue: A driver isn't available in the IronRoute AI configuration settings.
Troubleshooting Steps:
If a driver isn't appearing in the Optimize Day Configurations form when you click "Optimize Day" to use IronRoute AI, that could be due to one of two reasons (or both!).
Confirm that the driver's profile has the Technician setting toggled on (blue) in their profile.
Confirm that the driver might not have a vehicle assigned to them on the Dispatch Board for that day.
Issue: You can't assign a route to a vehicle in the Preview.
Troubleshooting Steps:
If you're blocked from assigning a route to a vehicle, it's probably because the vehicle's Carrying Capacities don't match the task, like trying to put a 40 yard dumpster on a truck only configured for 10 yard dumpsters.
Confirm that the vehicle's Carrying Capacities match all the tasks in the route you're trying to assign.
Issue: IronRoute AI is selecting the wrong dump location(s).
Troubleshooting Steps:
If the proposed routes are using the wrong dump location(s), it's probably because your Dump Locations are missing Waste Material info in their settings.
Confirm that all of your Dump Locations have a fully configured Waste Materials list and that each of those materials has a Cost associated with it.
You can review and update your Dump Locations in your Dumpster Management settings.
You can also review and update your Dump Locations directly from the Dispatch page.
Issue: Tasks are being dropped from the optimization.
Troubleshooting Steps:
There are a few different reasons that the preview page would show less than 100% of tasks being routed.
The first thing you'll want to do is use the AI chatbot on the preview page to get an explanation of potential reasons why tasks were dropped. Just click on "View Details >" in the top right corner.
If the AI chatbot doesn't list a specific reason under Diagnostic Details, you can manually check to see if the reason is one of the following common causes:
Max Hours: If the Maximum Hours per Driver is too low, tasks might be dropped. Try increasing the number in the Maximum Hours per Driver field on the Optimize Day Configurations form and re-running the optimization.
Start Times: If the driver start time is too late and a task is scheduled too early, it may be dropped. Make sure that your drivers have accurate Start Times added to their profile and that you're scheduling tasks to be completed after those Start Times.
Time Windows: If there are too many tasks scheduled for a specific time within the same small time window, they may be dropped. Try adjusting the scheduled times on tasks (or removing them if they're not actually required).
Distance: Tasks that are outside of a 200 miles radius from your default yard will be automatically excluded.
Here are a few more issues that you may run into and our recommended quick fix for each:
Routes starting too early/late: Check and adjust driver start time.
Routes too long: Reduce maximum hours per driver.
Vehicle not getting tasks: Verify equipment capabilities match task requirements.
Wrong costs shown: Update hourly wage and cost per mile.
Vehicle not appearing: Check for duplicate assignments or invalid IDs.
Starting at wrong yard: Set driver's default yard in settings.
If you have any questions, please reach out to our Support team through the chat widget on the bottom of this page or by sending an email to support@yourdocket.com!