Optimizing periodic maintenance operations for Schindler elevator corporation

Schindler, the world's largest escalator company and second-largest elevator company, maintains tens of thousands of elevators and escalators throughout North America. Thousands of technicians are on the road each day to maintain, repair, and help in emergencies. Each technician's route requires precise and optimized planning. Schindler Elevator Corporation turned to Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) to develop an automated route-scheduling and planning system. ESRI provided a geographic-information-system-integrated application that employs operations research techniques to optimize preventive maintenance operations. It relies on a series of algorithms to assign maintenance work to technicians and to create efficient day-routes by solving the periodic-vehicle-routing problem. These automated tools allow Schindler to restructure and streamline service areas. The optimization system saves over $1 million annually and increases Schindler's managers' awareness of operating revenue.