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Learn about Sectors

Andrew Dotto Updated by Andrew Dotto

Sectors define the geographical areas used within DRS to organise work and resources. Customers are assigned to a single Sector based on their postcode, ensuring work is aligned to the correct location. Each Sector is linked to an Agency, which represents the top level of the geographical structure within DRS.

Work is allocated to Workers based on the Sectors assigned to them, determining where they can operate. This enables manageable and flexible scheduling, supporting efficient optimisation and clear organisation of your workforce.

Managing Your Sectors

Sectors can be managed through the Sectors menu within the Configuration section of the application.

Your configured Sectors will be visible within this menu.

About Sector Postcodes

UK postcodes are structured to break down locations from broad geographic areas to very specific groups of addresses. Understanding this structure is important when configuring geographical models within DRS, particularly when defining Sectors and assigning work.

A full UK postcode is made up of two parts: the outward code and the inward code. Together, these define a precise location.

  • Outward Code: identifies the broader area and district (e.g. EH1)
  • Inward Code: identifies the sector and unit (e.g. 2NG)

Postcode Area

  • The first one or two letters (e.g. EH, SW, M)
  • Represents a major geographic area, often a city or region
  • Example: EH = Edinburgh

Postcode District

  • The area followed by one or two numbers (e.g. EH1, SW1A)
  • Narrows the location to a district within the area
  • Example: EH1 = central Edinburgh

Postcode Sector

  • The district plus a single number after the space (e.g. EH1 2)
  • Further refines the location within the district
  • Commonly used for operational grouping and planning

Postcode Unit

  • The final two letters (e.g. EH1 2NG)
  • Represents a very small group of addresses (typically around 15 properties)
  • This is the most precise level of the postcode

How this powers your Scheduling Solution

When configuring Sectors within DRS, postcode structure plays a key role in how work is grouped and scheduled. Sectors can be defined using any combination of postcode levels, allowing for highly granular and flexible configuration to suit your operational needs.

Sector mapping is applied from the most granular level to the least granular. This means that more specific postcode definitions take priority over broader ones when assigning Customers to Sectors.

For example, a Sector defined using a full postcode (e.g. EH1 2AA) and another defined at district level (e.g. EH1) may overlap geographically. However, a Customer with postcode EH1 2AA will be assigned to the more specific Sector, while Customers with postcodes such as EH1 2AB or EH1 9FR will fall back to the broader EH1 Sector if no more specific match exists.

This approach ensures precise control where needed, while still providing full coverage across all areas.

Using postcode sectors allows you to:

  • Group work into logical, location-based clusters
  • Assign Workers to clearly defined service areas
  • Support efficient route optimisation and scheduling
  • Maintain flexibility without creating excessive complexity

How To Manage Your Sectors

Clicking Add, or selecting a configured Sectors and clicking Edit or Copy, will present a screen to allow you to manage geographical configuration.

The fields available are defined in this way

Field Name

Description

ID

This is the value the solver will use when computing the scheduling solution

Name

This is the user-centric value that the user will be shown if the Sector value is selected on any data view or screen.

It does not need to match the ID

Description

This value can be used to help you understand the scheduling rules you used to define this sector.

Postcode

This is the UK PostCode.

The value entered in this field can only exist in a single Sector.

If you attempt to add a Postcode which exists within an already configured sector, you will be shown an error which will tell you which Sector the Postcode is within

Deleting a Sector

Deleting a Sector is a non-recoverable action and should be approached with care. While removing a Sector will not impact existing scheduled appointments, any jobs associated with the deleted Sector will no longer be optimised.

Additionally, any ongoing scheduling activity for jobs within that Sector may result in errors for users, as the system will no longer be able to resolve the required geographical assignment.

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