Vaisala launches web-based route optimization tool for winter road treatment

Finnish environmental and weather measurement firm Vaisala has launched a new web-based route optimization tool to ensure that road networks are treated in the most efficient way possible during the winter months. Vaisala Route Manager provides road maintenance operators with an automated program that significantly reduces the time and effort involved to create treatment routes based on weather hazards, network priorities and available resources. The software enables details of the road network to be imported, along with available resources – such as depot locations and vehicle capacity – to produce fully optimized routes with turn-by-turn instructions that can be easily uploaded to vehicles. Planners are able to create unlimited routes, each based on the required treatment materials, with different treatment routes and actions to effectively address any weather situation. Users can also assign ranking and priority values to every part of a road network, ensuring the most important stretches of highway are given the priority they deserve. Markus Melin, vice president of digital solutions, Vaisala, said, “Treating the road network in the most efficient way possible enables winter maintenance supervisors to maintain promised service levels and save costs. “Route Manager couples our experience in delivering route optimization services for 25 years with advanced algorithms to significantly reduce the time and effort required to create treatment routes. We will bring even more innovation to solutions in the future; this is only the beginning.”