Qwest Communications International Inc.

U S West Technologies, Inc.

Djangir A Babayev

Vincil C Dean

Ronald L Hansen

Richard M Berger

Scott H Parrish

A fleet monitoring system provides the ability to collect location information for a number of different fleet vehicles and identify clusters of activities based on frequency of activities occurring within a defined distance from each other. The activities being clusters may be associated with location with locations where fleet vehicles are parked after they have reached their destinations. To monitor a fleet, vehicles in the fleet are equipped with a GPS unit to record location information. The location information is later analyzed at a central location to identify clusters of stop locations based on latitude and longitude information reported by the GPS units in the vehicles. The clustering program is used to detect locations frequently visited by the field representatives.

System and method for identifying clusters of geographic locations

A scheduling system is disclosed for scheduling tasks for fulfilling a series of service requests. When each service request is received, a determination is made as to the amount of resources a task requires to provide the requested service. Further, a preferred time within which to perform the task is obtained from the requestor of the service request. For each service request, data for the estimated amount of resources and the preferred time are supplied, on a first-come-first-serve basis, to a scheduling component for solving a combinatorial optimization model which efficiently allocates a predetermined amount of resources for each time slot in a scheduling period by rearranging tasks for service requests previously received. The scheduling component provides for a service requestor, without regard to subsequently received service requests, a service time in which to perform the task for the requested service substantially immediately after the service request is made. Whenever possible, the service time coincides with the preferred time. Each previously received service request will have its related task performed within the service time provided to the requestor of the service request. The scheduling system is particularly useful in scheduling technician time for service calls received by customer representatives in the telecommunication and utility industries.

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Boulder, CO, United States of America

Djangir A Babayev