Set driver-specific skills or capabilities
Upper has no automatic skill-matching. Use vehicle settings, capacity, max stops, service areas, and pre-assigned drivers to route specialized work to the right driver.
Upper does not automatically match drivers to stops by certification or skill. Instead, you steer specialized work to the right driver using a mix of per-driver profile settings, service-area coverage, and locking individual stops to specific drivers before routing.
Upper uses driver and delivery by default, but these labels are configurable per workspace. Your account may show Technician and Service (for example, "Assign Technicians" or "Proof of Service"). The steps are the same whichever wording you see.
Why this matters
Some work needs a specific person — a driver with the right vehicle for a job, someone who knows a particular customer site, or a driver who covers a certain territory. Because there is no automatic skill engine, the dispatcher's assignment is what gets the right driver on the right stop.
Before you start
- Permissions — You need a role that can edit drivers and build routes (Admin, or Dispatch Manager).
- Know your skill matrix — Which drivers can handle which work, and how often, so you can pre-assign confidently.
The settings you can use as capabilities
These per-driver settings live on the driver profile and influence how the optimizer treats each driver.
| Setting | Where to set | What it controls |
|---|---|---|
| Vehicle Type | Driver profile (Add/Edit User) | Road restrictions applied during optimization (for example, Car vs. Truck) |
| Vehicle Height / Width | Driver profile (Add/Edit User) | Size-based road restrictions for larger vehicles |
| Max Stops | Driver profile (Add/Edit User) | Caps the number of stops assigned to this driver per route ("No limit" by default) |
| Vehicle Capacity | Driver profile (Add/Edit User) | Limits load (for example, bin count) so the optimizer doesn't overload the driver |
| Service Areas | Manage → Users (Assign Area), defined under Settings → Coverage | Restricts or steers a driver to specific coverage zones |
Vehicle Height/Width and Vehicle Capacity may not appear on every plan. If you don't see these fields, your workspace plan may not include them.
Lock specific stops to specific drivers
When a stop genuinely needs a particular driver — a trusted customer relationship, site knowledge, or the right equipment — pre-assign it so routing can't move it elsewhere.
Open the stop, contact, or task
In your route plan, open the stop (or its contact/task record) you want to control.
Set the Pre Assigned Drivers field
Use the Pre Assigned Drivers field to select the driver (or drivers) the stop must go to. This is a multi-select, so you can allow more than one eligible driver.
Build or optimize the route
Run optimization as usual. Pre-assigned stops stay locked to the selected driver instead of being distributed to the rest of the fleet.
For recurring runs — a customer who always wants the same driver — set the pre-assignment once on the contact/task so it carries forward each time you plan, rather than reassigning manually every day.
Use service areas for territory-based skills
When a "skill" really maps to a territory — a driver who knows a neighborhood, or who is set up to cover a specific zone — service areas do the work.
Define your zones
Go to Settings → Coverage → Service Area and create your zones. Each area has an Area Type of Allowed or Restricted, plus an Active status.
Assign drivers to zones
In Manage → Users, use the Assign Area link on a driver's row to open Assign Service Area. Select which zones that driver covers. You can also Assign all or Remove all at once.
Plan as usual
When you optimize, the driver's assigned coverage shapes which stops route to them.
A Restricted area marks stops inside it as flagged rather than removing them from routing. Use Allowed areas to define where a driver should work, and Restricted areas to call out no-go zones.
Common scenarios
- One driver has the right vehicle for a job — Set that driver's Vehicle Type, Height/Width, or Capacity so the optimizer respects it, and pre-assign the specific stops if the match has to be exact.
- A customer wants the same trusted driver — Set that driver in the Pre Assigned Drivers field on the customer's stop or contact so it locks in every time you plan.
- You run specialized drivers per territory — Set up Service Areas and assign each driver to their zones so work routes by coverage.
Troubleshooting
Related
Set driver schedules and working hours
Set each driver's shift start, end, and break in Upper from Manage → Users. The optimizer keeps routes inside the working hours you define.
Set a driver's start location
Set where a driver begins their route in Upper Route Planner. The start address feeds the optimizer so the first stop and route timing come out accurate.