The data collection stage of the census process ensures that each dwelling in Canada receives a census questionnaire. As part of this process, enumerators are sent door to door in some areas to deliver questionnaires that cannot be delivered effectively through other means. The sequencing program provides routing of various levels of geography for field workers to travel door-to-door efficiently.
Sequencing takes as inputs a parent (unit) geography, a child (block) geography, as well as a road network. For each unit, it outputs the order of the blocks, as well as the list of the block-faces (road sides) in an order that the enumerator covers the entire unit while minimizing the total distance travelled.