Optimal boat–barge convoy formation and freight assignment in inland waterways freight transportation

This paper addresses the problem of boat–barge convoy dispatch that arises in the simultaneous assignment of freight to and the formation of boat–barge convoys in inland waterways transportation. Normally, the dispatch type of problem under consideration in this paper is faced daily in inland waterways transportation networks, for which there does not exist as yet a general mathematical programming model. In this paper, the problem is formulated within a binary linear programming modelling framework, which is applicable to inland waterways networks of any configuration. The mathematical model is applied to a real-world case, which is encountered in inland waterways transportation in the Amazon region in Brazil, so as to illustrate the use of the model in practice. The global optimal solution that is obtained results in substantial cost reduction, in comparison with the present dispatch policy, which is based on past experience. Consequently, the mathematical model has been adopted by the company as a basis for decision support in boat–barge convoy formation and dispatch within its enterprise planning system.

[1]  Robert M. Nauss,et al.  Optimal sequencing in the presence of setup times for tow/barge traffic through a river lock , 2008, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[2]  John J. Kanet,et al.  A DECISION THEORY APPROACH TO PRIORITY DISPATCHING FOR JOB SHOP SCHEDULING , 2009 .

[3]  Mario Cools,et al.  Integration of inland waterway transport in the intermodal supply chain: a taxonomy of research challenges , 2014 .

[4]  Frits C. R. Spieksma,et al.  The Lockmaster's Problem , 2011, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[5]  Dušan Teodorović,et al.  A fuzzy approach to the vessel dispatching problem , 1994 .

[6]  Yong-Seok Choi,et al.  Optimal inventory control of empty containers in inland transportation system , 2011 .

[7]  Kang Chen,et al.  Optimization of container liner network on the Yangtze River , 2014 .

[8]  Gilbert Laporte,et al.  What you should know about the vehicle routing problem , 2007 .

[9]  Nicole Wieberneit,et al.  Service network design for freight transportation: a review , 2007, OR Spectr..

[10]  Nenad Mladenovic,et al.  Routing of barge container ships by mixed-integer programming heuristics , 2013, Appl. Soft Comput..

[11]  Ahmed Ghoniem,et al.  Joint vehicle assembly-routing problems: An integrated modeling and optimization approach , 2009 .

[12]  Inge Norstad,et al.  Reducing fuel emissions by optimizing speed on shipping routes , 2010, J. Oper. Res. Soc..

[13]  Kjetil Fagerholt,et al.  Ship routing and scheduling in the new millennium , 2013, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[14]  Todd C. Whyte,et al.  Barge fleet layout optimization , 2004, Int. J. Comput. Integr. Manuf..

[15]  Marius M. Solomon,et al.  The Tug Fleet Size Problem for Barge Line Operations: A Polynomial Algorithm , 1987, Transp. Sci..

[16]  Ilona Jaržemskiene,et al.  The Evolution of Intermodal Transport Research and Its Development Issues , 2007 .

[17]  Gerrit K. Janssens,et al.  Corridor network design in hinterland transportation systems , 2012 .

[18]  Gerrit K. Janssens,et al.  Optimal shipping routes and vessel size for intermodal barge transport with empty container repositioning , 2013, Comput. Ind..

[19]  Todd C. Whyte,et al.  A simulation-based software system for barge dispatching and boat assignment in inland waterways , 2005, Simul. Model. Pract. Theory.

[20]  Chelsea C. White,et al.  Precedence constrained pickup and delivery with split loads , 2012 .

[21]  Chunxia Lu,et al.  The break-even distance of road and inland waterway freight transportation systems , 2015 .

[22]  Hao Hu,et al.  Service network design in inland waterway liner transportation with empty container repositioning , 2015 .

[23]  Katarina Vukadinović,et al.  A neural network approach to the vessel dispatching problem , 1997 .

[24]  A. Azab,et al.  Modeling and heuristics for scheduling of distributed job shops , 2014, Expert Syst. Appl..

[25]  David W. Pentico,et al.  Assignment problems: A golden anniversary survey , 2007, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[26]  Mauro Dell'Amico,et al.  Assignment Problems , 1998, IFIP Congress: Fundamentals - Foundations of Computer Science.

[27]  Roger R. Crane,et al.  The Scheduling of a Barge Line , 1959 .