Enhancing JIT Freight Logistics Impacted by Transportation System Projects under ITS
Principal Investigators
- Dr. Ratna Babu Chinnam
Wayne State University
Co-Principal Investigators
- Dr. Alper E. Murat
Wayne State University
Project Dates:
09/01/2010 to 08/31/2011
Project year: Year 1
MIOH-UTC Project Identifier: SC 42
Focus Area:
- Research: Alternative Fuels
Abstract:
This research project addresses the effect of “non-recurrent congestion” due to “work zones” on the delivery reliability within JIT supply chain operations in Southeast Michigan. Many of the pavements on national highways have exceeded their design lives. To carry current and future high traffic volume of travel and freight, many highway segments in the urban areas including SE Michigan are undergoing “4-R” projects: restoration, resurfacing, rehabilitation and reconstruction. AASHTO6 reports that 10% of all traffic congestion in urban areas is directly related to work zones (not because of traffic volumes). The negative influence of work zones is even higher on urban areas roadways that are already near or above capacity flow.
The main goal of this project is to develop an analysis methodology to support effective planning of JIT freight logistics in transportation networks impacted by system improvement projects. Currently, shippers and carriers do not have the necessary tools to predict and account for the traffic congestion impact of construction projects. Existing models used by shippers/carriers rely on historical traffic flow/congestion data from ITS and other sources. There is need for predictive tools that can be used for assessing the congestion and traffic flow impact of construction projects. These predictive tools need to be integrated within route planning models of shippers/carriers. To achieve this goal, we design practical, scalable tools that use readily available and up to date traffic flow data from ITS operators such as Traffic.com and MITS Center (our collaborators). The flow data is then used to estimate Origin-Destination (OD) matrices at the source/sink nodes of the network under consideration. Given the transportation improvement project scope and extent/corridor, we use estimated OD matrices for estimation of the future state of network traffic flows through equilibrium / traffic assignment models. The methods are designed for seamless integration into existing JIT freight planning models/tools
Final Report:
MIOH_UTC_SC42_2012-Final_Rpt_Enhancing_JIT_Freight_Logistics_etc.pdf
Total Budget: $94,884
Sponsorships:
Our collaboration partners are: UPS, UPS Supply Chain Services, C.H.Robinson, Ford MP&L, MDOT Michigan-ITS, MDOT-MITS Center, and Transportation Research Group (WSU). Support Sources: US DOT, WSU
