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OR Modeling in Intermodal: Intermodal Railcar Management. Dharma Acharya, Jagadish Jampani, Aihong Wen. Why IRM?. Currently Repositioning of Intermodal Flat Cars is Done Manually Difficult for a Human Being to Consider all the Options Available and Quantify Consequences of his/her Decision
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OR Modeling in Intermodal: Intermodal Railcar Management Dharma Acharya, Jagadish Jampani, Aihong Wen
Why IRM? • Currently Repositioning of Intermodal Flat Cars is Done Manually • Difficult for a Human Being to Consider all the Options Available and Quantify Consequences of his/her Decision • Invisibility into the System/Inventory • Equipment Shortages and Surpluses • Unnecessary Empty Moves and Car Hire Costs • Loads Left on Ground (LOG) • Customer Satisfaction
Objective: Optimize the Repositioning of Intermodal Flat Cars
Demand Forecast • Forecast Trailer/Container Volume Flat Car Length • Forecast at OD Pair, Trailer/Container Type and Day of Week Level • Use Advanced Time Series Modeling to Generate Seed Forecast • Terminal Managers can Review the Seed Forecast and Override if Necessary • Challenges in Identifying Data Sources and the Granularity of the Forecast to Meet the Optimizer Need • Forecast Horizon ~ 5 days
Other Model Inputs • Supply • Intermodal Terminal • Serving Yard • En-route on Train • Billed but at Other Yards • Predicted Interchange • Trains • Train Profile • Train Routes • Blocking Plan • Used Capacity on En-route Trains
Other Model Inputs (contd.) • Terminal • Associated Serving Yards • Operating Days • Cars Unloading Time • Staging Time • Max Cars Holding Capacity • Interchange Profile • Cost Parameters • Car Hire Costs • Penalty Costs
Model Constraints • Supply and Demand Constraints by Equipment Type • Train Specific Maximum Length Capacity • Constraints Related to Train Profile • Days of Operation • Route of Trains • Block to Train Assignment • Constraints Related to Intermodal Terminals • Capacity Restrictions • Days of Operation • Equipment Handling Capabilities • Restrictions on Sending Certain Types of Cars only on Certain Lanes
Model Objective and Output • Objective • Minimize empty flatcar repositioning and car hire costs. • Output • Empty Flatcars Reposition Instructions • Cars Origin and Destination • Potential Trains to Move the Cars • Associated Departure and Arrival Times • Terminal Surpluses/Shortages • Equipment Type • By day