Optimising transport efficiency and costs in Australian wood chipping operations

Mauricio Acuna; Luke Mirowski; Mohammad R Ghaffariyan; Mark W Brown

doi:10.1016/j.biombioe.2012.08.014

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Optimising transport efficiency and costs in Australian wood chipping operations

Journal article

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Optimising transport efficiency and costs in Australian wood chipping operations

Mauricio Acuna, Luke Mirowski, Mohammad R Ghaffariyan and Mark W Brown

Biomass and Bioenergy, Vol.46, pp.291-300

2012

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2012.08.014

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Abstract

in-field wood chipping

simulated annealing

wood supply chain

transport efficiency

truck scheduling

This paper examines the optimisation of the transport scheduling of woodchips for in-field chipping operations whose efficiency depends on a range of factors. It illustrates the advantages of optimising trucking efficiency and cost in the context of the Australian forest industry. The study was enabled using an adapted version of Simulated Annealing and a forestry domain model, and a simulator based on them, called Fast Truck, was implemented for experimental use. Insights arising from the simulator results are discussed in the context of the Australian industry. The factors worth noting are truck payload and chipper utilisation, which by optimisation, account for 52% and 29% of the total cost savings obtained, respectively. These savings arise when better transport control and management occur in chipping operations. Further work will consider ways to implement these optimisations, primarily, by adapting Fast Truck as an optimiser of daily dispatch schedules.

Details

Title: Optimising transport efficiency and costs in Australian wood chipping operations
Authors: Mauricio Acuna (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
Luke Mirowski (Author) - University of Tasmania
Mohammad R Ghaffariyan (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
Mark W Brown (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
Publication details: Biomass and Bioenergy, Vol.46, pp.291-300
Publisher: Pergamon
Date published: 2012
DOI: 10.1016/j.biombioe.2012.08.014
ISSN: 0961-9534
Organisation Unit: Tropical Forests and People Research Centre; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; Forest Industries Research Centre; Forest Research Institute
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99450014202621
Output Type: Journal article

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