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Vehicle Scheduling by Computer

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18th September 1964

Page 66

Page 66, 18th September 1964 — Vehicle Scheduling by Computer

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'THE first one-day course devoted to I vehicle scheduling by computer was held at the IBM Education Centre, London, N.W.8, on Tuesday. Attended by over 40 delegates representing both finance and transport operation it proved a successful, if thought-provoking, introduction to a complex subject, writes S. Buckley.

Just how complex vehicle scheduling can be, even when applied to a relatively simple distribution area, was brought home to delegates in the first morning session when an exercise was set by Mr. A. F. Mann, of IBM United Kingdom Ltd. This was a problem relating to the delivery of 724 items to 65 customers. With such common limitations as vehicle size and number, hours of calling, and starting and finishing times, the number of variables and resulting possible alternatives could, for practical purposes, be seen to be limitless.

Case stud:es were then made of examples of actual computer scheduling already applied to manufacturing and distributive trades. In one such example the cost of the computer service amounted to I per cent of the company's yearly transport budget. On the basis of the estimated savings this expenditure could be recouped in the equivalent of two weeks' operation.

Many applications of vehicle scheduling by computer will be to existing situations. Depots, for example, could not be moved to better sites in the majority of cases but the areas served -could be more efficiently determined by the use of a computer, whilst new depots could be more scientifically sited. And in the process of preparing data for such computer scheduling, new aspects of the business as a whole are often revealed.

More advanced scheduling problems were considered at the afternoon session.

• A revealing result was that only a slight difference of data (for example, a particular customer now requesting a specified delivery time) could substantially alter the whole pattern of optimum routeing if the problem was handled by a computer. By traditional methods of vehicle scheduling it was doubtful if such substantial, but ideally necessary, changes would be made.

The standard vehicle scheduling programme offered by IBM can handle up to 5,000 deliveries per schedule and up to 15 different types of vehicle, with accommodation for many of the variables commonly found in transport operation. There is an average cost of £50 for the initial road network analysis: the subsequent cost of the detailed delivery service is is. per unit delivered or 1s. 6d. if there are some restrictions on delivery time, with a minimum charge of £20.

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