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Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering

Theses and Dissertations

Theses/Dissertations

Military airlift

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Increased Capacity Utilizing Aggregation And Consolidation Of Contingency Cargo, Cassidy L. Wilson Mar 2016

Increased Capacity Utilizing Aggregation And Consolidation Of Contingency Cargo, Cassidy L. Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

Maximizing use of limited airlift assets is a common problem during large contingency operations. Requirements often exceed airlift capacity and fiscal constraints driving the need to aggregate conveyance loads both within and across business lines (Unit Line Number (ULN), Special Assignment Airlift Mission (SAAM), and sustainment). Current methods of consolidation are completed by planners at the 618th Air Operations Center. This process is completed by piecing email correspondence and making individual localized decisions which are not always consistent with big picture efficiency. United States Transportation Command requested a study to create standard business rules or a methodology that can benefit …


Operational Planning Of Channel Airlift Missions Using Forecasted Demand, Taylor J. Leonard Mar 2013

Operational Planning Of Channel Airlift Missions Using Forecasted Demand, Taylor J. Leonard

Theses and Dissertations

Past research proposed that it is possible to forecast cargo demand using time series models and that there exists potential cost savings in the way that Civilian Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) is used for cargo airlift. United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) performs annual fixed-buys of CRAF to support airlift needs. Forecasted cargo demand would allow for reasonably accurate cargo projections vs. the current expected value estimation. Accurate forecasting allows for greater fixed-buys, further incentivizing CRAF airlines as well as reducing the number of additional aircraft purchases during the quarterly and monthly buys. Multiple forecasting models are constructed and the results …


Optimizing Ground Times For Amc Aircraft In Afghanistan, Eric W. Bucheit Jr. Mar 2011

Optimizing Ground Times For Amc Aircraft In Afghanistan, Eric W. Bucheit Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

This research provides insight into the cargo unloading and loading process and times at three airfields in Afghanistan. Using a linear regression model and its prediction capability, a more stabilized environment is produced. This uses the times from seven historical months of continuous operations in Afghanistan and uses this information for the prediction expressions. Using this model, no throughput is lowered and early and late times are lowered by an average of seven minutes per mission. Over the course of a month, this increases planning stability by 74.1 hours. This not only impacts the planning at the downrange location, but …


Developing An Excel Decision Support System Using In-Transit Visibility To Decrease Dod Transportation Delays, Brian B. Stone Mar 2008

Developing An Excel Decision Support System Using In-Transit Visibility To Decrease Dod Transportation Delays, Brian B. Stone

Theses and Dissertations

The United States Air Force's Air Mobility Command (AMC) is responsible for efficiently transporting military personnel and cargo throughout the world. Organizations throughout the transportation system search for ways to decrease cargo transportation time as part of their ongoing mission to provide timely airlift services to the DoD. As cargo is transported through the transportation system it is in one of two states; waiting at an air base for transportation or in some phase of the loading, transportation, or unloading process. The loading and unloading process has been streamlined throughout the transportation system to a point which leaves little room …


Strategic Airlift En Route Analysis To Support The Global War On Terrorism Using A Value Focused Thinking Approach, Marykathryn W. Tharaldson Mar 2006

Strategic Airlift En Route Analysis To Support The Global War On Terrorism Using A Value Focused Thinking Approach, Marykathryn W. Tharaldson

Theses and Dissertations

The Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) has yielded new challenges to the United States' strategic airlift infrastructure. The network of en-route airfields that serve as refueling and maintenance stops were designed primarily to service relatively static Cold War requirements. However, the GWOT has resulted in the need for an infrastructure that is responsive to a highly dynamic environment. This research uses a "value focused" methodology to identify en-route airfield locations that simultaneously maximize cargo throughput capability while possessing a high degree of adaptability to volatile cargo delivery requirements.


Strategic Airlift En Route Analysis And Considerations To Support The Global War On Terrorism, Michael C. Sere Mar 2005

Strategic Airlift En Route Analysis And Considerations To Support The Global War On Terrorism, Michael C. Sere

Theses and Dissertations

The Global War on Terrorism has mandated the need for additional global en route airfields. En route airfields consist of bases that are strategically located at intermediate locations between the Continental United States and the intended theater of operations. These airfields serve as refueling, crew staging, or maintenance stops for strategic airlift aircraft flying transoceanic routes. The focus of this study is to examine concepts to meet this need and to address important aspects that should be considered in devising new en route strategies. Based on various important factors associated with potential en route airfields, a goal programming methodology was …


A Greedy Multiple-Knapsack Heuristic For Solving Air Mobility Command’S Intratheater Airlift Problem, Nicholas J. Zeisler Mar 2000

A Greedy Multiple-Knapsack Heuristic For Solving Air Mobility Command’S Intratheater Airlift Problem, Nicholas J. Zeisler

Theses and Dissertations

This research develops a methodology using a greedy heuristic to solve Air Mobility Command's intratheater airlift scenario as a multiple knapsack problem. The objective is to maximize throughput in a theater given a vehicle mixture and assignment scheme. The model allows for a heterogeneous, user defined vehicle mix in a theater consisting of up to five bed down locations and up to seven forward operating locations. First, we preprocess routes, eliminating the large number of unattractive route choices in the problem. Then using a greedy heuristic, we select routes and assign them to aircraft located at any or all of …


The Distributor’S Three-Dimensional Pallet-Packing Problem: A Mathematical Formulation And Heuristic Solution Approach, Brian P. Ballew Mar 2000

The Distributor’S Three-Dimensional Pallet-Packing Problem: A Mathematical Formulation And Heuristic Solution Approach, Brian P. Ballew

Theses and Dissertations

It is through practice and experience Air Force loadmasters are able to pack the Air Force standard HCU-6/E (463L) pallets efficiently. Although the loadmasters perform their jobs exceptionally well, the Air Force is in search of a model that will more efficiently pack the pallets. We have developed a mathematical formulation of the three-dimensional pallet-packing problem which minimizes the amount of unused space on a pallet. The formulation ensures each box is packed with the correct volume and dimensions, and ensures the volume of all the boxes packed is less than the available pallet volume. Additionally, the formulation ensures that …


Using Rsm, Doe, And Linear Regression To Develop A Metamodel To Predict Cargo Delivery Of A Time Phase Force Deployment Document, Kenneth S. Browne Mar 2000

Using Rsm, Doe, And Linear Regression To Develop A Metamodel To Predict Cargo Delivery Of A Time Phase Force Deployment Document, Kenneth S. Browne

Theses and Dissertations

Air Mobility Command (AMC) uses the Airlift Flow Model as their primary tool to estimate the amount of cargo delivered in a Time Phase Force Deployment Document (TPFDD). The primary objective of this research was an exploratory investigation in the development of a metamodel to predict the amount of cargo delivered from a TPFDD by AMC into a theater. In creating a valid metamodel the analyst would be able to quickly provide the decision-maker with accurate insights should input parameters change. This would save valuable time and replace the need to physically change the input parameters and re-run the simulation. …


Transportation Modeling Of Remote Radar Sites And Support Depots, Sonia E. Leach Mar 1997

Transportation Modeling Of Remote Radar Sites And Support Depots, Sonia E. Leach

Theses and Dissertations

The North Warning System (NWS), a joint program of the United States Air Force (USAF) and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), is responsible for the maintenance of 47 remote radar sites across northern Canada. NWS's current airlift operations, which support the radar maintenance activities, consist of both helicopters and fixed wing aircraft positioned at five support depots. This thesis considers whether a reconfiguration of these support depots and the assignment of radar sites to them can result in either an airlift or total cost savings for NWS. Mixed integer linear programming models were formulated to address the questions surrounding …


Procedures For Testing Deterministic Scheduling Models: A Dakota Case Study, Keith H. Mccready Mar 1996

Procedures For Testing Deterministic Scheduling Models: A Dakota Case Study, Keith H. Mccready

Theses and Dissertations

The DAKOTA scheduling system has been proposed for use in the United States Air Forces Europe's (USAFE's) Operational Support Airlift (OSA) scheduling. This thesis examines the OSA scheduling topic and reviews the relevant literature on vehicle routing, concluding that exact methods are intractable for large problem sizes. Consequently, heuristic methods must be considered. This thesis takes a detailed look at the DAKOTA heuristic. It examines the concepts of Validation, Verification and Accreditation (VV&A), particularly as they apply to heuristics and algorithms. It then defines what measures of performance may prove useful in judging heuristics and algorithms in general, and details …


Theater Airlifter Survivability On The Ground, Michael A. Silver Mar 1993

Theater Airlifter Survivability On The Ground, Michael A. Silver

Theses and Dissertations

Airlifter attrition can severely decrease the throughput of cargo during extended airlift operations. Much work has been done to enhance the tactical airlifter survivability in the air but little study has gone into airlifter survivability on the ground. This thesis develops a method to measure the threat to parked aircraft from ground weapons. Specific scenarios cover airlifter mobility on the ground, time to off-load cargo, short-field takeoff capability and attack by infantry weapons. A weapon is examined at each of several firing ranges to target. The threat to the aircraft is measured as the probability that the aircraft is hit. …