Business Commons^™

An Analysis Of Intermodal Transport Carrier Selection Criteria For Pacific-Rim Imports To New England, Shashi N. Kumar, Vijay Rajan

Journal of Transportation Management

The introduction of double stack rail services opened up a variety of transportation options for shippers located in the North Eastern parts of the U.S. The availability of transcontinental double stack service from the Canadian West Coast has increased this option even further particularly because of a recent new service introduced by a small U.S. railroad company. The paper uses Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) methodology to provide a decision-making framework for the intermodal choices of shippers located in the region suitable for duplication elsewhere where similar options exist.

The Case For U.S. High Speed Rail, Drew Stapleton, Melissa Cooley, Darlene Goehner, Daoud Jandal

Journal of Transportation Management

High-speed rail is a form of self-guided ground transportation, which utilizes steel-wheels or magnetic levitation (i.e., Maglev) and can travel in excess of 200 miles per hour. High-speed ground transportation (i.e., HSGT) has been widely used in Europe and Asia, but the debate continues over the usefulness of high-speed rail in the United States. Several metropolitan areas in the United States have been identified as corridors that would benefit from HSGT. High speed rail can offer an alternative or a compliment to over-the-road and air transportation. Initial investment cost for this mode of transportation are high, but other factors such …

An Examination Of The Impacts Of Transportation Management Systems, Stephen M. Rutner, Brian J. Gibson

Journal of Transportation Management

There is a great deal of research regarding Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Logistics Information Systems (LIS). However, there has not been a recent examination of the current state ofTransportation Management Systems (TMS). This article provides an overview of the previous research and examines the current state of TMS and the relationships between these systems and other information systems in general. The results of over twenty years of LIS and TMS data are presented to highlight potential information gaps and significant relationships between TMS and other functions.

The Development Of An Enterprise Supply Chain Model For Naval Warship Construction, Rex A. Wallen

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The utilization of computer simulation in the shipbuilding industry is not a new concept and many shipyards in the US and around the world are using simulation tools in a variety of ways with various levels of success. In other industries, computer simulation has proven itself as a powerful tool for reducing non-value added activities and promises to become more prominent in its use as a resource management tool. Its use in the manufacturing of outfitting components in the construction of Naval warships has had limited success due mainly to the inherent nature of ship construction, especially shipyards engaged in …

A Large Scale Integer Linear Program As A Decision Support Tool For Force Mix Selection, Craig A. Punches

Theses and Dissertations

Recently, organizations have been modifying performance appraisal systems to collect data from multiple sources to guide the development of supervisors. Upward feedback programs focus on development rather than appraisal by supplementing traditional downward feedback with subordinate feedback. The upward feedback instrument developed in this study was designed to measure effective leadership behaviors utilizing an existing five-dimension leadership taxonomy and a new dimension that represents creating a fun workplace. The developed instrument and a proven commercial instrument utilizing the same theoretical framework were administered to samples of N = 391 and N = 417 respectively, and tested for reliability and validity. …

Interim Brigade Combat Team (Ibct) Munitions Distribution Study, Todd S. Bertulis

Theses and Dissertations

This research sought to describe an alternative way for calculating expected back order (EBO) for reparable inventory systems. The high costs associated with reparable items management, together with its importance for system's availability, make the assessment of back orders of great importance in supporting decisions of what-to-buy and where-to-locate those items. Starting at the point that existing models (METRIC, MOD-METRIC, and VARIMETRIC) rely on some assumptions that often cannot be met in real life, the proposed method (called P-METRIC), which is a mix of simulation and mathematical analytical model, relaxes assumptions about Demand, Time to Repair (TTR), and Ordering & …

Use Of Critical Chain Scheduling To Increase Aircraft Availability, Daniel D. Mattioda

Theses and Dissertations

This study addresses the operation and support cost differences between the TUAF C-130E & C-130B, and the USAF C-130J aircraft. The TUAF C-130s have been being used for more than 30 years and changing world situations give armed forces different roles, and Turkey participates in all peacekeeping missions that are assigned by NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and the United Nations. While performing these roles, the importance of air mobility and the importance of reliability became widely appreciated. Moreover, the coming retiring age of the existing C-130s in the TUAF forced the TUAF to look for ways to improve its …

An Optimization Of The Hub-And-Spoke Distribution Network In United States European Command, Joseph B. Skipper

Theses and Dissertations

The development of Expeditionary Aerospace Force (EAF) operations requires rethinking of many Air Force functions. A Logistics Transformation Team, comprising Air Force and KPMG Consulting Incorporation personnel, is leading much of this transformation work. The very first step of the transformation initiatives is demand planning, which is the process of translating the war fighter's needs into executable logistics support plans and schedules. One important area that the demand planning focuses on is engine maintenance. This sub-mission is assigned to the F101 Engine Pathfinder Team, which is responsible for increasing the availability of the F101 engine. As part of the F101 …

Logistics And Supply Chain Management : Cases And Concepts Edited By G Raghuram And N Rangaraj, New Delhi, Macmillan Business, 2000., V K Sharma

IIMB Management Review

No abstract provided.

Improving Performance Analysis Of The Distribution Segment Of The Air Force Logistics Pipeline, Heinz H. Huester

Theses and Dissertations

The Army of the future will need to be able to quickly respond to a full spectrum of conflict-from stability and support operations to major theater wars. Today, military leaders have limited options when reacting to the wide range of current threats existing in our world. The nation needs ground combat units that can deploy very rapidly to stabilize a hostile area while possessing combat capabilities able to terminate a threat if necessary. The Army's answer to this requirement is the Interim Brigade Combat Team (IBCT). This study employs an Arena 5.0 discrete-event simulation model to explore the capabilities of …

Offsets In International Weapons Acquisitions: The Turkish Experience, Ahmet Ilbas

Theses and Dissertations

Agile Combat Support is focused on providing fast, flexible, responsive, and reliable support as the foundation of all Air Force operations. Combined with the current Air Force focus on ensuring Time Definite Delivery (TDD) and reducing Customer Wait Time (CWT), this new mind-set will place ever-increasing emphasis on supply chain performance as a determining factor in overall campaign effectiveness of future conflicts. An improved methodology for the systematic performance analysis of the distribution segment of the logistics pipeline may aid AFMC transportation personnel (AFMC/LSO) in the quick identification of system bottlenecks, identification of root causes of performance shortfalls, and the …

Comparative Analysis Of Leasing Versus Buying General Purpose Vehicles (Sedan) In The Korean Air Force, Jung J. Kim

Theses and Dissertations

Elmendorf Air Force Base (AFB) is one of the two key ERS airfields for the Pacific Theater. The condition of en route airfields has recently come to the attention of the DoD and the GAO. Delays at these airfields may cause personnel and equipment to arrive late in theater. Fuel systems at Elmendorf AFB are currently being improved, but the GAO questions whether these improvements will help the throughput. As well as being an en route airfield, Elmendorf is also an important Interim Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) APOE for Fort Richardson. The IBCT is designed to operate in small-scale contingency …

Development Of A Method For Assessing The Organizational, Cultural, And Political Considerations Affecting The Insertion Of Siloms Into The Mod, Samir Mustafa

Theses and Dissertations

United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) has a minimal number of aircraft at its disposal. As a result, the aircraft are considered high demand, low-density (small number in Air Force inventory) weapon systems. Any chance to increase aircraft availability would greatly enhance the capability of AFSOC. Isochronal maintenance (ISO) conducted once every 365 days (per AFI for C-130 aircraft) provides the best opportunity to increase aircraft availability by improving the scheduling of tasks and accurately estimating the inspection duration. Scheduled maintenance portrays the characteristics of projects, therefore, this theses proposed that Critical Chain (CC) scheduling, a project management …

Process Mapping A Diminishing Manufacturing Sources And Materiel Shortages Reactive Management Strategy: A Case Study, Robert E. Overstreet

Theses and Dissertations

In order to handle its obligations, the Brazilian Ministry of Defense (MoD) will need an information system capable of managing logistics information from all military services. A project to develop an integrated information system to fit the requirements of different, but connected, organizations has inherent challenges. Differences in the organizational structures, cultures and political aspects, are key issues to be observed before the development to assure the project's success. The same is applicable when trying to adapt an already existing information system to fill the needs of another organization. In the new organization, it is mandatory to assess the feasibility …

Advanced Planning And Scheduling In The United States Air Force Depot-Level Maintenance, Shenn-Rong Shyong

Theses and Dissertations

In the post cold war environment, the rapid deployment of combat capability is critical. Deployment lift capability is limited, however, so the real-time selection of the optimal combat asset mix that balances capability provided and sustainment required has become paramount. In this model, the value of a force mix is determined by the sum of the individual weapon system "suitabilities" against their assigned missions. The value is constrained by the numerical limits on the items required to create and support the force mix, and the lift required to move these items. The research considered heuristic and complete enumeration methods against …

Modeling Aerospace Ground Equipment (Age) Usage In Military Environments, Ilhan Kaya

Theses and Dissertations

There is a wide array of multi-attribute decision analysis methods and associated sensitivity analysis procedures in the literature. However, there is no detailed discussion of sensitivity analysis methods solely relating to additive hierarchical value models. The currently available methodology in the literature is unsophisticated and can be hard to implement into complex models. The methodology proposed in this research builds mathematical foundations for a robust sensitivity analysis approach and extends the current methodology to a more powerful form. The new methodology is easy to implement into complex hierarchical value models and gives flexible and dynamic capabilities to decision makers during …

Evaluation Of Cauliflower Varieties, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia, Horticulture Australia

Horticulture research reports

This document has been prepared from a cauliflower variety evaluation trial conducted at the Manjimup Horticultural Research Institute, South West Highway, Manjimup WA 6258. The results reflect the growth characteristics, yield, quality and density of the cauliflower varieties as recorded at this site during the conditions of the growing period (May 2002 to September 2002).

This report is the thirty-fourth in a series produced from the evaluation of cauliflower and broccoli varieties, conducted at Manjimup Horticultural Research Institute. Cauliflower only has been evaluated in this and in subsequent trials.

The results are provided to allow seed suppliers, seedling nurseries, growers, …

The Quality Problem Solving Method And Its Effectiveness At Nortech Inc., Jeffrey Henderson

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

Pricing And Product Mix Optimization In Freight Transportation, Michael F. Gorman

MIS/OM/DS Faculty Publications

We propose improved pricing and market mix can improve the profitability of the freight transportation provider through the reduction of equipment repositioning costs. We hypothesize that because of complexities surrounding pricing and equipment repositioning costing, existing pricing strategies in freight transportation fail to fully consider these costs. We test this hypothesis in an applied setting in which Monte Carlo simulation captures the stochasticity of market conditions inherent in the problem. We use a heuristic to improve the nondifferentiable, discontinuous objective function.

Our results from test cases show with high confidence that current prices are not optimal, as indicated by a …

Chrysler Leverages Its Suppliers' Improvement Suggestions, Janet L. Hartley, Bertie M. Greer, Seungwood Park

Management Faculty Publications

We examined Chrysler's SCORE (supplier cost reduction effort) supplier-suggestion process from the perspectives of Chrysler and its suppliers. Chrysler used SCORE to save over $2 billion and to build collaborative relationships with its suppliers. In our study, we observed four elements in Chrysler and its suppliers' organizations that contributed to SCORE'S success: (1) designating a process champion, (2) engaging suppliers in the process, (3) motivating em ployees, and (4) facilitating evaluation and implementation. Companies designing a supplier suggestion process should consider ways to reduce delays during evaluation, to minimize the number of low value suggestions, and to involve the entire …

Declared Plant Control Handbook Recommendations For The Control Of Declared Plants In Western Australia, John R. Peirce, Rachael A. Pratt

Biosecurity published reports

Sixth Edition.

Reviewed October 2005.

Plants may be "declared" by the Agriculture Protection Board under the Agriculture and Related Resources Protection Act 1976.If a plant is declared, all landholders are obliged to control that plant on their properties. Declarations specifies a category, or categories, for each plant according to the control strategies or objectives which the Agriculture Protection Board believes are appropriate in a particular place.

Among the factors considered in categorising declared plants are:

* the impact of the plant on individuals, agricultural production and the community in general,

* whether it is already established in the area, and …

Scale-Invariant Behavior In A Spatial Game Of Prisoners’ Dilemma, Yun Fong Lim, Kan Chen, Ciriyam Jayaprakash

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

A spatially extended version of the game of prisoner’s dilemma, originally proposed by Nowak and May, is modified to include stochastic updating and found to exhibit scale-invariant behavior. Two critical regimes with different scaling behaviors are found; the corresponding exponents have been determined numerically. Spatially, the critical states are characterized by the existence of delicately balanced networks of defectors separating domains of cooperators; temporally, the evolution of the critical states following local perturbations is characterized by avalanches of various magnitudes, which cause restructuring of the networks of defectors on all scales.

Organisational Diagnostics And Planned Organisational Change : An Application Of An Adapted Version Of Soft System Methodology ; The Case For A Private Healthcare Institution, Patricia Rita Nunis

Student Works (2000-2009)

THE RESEARCH PROJECT

This is an exploratory, qualitative study that utilises an adapted version of Soft Systems Methodology developed by Dr Mohd. Yusof Omar, to conduct an organisational diagnosis and plan interventions for change for a complex organisation. The target of the study was the 15-member senior management team of Subang Jaya Medical Centre (SJMC). Data was collected over a period of 8 months (Jan-Aug 2001), via participant observation using the framework of action research.

THE FINDINGS

It was determined that the organisation exhibited borderline capability to weather anticipated changes in the future, due to the composition of its current …

Kefahaman Tentang Al-Sakha Dan Penghayatannya Di Kalangan Kakitangan Universiti Teknologi Mara (Uitm) Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Halipah Hamzah

Student Works (2000-2009)

Allah s.w.t. has blessed mankind with their assets whether in the form of material wealth, wisdom, skill etc. However, all these assets would still belong to Him and it is therefore held by human beings in trust to benefit all mankind al their best. In Islam, 1here are many ways to distribute one's resources such as donation. lending. endowment, discussion etc. By being generous, we share the quality of the charitable mankind and shall be rewarded by Allah s.w.t. as highlighted in al-Quran and Hadis. There are three levels of generosity, that is to donate a potion of their assets …

An Analytical Hierarchy Process (Ahp) Assessment Of The Iso 14001-Based Environmental Management System In The Oil And Gas Industry In Malaysia, Vijayalakshmi Benjamin Samuel

Student Works (2000-2009)

Today's business world is changing due to the ever-increasing consciousness for environmental protection and sustainable development. Customers are taking into account environmental considerations in their supplier selection, and are increasingly buying products with identifiable environmental attributes. In this study, the critical decision criteria, sub-criteria and benefits of the adoption and implementation of the ISO 14001-based environmental management system (EMS) in the Malaysian oil and gas sector were studied using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) approach. An empirical study was performed to investigate the relative weights and priorities of these criteria and benefits. An AHP decision model of EMS adoption was …

Supply Chain Management In Manufacturing Industry : A Study Of The Implementation Strategy Of Xyz Technology (M) Sdn. Bhd., Tiong Fock Poh

Student Works (2000-2009)

Advancement of technology and globalization pressure cause a lot of companies seek for a better manufacturing technology and operation management. One of the latest management tools that become hot topics to overcome this issue is Supply Chain Management. About 50 years ago, Forrester (1958) introduced a new theory of cross function management, but it was not been given much attention until last 10 years. Supply chain is not something new to the operation management. The differences of Forrester theory is the synergy of all operation management to get a dynamics and better result that is why the word of "management" …

Penswastaan Kereta Turus Dan Utiliti Atm : Persepsi Terhadap Perkhidmatan Dan Juga Perbandingan Kos Antara Spanco Dan Atm, Mohamad Yusoff Yaacob, Shaiful Hisham Mahat, Daud Mohamed

Student Works (2000-2009)

Sejak awal penubuhan ATM pengurusan fleet kereta turus dan utiliti adalah dibawah tanggungjawab ATM sepenuhnya. Waiau bagaimanapun pada 30 Oktober 1993, perjanjian konsesi telah ditandatangani antara Kerajaan Malaysia dan Syarikat SPANCO Sdn Bhd. Dalam perjanjian ini, SPANCO telah diberi hak konsesi untuk memberi perkhidmatan kereta turus dan utiliti kepada ATM. Setelah hampir 9 tahun SPANCO memberi perkhidmatan kini timbul beberapa rungutan di kalangan pengguna ATM yang secara umumnya mempersoalkan keupayaan SPANCO dalam memberi perkhidmatan yang terbaik kepada ATM. Kos sewaan serta senggaraan yang terus meningkat dari tahun kesetahun juga turut menimbulkan persoalan mengapa pengurusan kereta turus dan utiliti ini perlu …

Network Characteristics And Its Implications : Case Study Of Two Firms In Buyer-Supplier Relationships, Geok Eng Kwee

Student Works (2000-2009)

Cooperative relationships among firms are an area of research of interest to academicians and practitioners alike. Such cooperative relationships have evolved into a new form of business model known as network. This paper attempts to investigate the characteristics of a network and its implications such as benefits and risks from it. In a competitive world where survival depends on the abilities of firms to meet the needs of demanding consumers, an understanding of the dynamics of network is of paramount importance to firms wishing to deliver high value-added products. The study applies a case-study approach and two firms were selected. …

Effective Cargo And Vehicle Storage In Distribution Centers : A Case Study Of Copenhagen Malmö Port (Cmp), Samuel Alphonse Kwame Etsibah

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Production Management Strategies : A Nigerian Perspective, Linus Osuagwu

IIMB Management Review

No abstract provided.