Transport plan generating device, transport plan generating method, and transport plan generating program

Abstract

To improve the work efficiency of an entire transport vehicle by leveling the workload of the transport vehicle while suppressing work interference between the transport vehicles.SOLUTION: A transport plan generating device 10 calculates, for each transport operation, transport operation time that is time required when a transport vehicle executes the transport operation, generates a plurality of transport operation groups from a plurality of transport operations, calculates, for each transport operation group, a transport operation combination load that is an index of empty transport time indicating movement time of the transport vehicle on which a cart in a state in which a transport target is not loaded is placed from a transport destination after one transport operation included in the transport operation group to a transport destination of another transport operation included in the transport operation group, calculates, for each transport operation group, a workload evaluation value calculated from the transport operation combination load and the transport operation time, reorganizes the plurality of transport operation groups so that the workload evaluation value of each transport operation group is leveled, allocates the transport operation to the transport vehicle in a unit of the transport operation group, and determines a transport order of the transport operation included in the transport operation group allocated to the transport vehicle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a transportation plan creation device, a transportation plan creation method, and a transportation plan creation program that create a transportation plan for allocating a plurality of transportation tasks to a plurality of transportation vehicles. [Background technology]

[0002] Generally, products produced in the manufacturing industry include finished products whose shipment is confirmed in their current state and semi-finished products that will be processed in the next manufacturing process. One way to transport semi-finished products to the next manufacturing process is to transport them from the product yard of the facility where the semi-finished products are stored to the product yard of the facility where the next manufacturing process will be performed. In this case, an overhead crane is often installed in the product yard to handle the loading and unloading of products, and the range within the facility that the overhead crane can travel is limited. When transporting semi-finished products to the product yard of the facility where the next manufacturing process will be performed, the semi-finished products are loaded onto a transport vehicle. Many transport vehicles used to transport semi-finished products are designed so that the carts carrying the semi-finished products can be stored inside the vehicle. This design allows the towing unit to move to perform other transportation tasks while the semi-finished products are being loaded and unloaded at each product yard.

[0003] Generally, the number of finished goods yards from which semi-finished goods are transported is greater than the number of transport vehicles used to transport them. Furthermore, semi-finished goods transported from a given finished goods yard are not necessarily transported to only one type of destination finished goods yard. Therefore, there are multiple combinations of transport routes between finished goods yards where semi-finished goods are transported. This requires one transport vehicle to be responsible for transporting goods along multiple transport routes. Here, there is a limit to the number of carts that can be loaded at each factory's finished goods yard. Furthermore, one overhead crane cannot simultaneously perform multiple loading and unloading operations. Therefore, when transport work is concentrated at one finished goods yard, delays in loading and unloading operations occur. For example, the number of carts loaded at the finished goods yard reaches its limit, meaning that the next cart cannot be loaded until the previous cart has been removed, resulting in waiting times for transport vehicles. Therefore, it is desirable to create a transport plan that prevents the volume of transport work from concentrating at one finished goods yard.

[0004] In particular, when multiple transport routes with a single product yard as the origin or destination are assigned to different transport vehicles, the simultaneous arrival of the different transport vehicles at the product yard can cause interference between transport operations, resulting in waiting times due to traffic congestion for the transport vehicles. Therefore, it is desirable to assign transport operations for multiple transport routes with a single product yard as the origin or destination to a single transport vehicle as much as possible. However, transport operations generally need to be performed a set number of times within a predetermined time period. Furthermore, while it is possible to eliminate work interference in all product yards by assigning all transport operations to a single transport vehicle, this is not a realistic solution due to time constraints. Therefore, to develop a feasible transport plan that also satisfies time constraints, it is necessary to allocate multiple transport operations to multiple transport vehicles and reduce the possibility of work interference in the product yard as much as possible.

[0005] Furthermore, depending on the combination of transport vehicles and transport tasks in the formulated transport plan, an imbalance in the workload of transport vehicles may occur. In this case, only transport vehicles with a high workload will finish their transport tasks later, adversely affecting the work efficiency of the entire transport fleet. To solve this problem in actual operations, transport vehicles with a lighter workload may be instructed to perform part of the transport tasks of vehicles with a higher workload. In order to create a feasible transport plan that takes such factors into consideration, for example, when assigning transport tasks to transport vehicles, it is necessary to calculate the workload of the transport tasks. In conventional transport plan creation, such calculations were performed manually based on experience, and transport vehicles assigned to each transport task were selected manually. Furthermore, changes to transport plans were performed manually 24 hours a day.

[0006] Against this background, in recent years, methods for creating transportation plans using computers have been proposed to reduce human workload. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a method for calculating an optimal route for vehicles by solving a route problem for multiple vehicles to visit predetermined customers and return to a base, inserting predetermined factories that need to be visited into each output route, and finally solving a traveling salesman problem for visiting each base and factory. Furthermore, Patent Document 2 describes a method for recalculating the optimal route for vehicles when a change occurs in the situation of predetermined route information for multiple vehicles, determining a combination of services to be assigned to each of the multiple vehicles and the order in which the services are executed under the changed situation for the target services. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-111237 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2023-69484 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] When creating a transportation plan for an environment with many different transport routes, it is necessary to consider the constraints and workloads of many pieces of equipment, such as transport vehicles and product yards in each factory, and create a transportation plan that levels the workload of each piece of equipment. However, the methods described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are methods for setting optimal routes for each piece of equipment, assuming that transportation tasks are assigned to each piece of equipment. They do not create a transportation plan that assigns transportation tasks to each piece of equipment so as to level the workload of each piece of equipment. Furthermore, the methods described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are based on the assumption that products are directly loaded onto the vehicle body for transportation, and do not take into account the extra workload required to transport empty carts used to load and unload products. Furthermore, if the transportation routes for each piece of equipment are set in advance, the workload of each piece of equipment can be evaluated based on the transport distance, transport time, etc. However, Patent Documents 1 and 2 do not disclose a method for creating a transportation plan that assigns transportation tasks to each piece of equipment so as to level the workload of each piece of equipment before the transportation routes are set.

[0009] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a transportation plan creation device, a transportation plan creation method, and a transportation plan creation program that are capable of creating a transportation plan that reduces work interference between transportation vehicles, levels out the workload of transportation vehicles, and improves the work efficiency of the entire transportation vehicles. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] [1] A transportation plan creation device according to the present invention is a transportation plan creation device that creates a transportation plan to assign a plurality of transportation tasks to a plurality of transportation vehicles, the transportation tasks being the time required for the transportation vehicle to perform the transportation task, and a transportation workload calculation unit that generates a plurality of transportation task groups from the plurality of transportation tasks, and an index of empty transportation time that indicates the travel time of a transportation vehicle carrying a carriage that is not loaded with the transportation task from a destination after completion of one transportation task included in the transportation task group to a destination of another transportation task included in the transportation task group. The system comprises a transportation work aggregation unit that calculates a combined transportation work load for each transportation work group, calculates a workload evaluation value for each transportation work group from the combined transportation work load and the transportation work time, and reorganizes the multiple transportation work groups so that the workload evaluation value of each transportation work group is leveled out; a transportation work group allocation unit that assigns transportation work to the transportation vehicle on a transportation work group basis; a transportation work transport order determination unit that determines the transport order of the transportation work included in the transportation work group assigned to the transportation vehicle; and an output unit that outputs information related to the processing results of the transportation work group allocation unit and the transportation work transport order determination unit.

[0011] [2] In the transportation plan creation device according to the present invention, in the transportation plan creation device of [1], the transportation work aggregation unit generates or reorganizes the transportation work groups so that the workload evaluation value of each transportation work group does not exceed a predetermined threshold.

[0012] [3] In the transportation plan creation device of the present invention, in the transportation plan creation device of [2], the transportation work aggregation unit sets the threshold value for each of transportation work with a common destination, other transportation work whose destination is the origin of one transportation work, and transportation work with a common origin, aggregates the transportation work with a common destination, generates the multiple transportation work groups, and reorganizes the multiple transportation work groups by sequentially executing the aggregation of a series of transportation work whose execution order is predetermined, other transportation work whose destination is the origin of one transportation work, and transportation work with a common origin.

[0013] [4] In the transportation plan creation device according to the present invention, in any one of the transportation plan creation devices [1] to [3], the combined transportation work load is an index based on the empty transportation time when transportation works included in a transportation work group that have the same transportation route from the transportation source to the transportation destination are executed in succession, the empty transportation time of all combinations when transportation works included in a transportation work group that have different transportation routes are executed in succession, the number of transportation routes included in the transportation work group, and the number of transportations on each transportation route.

[0014] [5] A transportation plan creation method according to the present invention is a transportation plan creation method for creating a transportation plan to assign a plurality of transportation tasks to a plurality of transportation vehicles to transport a cart loaded with a transportation object, the transportation plan creation method including: a transportation workload calculation step for calculating, for each transportation task, a transportation task time that is the time required for the transportation vehicle to perform the transportation task; a transportation task combination calculation step for generating a plurality of transportation task groups from the plurality of transportation tasks; and a transportation task combination calculation step for calculating an empty transportation time that is an index of the travel time that indicates the travel time of a transportation vehicle carrying a cart loaded with no transportation object from a destination after completion of one transportation task included in the transportation task group to a destination of another transportation task included in the transportation task group. The method includes a transportation work aggregation step of calculating a load for each transportation work group, calculating a workload evaluation value for each transportation work group calculated from the combined transportation work load and the transportation work time, and reorganizing the multiple transportation work groups so that the workload evaluation value of each transportation work group is leveled; a transportation work group allocation step of assigning transportation work to the transportation vehicle on a transportation work group basis; a transportation work transport order determination step of determining the transport order of the transportation work included in the transportation work group assigned to the transportation vehicle; and an output step of outputting information related to the processing results of the transportation work group allocation step and the transportation work transport order determination step.

[0015] [6] A transportation plan creation program according to the present invention is a transportation plan creation program for creating a transportation plan to assign a plurality of transportation tasks to a plurality of transportation vehicles, the transportation tasks being the time required for the transportation vehicle to perform the transportation task, and a transportation workload calculation unit for generating a plurality of transportation task groups from the plurality of transportation tasks, and calculating an empty transportation time indicating the travel time of a transportation vehicle carrying a carriage without the transportation task loaded thereon from a destination after completion of one transportation task included in the transportation task group to a destination of another transportation task included in the transportation task group. The system functions as a transportation work aggregation unit that calculates a combined transportation work load, which is an index, for each transportation work group, calculates a workload evaluation value for each transportation work group calculated from the combined transportation work load and the transportation work time, and reorganizes the multiple transportation work groups so that the workload evaluation value of each transportation work group is leveled; a transportation work group allocation unit that assigns transportation work to the transportation vehicle on a transportation work group basis; a transportation work transport order determination unit that determines the transport order of the transportation work included in the transportation work group assigned to the transportation vehicle; and an output unit that outputs information related to the processing results of the transportation work group allocation unit and the transportation work transport order determination unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] According to the transportation plan creation device, transportation plan creation method, and transportation plan creation program of the present invention, it is possible to create a transportation plan that reduces work interference between transport vehicles, levels out the workload of the transport vehicles, and improves the work efficiency of the entire transport vehicles. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a factory to which a transportation plan creation method according to one embodiment of the present invention is applied. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a factory that is the target of the transportation plan creation method according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a transportation schedule creation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the transportation schedule creation device shown in FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the transport vehicle travel time information. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of available transport vehicle information. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the transport vehicle priority information. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of each piece of facility information. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of transportation work information. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a transportation plan. [Figure 11-1] FIG. 11-1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for calculating the combined transportation work load. [Figure 11-2] FIG. 11-2 is a diagram illustrating another example of a method for calculating the combined transportation work load. [Figure 11-3] FIG. 11-3 is a diagram illustrating another example of a method for calculating the combined transportation work load. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of transportation plan creation processing according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the process flow of step S2a shown in FIG. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the process of step S2a shown in FIG. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the process flow of step S2b shown in FIG. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining the process of step S2b shown in FIG. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the process flow of step S2c shown in FIG. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining the process of step S2c shown in FIG. [Figure 19]FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the process flow of step S2d shown in FIG. [Figure 20] FIG. 20 is a diagram for explaining the process of step S2d shown in FIG. [Figure 21] FIG. 21 is a diagram showing the degree of excess transport work time in the example and the comparative example. [Figure 22] FIG. 22 is a scatter diagram showing the degree of excess transport work time in the example and the comparative example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] A transportation plan creating device, a transportation plan creating method, and a transportation plan creating program according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0019] [Factory configuration] First, the configuration of a factory that is the target of a transportation plan creation method according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0020] 1 and 2 are schematic diagrams showing the configuration of a factory that is a target of a transportation scheduling method that is an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a factory 1 that is a target of the transportation scheduling method that is an embodiment of the present invention has multiple buildings 1a to 1d that store semi-finished products, and each building is equipped with overhead cranes 3a to 3d that perform loading and unloading operations for the semi-finished products. Semi-finished products that have been instructed to be transported to the next manufacturing process are loaded onto carts 4a and 4b placed in a product yard by the overhead cranes 3a to 3d, and the carts 4a and 4b are then loaded onto a transport vehicle 4. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the transport vehicle 4 transports the carts 4a and 4b to the product yard of another factory 1 where the next manufacturing process will be performed. In this way, in the factory 1 that is a target of the transportation scheduling method that is an embodiment of the present invention, the semi-finished products are transported from a source product yard to a destination product yard by the transport vehicle 4 loading and transporting the carts 4a and 4b.

[0021] [Configuration of the transportation plan creation device] Next, the configuration of a transportation schedule creation device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0022] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a transportation plan creation device according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the transportation plan creation device 10 shown in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the transportation plan creation device 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention is a device that references data stored in an operation database 11 and creates a finished product yard-to-yard transportation plan (hereinafter abbreviated as a transportation plan) 13 from input finished product yard-to-yard semi-finished product transportation work information (hereinafter abbreviated as transportation work information) 12. As shown in FIG. 4, the transportation plan creation device 10 is configured by an information processing device, and functions as an input unit 10a, a transportation workload calculation unit 10b, a transportation work aggregation unit 10c, a transportation work group allocation unit 10d, a transportation work transportation order determination unit 10e, and an output unit 10f by the arithmetic processing unit within the information processing device executing a computer program. The functions of each of these units will be described later.

[0023] The operation database 11 stores operation data for each piece of transportation equipment (product yards and transport vehicles 4). Specifically, the operation database 11 stores transport vehicle travel time information, available transport vehicle information, transport vehicle priority information, and information on each piece of equipment. As shown in FIG. 5, the transport vehicle travel time information includes information on the travel time of the transport vehicle 4 between product yards for each state of the transport vehicle 4. As shown in FIG. 6, the available transport vehicle information includes information on the type of vehicle and identification information of the transport vehicle 4 that can perform the transportation work. As shown in FIG. 7, the transport vehicle priority information includes information on the identification information and priority of the transport vehicle 4 that can perform the transportation work for each product yard from which the transport is made. As shown in FIG. 8, each piece of equipment information includes information on the number of carts that can be accommodated in each product yard, the time required to change carts, the number of products that can be accommodated, the product transportation time of the overhead crane, etc.

[0024] The transportation work information 12 is information about the planned transportation work of semi-finished products to be carried out within a certain scheduled work time period. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 9, the transportation work information 12 includes information about the work time period (start time), work time period (end time), product yard (transport source), product yard (transport destination), transport vehicle model, number of transports, number of priority transports, summary, and transport order of semi-finished product transport work between product yards (hereinafter abbreviated as transportation work).

[0025] The work time period (start time) indicates the start time of the scheduled time period during which the transportation work will be performed. The work time period (end time) indicates the end time of the scheduled time period during which the transportation work will be performed. The product yard (source) indicates the name of the product yard that is the source of the transportation work. The product yard (destination) indicates the name of the product yard that is the destination of the transportation work. The transport vehicle model indicates the model of the transport vehicle 4 that will perform the transportation work. The number of transports indicates the number of times the transportation work will be performed within the scheduled time period. The number of priority transports indicates the number of times priority transports will be performed for the transportation work within the scheduled time period, and specifies the priority of the transportation order. The higher the number of priority transports, or the higher the ratio of the number of priority transports to the number of transports, the higher the priority of the transportation order. The summary indicates the group symbol (identification symbol) of the transportation work that is to be performed by the same transport vehicle 4 for operational reasons, or the execution priority information of the transportation work. If a group symbol of the transportation work is specified in the summary, the transport order indicates the execution priority of the transportation work within that transportation work group.

[0026] The transportation plan 13 includes information regarding the transportation vehicles that will perform each transportation task and the order in which the transportation tasks assigned to each transportation vehicle will be performed. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 10, the transportation plan 8 includes information regarding the work time period (start time), work time period (end time), product yard (transportation origin), product yard (transportation destination), transportation vehicle model, assigned transportation vehicle, number of priority transportations, summary, and transportation order.

[0027] The work time period (start time) indicates the start time of the scheduled time period during which the transportation work will be performed. The work time period (end time) indicates the end time of the scheduled time period during which the transportation work will be performed. The product yard (source) indicates the name of the product yard that is the source of the transportation work. The product yard (destination) indicates the name of the product yard that is the destination of the transportation work. The transport vehicle model indicates the model of the transport vehicle 4 that will perform the transportation work. The number of transports indicates the number of times the transportation work will be performed within the scheduled time period. The assigned transport vehicle indicates the identification information of the transport vehicle assigned to the transportation work. The number of priority transports indicates the number of times priority transports will be performed for the transportation work within the scheduled time period, and indicates the priority of the transport order. The summary indicates the group symbol (identification symbol) of the transportation work that is to be performed by the same transport vehicle 4 for operational reasons, or the execution priority information of the transportation work. If a group symbol of the transportation work is specified in the summary, the transport order indicates the execution priority of the transportation work within that transportation work group.

[0028] The transportation plan creation device 10 having such a configuration executes the transportation plan creation process described below to create a transportation plan that suppresses work interference between the transportation vehicles 4, levels the work loads of the transportation vehicles 4, and improves the work efficiency of the entire transportation vehicles 4. Hereinafter, with reference to Figs. 11 to 20, the operation of the transportation plan creation device 10 when executing the transportation plan creation process will be described.

[0029] [Transportation plan creation process] [Summary] First, an outline of the operation of the transportation plan creation device 10 when performing transportation plan creation processing will be described.

[0030] In the transportation plan creation process, first, the transportation plan creation device 10 aggregates (groups) the individual "transportation tasks" included in the transportation work information 12 to generate multiple "transportation task groups," which are collections of multiple transportation tasks. At this time, the transportation plan creation device 10 generates multiple "transportation task groups" so that the workload is leveled among the transportation task groups. Then, the transportation plan creation device 10 assigns the transportation tasks to transport vehicles 4 in units of the transportation task groups with leveled workloads, and then creates a transportation plan by determining the order in which the transportation tasks included in the transportation task groups will be performed. The transportation plan creation device 10 evaluates the workload of the transportation tasks and the transportation task groups, respectively, using the transportation task time and workload evaluation value shown below.

[0031] -Evaluation value of workload for transportation work The workload of the transportation work is evaluated using the inter-yard transportation work time (hereinafter abbreviated as transportation work time), which is the time required for the transport vehicle 4 to perform the transportation work included in the transportation work information 12 (see FIG. 9). Specifically, when the transport vehicle 4 performs the transportation work, it requires the time to load the cart loaded with the semi-finished products onto the transport vehicle 4 at the source product yard, the time for the transport vehicle 4 to transport the cart from the source product yard to the destination product yard, and the time to unload the cart from the transport vehicle 4 at the destination product yard. Therefore, in the present invention, the sum of these times is multiplied by the number of trips (see FIG. 9) performed by the transport vehicle 4 to calculate the transportation work time, and this value is used as the evaluation value of the workload of the transportation work.

[0032] -Evaluation value of workload for transportation work group When evaluating the workload of a transportation task group, in addition to the transportation task time of each transportation task included in the transportation task group, the time it takes for the transportation vehicle 4 to move (empty transportation) from the destination finished product yard of one transportation task to the source finished product yard of the next transportation task with a cart that is not loaded with semi-finished products (empty cart) (hereinafter referred to as empty transportation time) is taken into consideration. Here, if there are multiple transportation tasks in one transportation task group and the transportation order of the transportation tasks has not been determined, the empty transportation time can be accurately calculated by sequentially searching for the transportation order of the transportation tasks that will result in the smallest workload within the provisional transportation task group and determining the provisional transportation task order.

[0033] However, as will be described later, in this invention, the combination of transportation tasks included in a transportation task group is changed several times to level the workload. Therefore, if the transportation order of the transportation tasks is searched for each time and the exact empty transportation time is calculated, the amount of calculation required becomes enormous and it is not practical. Therefore, in this invention, an index of the empty transportation time from the destination product yard of a transportation task included in a transportation task group to the source product yard of another transportation task (hereinafter referred to as the combined transportation task load) is calculated. Below, we will explain a method for estimating the combined transportation task load of a transportation task group and the workload evaluation value, which is an evaluation value (evaluation index) of the workload of each transportation task group, from information about each transportation task within the transportation task group.

[0034] The workload evaluation value of a transportation task group is calculated by adding the combined transportation task load value to the total transportation task time of each transportation task included in the transportation task group. The calculation method for the combined transportation task load is explained below with reference to Figure 11-1.

[0035] The combined transport work load is an index based on the empty transport time when consecutive transport tasks in a transport work group that share the same transport route from the source to the destination are executed, the empty transport time for all combinations of consecutive transport tasks in a transport work group that share different transport routes, the number of transport routes in the transport work group, and the number of transports for each transport route. To calculate the combined transport work load, first, as shown in Figure 11-1(1), the number of transport tasks in the transport work group whose workload evaluation value is to be calculated and that share the same transport route from the source to the destination (in this example, three transport routes: A, B, and C) and the number of transports for each transport route are tallied. Note that Y1 to Y4 in Figure 11-1 represent the names of the product yards. Next, as shown in Figure 11-1(2), a transport vehicle travel time list is created using the aggregated transport routes and their number of transports. Here, the transport vehicle travel time list is a compilation of the empty transport times calculated below. Specifically, first, (a) the empty transport time when consecutive transport tasks with the same transport route are calculated. In detail, from the transport vehicle movement time information (see Figure 5) in the operation database 11, the time required for empty transport (empty transport time) when a transport vehicle 4 carrying an empty cart moves from the destination of the transport route to the product yard of the source of the transport with a cart that is not loaded with the transport item is extracted for each transport route (in this example, A: 800 seconds, B: 250 seconds, C: 600 seconds), and the extracted value is multiplied by the value obtained by subtracting 1 from the number of transports for the transport work, and the value is included in the transport vehicle movement time list (a) as the empty transport time for each transport work.

[0036] Next, (b) calculate the empty transport time for all combinations when transport tasks with different transport routes are performed consecutively. Specifically, from the transport vehicle travel time information in the operation database 11 (see Figure 5), the time required for empty transport (empty transport time) for a transport vehicle to travel from the destination product yard of a transport task to the source product yard of another transport task, and the time required for empty transport (empty transport time) from the destination product yard of another transport task to the source product yard of that transport task, are extracted for each transport route and included in the transport vehicle travel time list (b). Finally, the combined transport task load is calculated using the values ​​in the transport vehicle travel time lists (a) and (b). The number of transport order combinations for the transport tasks included in a transport task group increases as the number of transport routes and the number of transports on each route increase. For example, if there are three transport routes, the number of transport route permutations is six, as shown in Figure 11-1(2)(b). However, if there are 10 transport routes, the number of transport route permutations is 90. Furthermore, when the number of trips for each transport route is taken into account, the number of transport task permutations becomes even greater. Therefore, simply adding up the empty transport times calculated in Figures 11-1(2)(a) and (b) results in a total that is too large compared to the total transport task time for each transport task included in the transport task. Therefore, the empty transport times calculated in Figures 11-1(1) and 11-1(2) are corrected based on the number of transport routes included in the transport task group and the number of trips for each route to calculate the combined transport task load. Specifically, as shown in Figure 11-1(3), the combined transport task load is calculated by first adding up the travel times (empty transport times) in the transport vehicle travel time lists (a) and (b), and then dividing this total by the natural logarithm of the sum of the number of trips for each transport task included in the transport task group, plus 1. This calculated value is then divided by the natural logarithm of the number of transport routes included in the transport task group, plus 1, to calculate the combined transport task load (999 in this example). Here, when calculating the combined transportation work load, the reason for performing a logarithmic transformation on the number of transports and the number of transport routes is to prevent the combined transportation work load from becoming an extremely small value, in order to correctly reflect the impact of empty transport time in the workload evaluation value of the transportation work group, and to balance the magnitude of the combined transportation work load and the magnitude of the transportation work time of the transportation work group.

[0037] Figures 11-2 and 11-3 show other examples of how the number of transport routes and the number of trips on each transport route are reflected in the combined transport work load calculation. In the example shown in Figure 11-2, as shown in Figure 11-2(3), the combined transport work load is calculated by correcting only the transport vehicle travel time list (b), which becomes increasingly complex as the number of transport routes increases, based on the number of transport routes and the number of trips on each transport route. In the example shown in Figure 11-3, as shown in Figure 11-3(2)(b), the empty transport time is calculated by taking into account the number of trips when calculating all combinations of consecutive transport work performed on different transport routes. The number of trips for empty transport is reflected in the empty transport time, assuming that it is the smallest number of trips (represented as min in the figure) among the trips on the two transport routes connected by empty transport. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 11-3(3), the combined transport work load is calculated by correcting only the transport vehicle travel time list (b), which becomes increasingly complex as the number of transport routes increases, based on the number of transport routes.

[0038] According to this calculation method, the combined load of transportation tasks can be calculated by taking into account the distance from the source product yard to the destination product yard for each transportation task included in the transportation task group, the number of transportation tasks, the number of transports for each transportation task, and the distance between each product yard within the transportation task group.

[0039] The transportation plan creation device 10 generates a plurality of transportation work groups with equalized workload evaluation values, assigns transportation work to transportation vehicles 4 in units of transportation work groups with equalized workload evaluation values, and then creates a transportation plan for the transportation vehicles 4 by determining the order in which the transportation work included in the transportation work groups will be performed.

[0040] [Embodiment] Next, with reference to FIG. 12, details of the operation of the transport plan creation device 10 when executing transport plan change processing according to one embodiment of the present invention, which embodies the above outline, will be described.

[0041] Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of the transport plan creation process according to one embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart shown in Fig. 12 starts when the transport work information 12 and an execution command for the transport plan creation process are input to the transport plan creation device 10, and the transport plan creation process proceeds to step S1.

[0042] In the processing of step S1, the input unit 10a acquires operation data of each transportation facility and transportation work information 12 stored in the operation database 11. Then, the transportation workload calculation unit 10b uses transportation vehicle travel time information (see FIG. 5) to calculate the transportation work time of each transportation work included in the transportation work information 12. This completes the processing of step S1, and the transportation plan creation processing proceeds to the processing of step S2.

[0043] In the process of step S2, the transportation work aggregation unit 10c aggregates the transportation works included in the transportation work information 12 into multiple transportation work groups using the information acquired by the input unit 10a and the transportation work time calculated by the transportation work load calculation unit 10b. Specifically, the transportation work aggregation unit 10c executes a process (first aggregation process, step S2a) of aggregating transportation works with a common destination and generating multiple transportation work groups (first transportation work groups). Furthermore, for the generated multiple transportation work groups (first transportation work groups), the following processes are executed in order: a process (second aggregation process, step S2b) of aggregating transportation works with a predetermined transportation order, a process (third aggregation process, step S2c) of aggregating transportation works with the same origin and destination, and a process (fourth aggregation process, step S2d) of aggregating transportation works with the same origin, thereby reorganizing the first transportation work group and generating multiple transportation work groups (second transportation work groups) with a leveled workload evaluation value including the transportation work combined load. In order to generate multiple transportation work groups with equalized workload evaluation values, the first aggregation process, third aggregation process, and fourth aggregation process set predetermined thresholds for the workload evaluation value of each transportation work group (destination aggregation threshold, source destination aggregation threshold, source aggregation threshold), and generate or reorganize multiple transportation work groups so that the workload evaluation value of each transportation work group does not exceed the predetermined thresholds. Details of the first aggregation process, second aggregation process, third aggregation process, and fourth aggregation process will be described later.

[0044] By processing in step S2, the transport task groups, which are the units of task allocation to each transport vehicle 4, are grouped by transport tasks that share a common product yard at the source or destination, thereby reducing work interference between transport vehicles 4 at each product yard. Furthermore, in addition to multiple transport tasks with a common destination and multiple transport tasks with a common source, transport tasks with the source product yard as the destination are also aggregated into a transport task group, thereby reducing the work of carrying out empty carts when determining the order of transport tasks. Furthermore, multiple transport tasks included in the transport task information 12 can be aggregated (grouped) into multiple transport task groups with a leveled workload. As a result, processing in step S2 enables the aggregation (grouping) of transport tasks that improves the overall work efficiency of the transport vehicles 4. This completes the processing in step S2, and the transport plan creation process proceeds to processing in step S3.

[0045] In the process of step S3, the transportation task group allocation unit 10d determines a transportation vehicle 4 to which each transportation task group generated in the process of step S2 is assigned, based on the transportation task information 12. Specifically, the transportation task group allocation unit 10d first sorts the transportation tasks generated in the process of step S2 in descending order of workload evaluation value, and extracts transportation task groups in descending order of workload evaluation value, the number of which is the same as the number of vehicle types of transportation vehicles 4. Note that if the number of transportation tasks to be performed by a certain type of transportation vehicle 4 is less than the number of transportation vehicles 4 of that type, the transportation task group allocation unit 10d extracts transportation task groups in descending order of workload evaluation value, the number of which is the same as the number of transportation tasks. Then, the transportation task group allocation unit 10d allocates the extracted transportation tasks to the transportation vehicles 4 one by one (step S3a). Note that the transportation task group allocation unit 10d allocates the extracted transportation tasks to each transportation vehicle 4 one by one, in accordance with rules 1 to 3 described below.

[0046] Rule 1: Select the transportation task group with the highest workload evaluation value from the extracted transportation task groups. Next, select the transportation task with the longest transportation task time from the selected transportation task group. Let the selected transportation task be transportation task P. Rule 2: If a transport vehicle 4 was assigned to a transport task that has the same source product yard and destination product yard as transport task P in the immediately preceding time period, that transport vehicle 4 will be assigned to the transport task group that includes transport task P. Rule 3: In Rule 2, if there is no transport vehicle 4 that was assigned in the immediately preceding time period to a transport task that has the same source product yard and destination product yard as transport task P, the transport task group that includes transport task P is assigned to a transport vehicle 4 according to the priority information of the transport vehicle 4 in the source product yard of transport task P. The priority information of the transport vehicle 4 in the source product yard can be obtained from the transport vehicle priority information shown in Figure 7.

[0047] Next, the transport task group allocation unit 10d sorts the remaining transport task groups other than the transport task group that has been assigned in the processing of step S3a in descending order of workload evaluation value, and allocates the transport task groups to transport vehicles 4 in descending order of workload evaluation value (step S3b). At this time, the transport task group allocation unit 10d selects, as the transport task group to be allocated, the transport task group that has the smallest total workload evaluation value of the entire transport task groups that have already been assigned and the workload evaluation value of the transport task group to be allocated. This completes the processing of step S3, and the transportation plan creation processing proceeds to processing of step S4.

[0048] In the process of step S4, the transport work transport order determination unit 10e determines the transport order of the transport work included in the transport work group assigned to each transport vehicle 4 based on the allocation result of the transport vehicles 4 in the process of step S3. Specifically, the transport work transport order determination unit 10e first rearranges the transport order of the transport work in the transport work group assigned to each transport vehicle 4 (step S4a). In this process, a process is carried out to raise the transport order of transport work that has been set in advance with a high transport priority in the transport work information 12. Specifically, the transport work transport order determination unit 10e rearranges the transport order of the transport work according to the following priorities 1 to 4.

[0049] Priority 1: Increase the priority of transportation work for which execution priority information is listed in the "Summary" field ("Top priority" listed in the "Summary" field in Figure 9). Priority 2: Increase the priority of transportation work that has a high number of priority transports (see Figure 9). Priority 3: Increase the priority of transportation work where the value of priority transport count divided by transport count is large. Priority 4: Increase the priority of transportation work that takes a long time.

[0050] Next, if a transportation task group is specified in the "Summary" field of the transportation task information 12, the transportation task transport order determination unit 10e adjusts the transportation task transport order so that the transportation task transport order previously set for the transportation task group is correct (step S4b). The processing of step S4a has difficulty in dealing with the transportation task group and transportation order that may be set for each transportation task. Therefore, the processing of step S4b ensures the consistency of the transportation task transport order. Specifically, first, the transportation task transport order determination unit 10e searches for transportation tasks whose transportation task group name is written in the "Summary" field according to the transportation task transport order created in the processing up to step S3a. Then, if a transportation task whose transportation task group name is written in the "Summary" field is detected, the transportation task transport order determination unit 10e sets the transportation task as transportation task P for convenience.

[0051] Next, if a transport task with the same transport task group name as transport task P and a smaller transport order number than transport task P is found among the transport tasks that are later in the transport order than transport task P, the transport task transport order determination unit 10e sets that transport task as transport task Q for convenience. The transport task transport order determination unit 10e also sets the transport task that is immediately before transport task Q in the transport order as transport task R. Next, the transport task transport order determination unit 10e moves the order of the transport tasks from transport task P to transport task R back by one. Finally, the transport task transport order determination unit 10e inserts transport task Q into the position in the transport order where transport task P was originally set. Once the transport orders have been set for the transport tasks assigned to each transport vehicle 4 for which a transport task group has been set, the processing of step S4b ends.

[0052] Next, the transport work transport order determination unit 10e determines the transport order of transport work that has a low priority and a low transport order (step S4c). In the process of step S4a, a process was performed to raise the priority of transport work that has a high transport priority set in advance in the transport work information 12. In addition, in the process of step S4b, the transport order of transport work that has a transport order for each transport work group set in advance in the transport work information 12 was adjusted. In contrast to this, in the process of step S4c, the transport order of transport work that has a low transport order is determined regardless of the process contents of steps S4a and S4b.

[0053] In detail, the transport work transport order determination unit 10e searches for a transport work whose priority transport count value is 0, according to the transport order of the transport work created in the processing up to step S4b. If a transport work whose priority transport count value is 0 is found, the transport work transport order determination unit 10e expediently sets the transport work as transport work P. Next, if a transport work whose origin is the product yard to which transport work P is to be transferred, or a transport work whose origin is the product yard from which transport work P is to be transferred, is found among the transport works whose transport order is later than that of transport work P, the transport work transport order determination unit 10e expediently sets the transport work as transport work Q and inserts it in the position of the transport order next to transport work P. However, if a transport work group is set in the "Summary" field of transport work Q, and if there is a transport work between transport work P and transport work Q that is in the same transport work group as transport work Q but has a lower transport priority value than transport work Q, the transport work transport order determination unit 10e does not perform the insertion process. When the transport order of the transport task sets with the lowest transport priority among the transport tasks assigned to each transport vehicle 4 has been determined, the processing of step S3 ends.

[0054] Finally, the output unit 10f outputs a transportation plan 13 that summarizes the results of adjusting the transportation vehicles 4 that will perform the transportation tasks and the transportation order of the transportation tasks included in the transportation task groups assigned to each transportation vehicle 4, based on the transportation task information 12 acquired by the input unit 10a, to the dispatch system of the transportation vehicles 4, the operator guidance screen, and the report output device. This completes the processing of step S4, and ends the series of transportation plan creation processes.

[0055] [First aggregation process] Next, the operation of the transportation schedule creation device 10 when executing the first aggregation process of step S2a will be described with reference to Figs. 13 and 14. The first aggregation process is a process for generating a plurality of transportation task groups (first transportation task groups) by aggregating (grouping) transportation tasks with a common destination so that the total transportation task time of each transportation task group is equalized. Fig. 13 is a flowchart showing the process flow of step S2a shown in Fig. 12. Fig. 14 is a diagram for explaining the process of step S2a shown in Fig. 12.

[0056] 13, in the first aggregation process, first, the transportation work aggregation unit 10c sorts the transportation works in descending order of the transportation work time calculated by the transportation workload calculation unit 10b (step S2a1). Next, the transportation work aggregation unit 10c selects the transportation works to be processed in descending order of the transportation work time, and sets the selected transportation works as the transportation works to be used as the base for aggregation (step S2a2). Hereinafter, for convenience, the transportation works set as the base will be referred to as transportation work group P.

[0057] Next, the transport work aggregation unit 10c sets the product yard that is the destination of the transport work set in the transport work group P as "product yard X," which serves as a key item for extracting transport work to be aggregated into the transport work group P (step S2a3). In the example shown in FIG. 14, product yard Y4 is set as "product yard X." Next, in order to level the total transport work time (workload) of the transport work to be aggregated into the transport work group P, the transport work aggregation unit 10c extracts transport work having "product yard X" as its destination, starting from the transport work with the shortest transport work time, sorted in descending order, and aggregates the extracted transport work into the transport work group P (step S2a4). In the example shown in FIG. 14, two transport work having product yard Y4 as its destination are aggregated into the transport work group P.

[0058] Next, the transportation work aggregation unit 10c calculates the workload evaluation value of the transportation work group P and determines whether the workload evaluation value of the transportation work group P is less than a predetermined destination aggregation threshold (step S2a5). The destination aggregation threshold is set to set an upper limit on the number of transportation works aggregated into the transportation work group P so as to prevent imbalance in the workload evaluation values ​​of the transportation work groups assigned to one transportation vehicle 4. If the determination results in the workload evaluation value of the transportation work group P being less than the predetermined destination aggregation threshold (step S2a5: Yes), the transportation work aggregation unit 10c proceeds with the first aggregation process to step S2a6. On the other hand, if the workload evaluation value of the transportation work group P is equal to or greater than the predetermined destination aggregation threshold (step S2a5: No), the transportation work aggregation unit 10c returns the first aggregation process to step S2a4.

[0059] In the process of step S2a6, the transport work aggregation unit 10c determines whether there is any transport work that has not been aggregated into any transport work group. If the result of the determination is that there is any transport work that has not been aggregated into any transport work group (step S2a6: Yes), the transport work aggregation unit 10c returns the first aggregation process to the process of step S2a2. Then, the transport work aggregation unit 10c changes the setting of the transport work that has the longest transport work time among the unaggregated transport work, as a new transport work group P, and repeatedly executes the processes of steps S2a3 to S2a5 until there are no more unaggregated transport work.

[0060] On the other hand, if there are no transport operations that have not been aggregated into any transport operation group (step S2a6: No), the transport operation aggregation unit 10c ends the first aggregation process. Note that if the number of transport operations included in the transport operation group P becomes equal to or greater than the value obtained by dividing the total number of transport operations by the total number of transport vehicles 4 used for allocation, the transport operation aggregation unit 10c stops the aggregation process of the transport operations for the transport operation group P. Note that the first aggregation process is only performed if the total number of transport operations is greater than the total number of transport vehicles 4.

[0061] [Second aggregation process] Next, the operation of the transportation schedule creation device 10 when executing the second consolidation process of step S2b above will be described with reference to Figs. 15 and 16. The second consolidation process is a process of consolidating a series of transportation tasks whose transportation order has been determined in advance into one transportation task group, and reorganizing the transportation task group after the first consolidation process (first transportation task group). Fig. 15 is a flowchart showing the process flow of step S2b shown in Fig. 12. Fig. 16 is a diagram for explaining the process of step S2b shown in Fig. 12.

[0062] As shown in FIG. 15, in the process of step S2b, first, the transportation work aggregation unit 10c sorts the transportation work groups (first transportation work groups) in descending order of their workload evaluation values ​​calculated in the process of step S2a (step S2b1). Next, the transportation work aggregation unit 10c selects transportation work groups including transportation work for which a group symbol for the transportation work is set in the "Summary" field (see FIG. 9) in descending order of workload evaluation value, and sets the selected transportation work groups as the transportation work groups to be used as the basis for aggregation (step S2b2). Hereinafter, for convenience, the transportation work group set as the basis will be referred to as transportation work group P. In the example shown in FIG. 16, transportation work group 2 including transportation work for which a group symbol for the transportation work is set in the "Summary" field is set as transportation work group P.

[0063] Next, the transport work aggregation unit 10c determines whether any other transport work groups contain a transport work whose "summary" field contains a group symbol that is equal to the group symbol of a transport work included in the transport work group P. If a corresponding transport work is detected, the transport work aggregation unit 10c aggregates the corresponding transport work from the other transport work groups into the transport work group P and reorganizes the transport work groups (step S2b3). In the example shown in FIG. 16, transport work group 7, which consists only of transport works whose "summary" field contains a transport work group symbol A, is aggregated into the transport work group P. This process makes it possible to aggregate transport works while ensuring the implementation of a series of preset transport plans.

[0064] Next, the transport work aggregation unit 10c determines whether there is any transport work for which another group symbol is set in the "Summary" field (step S2b4). If the determination result shows that there is any transport work for which another group symbol (in the example shown in FIG. 16, a group symbol other than group symbol A) is set in the "Summary" field (step S2b4: Yes), the transport work aggregation unit 10c returns the second aggregation process to the process of step S2b2. On the other hand, if there is no transport work for which another group symbol is set in the "Summary" field (step S2b4: No), the transport work aggregation unit 10c ends the second aggregation process.

[0065] [Third Consolidation Processing] Next, the operation of the transportation schedule creation device 10 when executing the third consolidation process of step S2c above will be described with reference to Figs. 17 and 18. The third consolidation process is a process of consolidating transportation tasks that have the same source and destination, and reorganizing the transportation task groups after the second consolidation process into transportation task groups with leveled workload evaluation values. Fig. 17 is a flowchart showing the process of step S2c shown in Fig. 12. Fig. 18 is a diagram for explaining the process of step S2c shown in Fig. 12.

[0066] As shown in Fig. 17, in the third aggregation process, first, the transportation work aggregation unit 10c calculates a workload evaluation value for each transportation work group created in the process of step S2b. Then, the transportation work aggregation unit 10c sorts the transportation work groups in descending order of the calculated workload evaluation values ​​(step S2c1). Next, the transportation work aggregation unit 10c selects transportation work groups in descending order of workload evaluation value, and sets the selected transportation work groups as the transportation work groups to be aggregated (step S2c2). Hereinafter, for convenience, the transportation work group set as the base will be referred to as transportation work group P.

[0067] Next, the transport work aggregation unit 10c excludes a series of transport works for which the transport order is determined in advance from among the transport works included in the transport work group P (transport works for which a group symbol is assigned to the "Summary" field), and sorts the transport works included in the transport work group P in descending order of transport work time (step S2c3). Next, the transport work aggregation unit 10c sets the product yards from which the transport works are transported as "product yard X," which is a key item for extracting transport works to be aggregated in the transport work group P, in descending order of transport work time (step S2c4). In the example shown in FIG. 18, product yard Y1 is set as "product yard X."

[0068] Next, the transport work aggregation unit 10c extracts transport work having "product yard X" as the destination from other transport work groups with workload evaluation values ​​smaller than that of the transport work group P, starting from the lowest transport work groups sorted in descending order, and aggregates the extracted transport work into the transport work group P (step S2c5). In the example shown in FIG. 18, the transport work group 7, which consists only of transport work having product yard Y1 as the destination, is aggregated into the transport work group P.

[0069] Next, the transportation work aggregation unit 10c calculates the workload evaluation value of the transportation work group P and determines whether the workload evaluation value of the transportation work group P is less than a predetermined source / destination aggregation threshold (step S2c6). The source / destination aggregation threshold is set to set an upper limit on the number of transportation works aggregated into the transportation work group P so as to prevent imbalance in the workload evaluation values ​​of the transportation work groups assigned to a single transportation vehicle 4. If the determination results in the workload evaluation value of the transportation work group P being less than the predetermined source / destination aggregation threshold (step S2c6: Yes), the transportation work aggregation unit 10c proceeds to step S2c7 in the third aggregation process. On the other hand, if the workload evaluation value of the transportation work group P is equal to or greater than the predetermined source / destination aggregation threshold (step S2c6: No), the transportation work aggregation unit 10c proceeds to step S2c8 in the third aggregation process.

[0070] In the processing of step S2c7, the transport work aggregation unit 10c determines whether or not the aggregation of transport work having "product yard X" as the destination set in the processing of step S2c4 into the transport work group P has been completed. As a result of the determination, if the aggregation has been completed (step S2c7: Yes), the transport work aggregation unit 10c returns the third aggregation process to step S2c4 in order to change "product yard X." On the other hand, if the aggregation has not been completed (step S2c7: No), the transport work aggregation unit 10c returns the third aggregation process to the processing of step S2c5 in order to further aggregate the remaining transport work having "product yard X" as the destination into the transport work group P.

[0071] In the process of step S2c8, the transport work aggregation unit 10c determines whether the transport work group P is the last transport work group in the sorting order in the process of step S2c1. If the result of the determination is that it is the last transport work group (step S2c8: Yes), the transport work aggregation unit 10c ends the series of third aggregation processes. On the other hand, if it is not the last transport work group (step S2c8: No), the transport work aggregation unit 10c returns the third aggregation process to the process of step S2c2. Note that the third aggregation process is only performed when the total number of transport works is greater than the total number of transport vehicles 4.

[0072] [Fourth Consolidation Process] Next, the operation of the transportation schedule creation device 10 when executing the fourth consolidation process of step S2d above will be described with reference to Figs. 19 and 20. The fourth consolidation process is a process of consolidating transportation tasks that have the same transportation origin and reorganizing the transportation task group after the third consolidation process into a transportation task group (second transportation task group) with a leveled workload evaluation value. Fig. 19 is a flowchart showing the process of step S2d shown in Fig. 12. Fig. 20 is a diagram for explaining the process of step S2d shown in Fig. 12.

[0073] As shown in FIG. 19, in the fourth consolidation process, first, the transport task consolidation unit 10c performs steps S2d1 to S2d4, which are similar to steps S2c1 to S2c4, on the transport task group created in the third consolidation process. In the example shown in FIG. 20, product yard Y1 is set as "product yard X." Next, the transport task consolidation unit 10c extracts transport tasks that have "product yard X" as their origin from other transport task groups that have workload evaluation values ​​lower than the workload evaluation value of transport task group P, starting from the lowest transport task group sorted in descending order, and consolidates the extracted transport tasks into transport task group P (step S2d5). In the example shown in FIG. 20, transport task group 8, which consists only of transport tasks that have product yard Y1 as their origin, is consolidated into transport task group P.

[0074] Next, the transportation work aggregation unit 10c calculates the workload evaluation value of the transportation work group P and determines whether the workload evaluation value of the transportation work group P is less than a predetermined transportation source aggregation threshold (step S2d6). The transportation source aggregation threshold is set to set an upper limit on the transportation work volume to be aggregated so that the workload evaluation values ​​of each transportation work group assigned to one transportation vehicle 4 do not become biased. If the determination result shows that the workload evaluation value of the transportation work group P is less than the predetermined transportation source aggregation threshold (step S2d6: Yes), the transportation work aggregation unit 10c proceeds to step S2d7 in the fourth aggregation process. On the other hand, if the workload evaluation value of the transportation work group P is equal to or greater than the predetermined transportation source aggregation threshold (step S2d6: No), the transportation work aggregation unit 10c proceeds to step S2d8 in the third aggregation process.

[0075] In the processing of step S2d7, the transport work aggregation unit 10c determines whether or not the aggregation of transport work having "product yard X" set in the processing of step S2d4 as the transport origin into the transport work group P has been completed. If the result of the determination is that aggregation has been completed (step S2d7: Yes), the transport work aggregation unit 10c returns the fourth aggregation process to step S2d4 in order to change "product yard X." On the other hand, if aggregation has not been completed (step S2cd: No), the transport work aggregation unit 10c returns the fourth aggregation process to the processing of step S2d5 in order to further aggregate the remaining transport work having "product yard X" as the transport origin into the transport work group P.

[0076] In the process of step S2d8, the transport work aggregation unit 10c determines whether the transport work group P is the last transport work group in the sorting order in the process of step S2d1. If the result of the determination is that it is the last transport work group (step S2d8: Yes), the transport work aggregation unit 10c ends the series of fourth aggregation processes. On the other hand, if it is not the last transport work group (step S2d8: No), the transport work aggregation unit 10c returns the fourth aggregation process to the process of step S2d2. Note that the fourth aggregation process is only performed when the total number of transport works is greater than the total number of transport vehicles 4. [Example]

[0077] In this example, for 28 target time periods, the transportation work time based on a transportation plan created by the present invention (Example) was compared with the transportation work time based on a manually created transportation plan (Comparative Example). To evaluate the transportation plans, a logistics facility was modeled, and the transportation plan was input into a simulator capable of performing a computer-based simulation of the logistics of semi-finished products. Simulation results were obtained. Based on the simulation results, the transportation work time was calculated as the time required to complete all transportation work within each target time period. The transportation work time was also compared using a percentage value (transportation work time overrun rate) obtained by dividing the transportation work time for each target time period by the length of the target time period. The comparison results are shown in FIG. 21. The horizontal axis of FIG. 21 indicates the range of the transportation work time overrun rate for each target time period, and the vertical axis indicates the percentage of target time periods in which the transportation work time overrun rate falls within each range on the horizontal axis. As shown in FIG. 21, in the Comparative Example, approximately 70% of target time periods had transportation work times exceeding the target time length, i.e., within the range of 100% or more on the horizontal axis of FIG. 21, while in the Example, this figure was approximately 32%. This confirms that the present invention can reduce transportation work time.

[0078] Figure 22 shows a scatter plot comparing the degree of transport work time overrun for each target time period between the Comparative Example and the Example. The horizontal axis of Figure 22 represents the degree of transport work time overrun for each target time period in the Comparative Example, and the vertical axis represents the degree of transport work time overrun for each target time period in the Example. Figure 22 was created by taking the degree of transport work time overrun for each target time period in the Comparative Example as the value on the horizontal axis and the degree of transport work time overrun for each target time period in the Example as the value on the vertical axis for a given target time period. Plots above the diagonal line in Figure 22 represent lower transport work time overruns in the Comparative Example, while plots below the diagonal line in Figure 22 represent lower transport work time overruns in the Example. Plots within region (A) in Figure 22 indicate that the degree of transport work time overrun for the Comparative Example is lower than 100%. Plots within region (B) indicate that the degree of transport work time overrun for the Example is lower than 100%. Plots outside both areas (A) and (B) indicate that the amount of transportation work included in the transportation work information 12 may be excessive.

[0079] As shown in Figure 22, in the comparative example, there are target time periods where the degree of transport work time exceedance is significantly higher than 100%. In contrast, in the working example, it can be confirmed that there are fewer cases where the degree of transport work time exceedance exceeds 100% compared to the comparative example. On the other hand, there are also cases where the comparative example outputs superior results, but the difference in the degree of transport work time exceedance is small compared to the opposite case. This confirms that according to the present invention, it is possible to create a transport plan that is more distributed and leveled in the workload of transport vehicles based on the current operating status.

[0080] Although the present invention has been described above as an embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the descriptions and drawings that form part of the disclosure of the present invention. In other words, other embodiments, examples, and operational techniques that can be made by those skilled in the art based on the present invention are all included in the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0081] 1. Factory 1a,1b,1c,1d buildings 3a,3b,3c,3d Overhead crane 4 Transport vehicles 4a, 4b cart 10. Transportation planning device 11 Operation Database 12. Semi-finished product transport work information between product yards (transport work information) 13 Product yard transportation plan (transportation plan) 10a Input section 10b Transportation workload calculation section 10c Transportation Work Integration Section 10d. Transportation Work Group Assignment Department 10e Transportation work transport order determination unit 10f output section

Claims

1. A transportation plan creation device that creates a transportation plan to assign multiple transportation tasks to multiple transportation vehicles, the multiple transportation tasks transporting a cart loaded with transportation objects, a transportation workload calculation unit that calculates a transportation task time, which is a time required for the transportation vehicle to perform the transportation task, for each transportation task; a transportation work aggregation unit that generates a plurality of transportation work groups from the plurality of transportation works, calculates a transportation work combined load for each transportation work group, which is an index of the empty transportation time indicating the travel time of a transportation vehicle carrying a cart without the object to be transported from the destination after completion of one transportation work included in the transportation work group to the destination of another transportation work included in the transportation work group, calculates a workload evaluation value for each transportation work group calculated from the transportation work combined load and the transportation work time, and reorganizes the plurality of transportation work groups so that the workload evaluation value of each transportation work group is equalized; a transportation task group allocation unit that allocates transportation tasks to the transportation vehicles in units of the transportation task group; a transport task transport order determination unit that determines a transport order for the transport tasks included in the transport task group assigned to the transport vehicle; an output unit that outputs information related to the processing results of the transportation task group allocation unit and the transportation task transport order determination unit; A transportation plan creation device comprising:

2. The transportation schedule creation device according to claim 1 , wherein the transportation task aggregation unit generates or reorganizes the transportation task groups so that the workload evaluation value of each transportation task group does not exceed a predetermined threshold value.

3. 3. The transportation plan creation device according to claim 2, wherein the transportation work aggregation unit sets the threshold value for transportation work with a common destination, other transportation work whose destination is the origin of one transportation work, and transportation work with a common origin, aggregates the transportation work with a common destination to generate the plurality of transportation work groups, and reorganizes the plurality of transportation work groups by sequentially executing a series of transportation work whose execution order is determined in advance, other transportation work whose destination is the origin of one transportation work, and aggregation of transportation work with a common origin.

4. 2. The transportation plan creation device according to claim 1, wherein the combined transportation work load is an index based on the empty transportation time when transportation works included in a transportation work group and having the same transportation route from the transportation source to the transportation destination are executed in succession, the empty transportation time of all combinations when transportation works included in a transportation work group and having different transportation routes are executed in succession, the number of transportation routes included in the transportation work group, and the number of transportations on each transportation route.

5. A transportation plan creation method for creating a transportation plan to assign multiple transportation tasks for transporting a carriage loaded with transportation objects to multiple transportation vehicles, comprising: a transportation workload calculation step of calculating a transportation task time, which is a time required for the transportation vehicle to perform the transportation task, for each transportation task; a transportation work aggregation step of generating a plurality of transportation work groups from the plurality of transportation works, calculating for each transportation work group a combined transportation work load which is an index of the empty transportation time indicating the travel time of a transportation vehicle carrying a cart without the object to be transported from the destination after completion of one transportation work included in the transportation work group to the destination of another transportation work included in the transportation work group, calculating a workload evaluation value for each transportation work group calculated from the combined transportation work load and the transportation work time, and reorganizing the plurality of transportation work groups so that the workload evaluation value of each transportation work group is equalized; a transportation task group allocation step of allocating transportation tasks to the transportation vehicles in units of the transportation task group; a transport task transport order determination step for determining a transport order of the transport tasks included in the transport task group assigned to the transport vehicle; an output step of outputting information relating to the processing results of the transportation task group allocation step and the transportation task transport order determination step; A transportation planning method including:

6. A transportation plan creation program that creates a transportation plan to assign multiple transportation tasks for transporting a carriage loaded with transportation objects to multiple transportation vehicles, Computer, a transportation workload calculation unit that calculates a transportation task time, which is a time required for the transportation vehicle to perform the transportation task, for each transportation task; a transportation work aggregation unit that generates a plurality of transportation work groups from the plurality of transportation works, calculates a transportation work combined load for each transportation work group, which is an index of the empty transportation time indicating the travel time of a transportation vehicle carrying a cart without the object to be transported from the destination after completion of one transportation work included in the transportation work group to the destination of another transportation work included in the transportation work group, calculates a workload evaluation value for each transportation work group calculated from the transportation work combined load and the transportation work time, and reorganizes the plurality of transportation work groups so that the workload evaluation value of each transportation work group is equalized; a transportation task group allocation unit that allocates transportation tasks to the transportation vehicles in units of the transportation task group; a transport task transport order determination unit that determines a transport order for the transport tasks included in the transport task group assigned to the transport vehicle; an output unit that outputs information related to the processing results of the transportation task group allocation unit and the transportation task transport order determination unit; A transportation planning program that functions as a

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