Ship Assignment Device Fuel Consumption Calculation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The selection of suitable ships for a shipping service along a specified sailing route often prioritizes cost, but ships with low chartering costs but high fuel consumption rates can increase total voyage costs due to high fuel consumption, posing a challenge for companies as crude oil prices fluctuate.
Innovation Solution
A ship assignment device and method that acquires voyage schedule and weather information, along with fuel consumption rates for multiple ships, calculates total fuel consumption for each ship, and outputs identifiers of ships sorted by ascending fuel consumption, allowing users to select ships based on fuel efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a ship with low chartering cost is selected for the shipping service, then the chartering cost is reduced, but the fuel consumption increases leading to higher total voyage cost
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the selection parameter from chartering cost alone to total voyage cost that includes both chartering cost and fuel consumption. By calculating and comparing total costs across different ships, the system identifies the ship that minimizes overall expense rather than just chartering expense.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary calculation process that combines chartering cost and fuel consumption into a total voyage cost metric. This intermediary measure allows for balanced comparison between ships with different cost structures, preventing selection of ships that minimize one cost while maximizing another.
2Quantity of substance
If a ship with high fuel consumption rate is selected, then the chartering cost may be low, but the total voyage cost increases due to high fuel cost
Solution Approach 1:
The system transforms the evaluation from considering only chartering cost to considering total voyage cost that incorporates fuel consumption rates. This parameter change enables identification of ships that generate harmful fuel costs despite low chartering costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The system converts the harmful effect of high fuel consumption into a measurable parameter (total voyage cost) that can be used for comparison. By quantifying the harmful fuel cost and incorporating it into the selection criterion, the system transforms what would be a hidden disadvantage into a visible selection factor.
Data Source
AI summary
A ship assignment device acquires voyage schedule information including an operation time schedule and a sailing route of a voyage. The ship assignment device acquires, from a database, weather information related to the operation time schedule and the sailing route included in the schedule information. The ship assignment device acquires information regarding variations in fuel consumption rate from a database that stores the information for each of plural ships. On the basis of the acquired weather information and acquired information regarding each ship, the ship assignment device calculates the fuel consumption for when each ship sails on the sailing route included in the acquired voyage schedule information in accordance with the operation time schedule included in the voyage schedule information. On the basis of the calculation result, the ship assignment device outputs information identifying plural ships.