Vehicle Yard Arrival Scheduling for Capacity Constraints
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Solution Overview
Problem
In transportation networks, vehicles often face delays and inefficiencies due to unforeseen circumstances, leading to unscheduled arrivals at vehicle yards, which can result in wasted resources and increased costs, especially when vehicles are longer than the receiving routes, requiring division and incurring additional labor costs for crew changes.
Innovation Solution
A system that includes a monitoring module to track vehicle yard capacity and a scheduling module to generate revised movement plans, allowing vehicles to adjust their speed and arrival times to match available capacity, ensuring efficient entry and minimizing resource wastage, while also considering operator working time restrictions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If vehicles are scheduled to enter the vehicle yard according to the original schedule, then schedule adherence is maintained, but resource wastage and emissions increase when the yard has insufficient capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts vehicle entry times based on real-time yard capacity conditions. The scheduling module continuously monitors yard capacity and modifies movement plans to optimize both schedule adherence and resource efficiency, allowing the system to adapt to changing conditions rather than following rigid schedules
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback mechanism where the monitoring module tracks yard capacity and vehicle positions, and the scheduling module uses this information to generate revised movement plans. This closed-loop control enables the system to respond to actual yard conditions and adjust vehicle entry timing to prevent resource wastage while maintaining schedule adherence
2Adaptability or versatility
If vehicles wait outside the vehicle yard for sufficient capacity, then yard capacity constraints are respected, but time and fuel are wasted
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by proactively adjusting vehicle movement plans before vehicles arrive at the yard. The scheduling module predicts future yard capacity based on current trends and schedules vehicle entry times in advance to match available capacity, eliminating the need for vehicles to wait outside the yard
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces the mechanical waiting process with an information-based scheduling system. Instead of vehicles physically waiting outside the yard for capacity to become available, the system uses monitoring and scheduling modules to calculate and communicate optimal entry times, substituting physical waiting with computational planning
3Length of moving object
If longer vehicles are divided into smaller groupings to enter the yard, then yard receiving route constraints are satisfied, but operation time and labor costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary scheduling to determine optimal entry times for longer vehicles that cannot be divided. By calculating yard capacity trends in advance, the system schedules these vehicles to enter when sufficient receiving route capacity is available, avoiding the need for time-consuming division operations
Solution Approach 2:
The system extracts the constraint of vehicle division by identifying and utilizing alternative receiving routes or time windows where full-length vehicles can be accommodated. The monitoring module tracks multiple receiving routes and their capacities, allowing the scheduling module to select appropriate routes for longer vehicles without requiring them to be broken into smaller groupings
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes, responsive to a determination that a first vehicle system to be received in a vehicle yard is longer than a length of a receiving route of the vehicle yard that is designated for receiving the first vehicle system, processing a first movement plan to generate a revised movement plan. The first movement plan governs movement of the first vehicle system and one or more second vehicle systems in a transportation network that includes the vehicle yard. The revised movement plan is generated based at least in part on a designated time restriction for the first vehicle system to travel to and be received within the vehicle yard on the receiving route. The method also includes controlling at least one of the first vehicle system or at least one of the one or more second vehicle systems based on the revised movement plan.