A heuristic procedure to aggregate containers onto pallets and plan the loading of pallets into trucks
By:  David J. Adams
Publisher: Naval Postgraduate School; Available from National Technical Information Service
Published: 1996
Place of publication: Monterey, Calif; Springfield, Va
Language: eng
Number of pages: 64
Description: A heuristic procedure is presented which aggregates containers of multiple products onto pallets and then plans the loading of these pallets into trucks. The efficient loading of products onto pallets and pallets into trucks is an economic fundamental. In 1993 the value of products shipped by truck in the United States exceeded 4.6 trillion dollars or about 75.6 percent of gross domestic product. Industry sources estimate that 98% of all manufactured products are transported on pallets. The heuristic provides feasible solutions to the pallet and truck loading problem in real time. The method considers 'real-world' criteria new to the literature, such as stacking compatibility among product containers and axle weight limits for trailers. The procedure is demonstrated with actual examples from the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and a commercial company.
Notes: Thesis advisor(s): G.G. Brown.

"March 1996."

Thesis (M.S. in Operations Research) Naval Postgraduate School, March 1996.

Bibliography: p. 59-61.

"Approved for public release; distribution unlimited"--Cover.

Also available online.

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader.

US Navy (USN) author.

dk/dk cc:9996 10/2/96