This paper examines the optimisation of the transport scheduling of woodchips for in-field chipping operations whose efficiency depends on a range of factors. It illustrates the advantages of optimising trucking efficiency and cost in the context of the Australian forest industry. The study was enabled using an adapted version of Simulated Annealing and a forestry domain model, and a simulator based on them, called Fast Truck, was implemented for experimental use. Insights arising from the simulator results are discussed in the context of the Australian industry. The factors worth noting are truck payload and chipper utilisation, which by optimisation, account for 52% and 29% of the total cost savings obtained, respectively. These savings arise when better transport control and management occur in chipping operations. Further work will consider ways to implement these optimisations, primarily, by adapting Fast Truck as an optimiser of daily dispatch schedules.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	in-field wood chipping, simulated annealing, wood supply chain, transport efficiency, truck scheduling
Research Division:	Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences
Research Group:	Forestry Sciences
Research Field:	Forestry Sciences not elsewhere classified
Objective Division:	Manufacturing
Objective Group:	Wood, Wood Products and Paper
Objective Field:	Wood, Wood Products and Paper not elsewhere classified
Author:	Acuna, MA (Mr Mauricio Acuna)
Author:	Mirowski, LT (Dr Luke Mirowski)
ID Code:	85104
Year Published:	2012
Web of Science® Times Cited:	15
Deposited By:	Research Division
Deposited On:	2013-06-13
Last Modified:	2017-11-09
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