Research Directions in Information Systems for Humanitarian Logistics

This article systematically reviews the literature on using IT (Information Technology) in humanitarian logistics focusing on disaster relief operations. We first discuss problems in humanitarian relief logistics. We then identify the stage and disaster type for each article as well as the article’s research methodology and research contribution. Finally, we identify potential future research directions

Assessing transportation networks vulnerability for the decision making in humanitarian logistics

Transportation networks are vulnerable to natural disasters, which can degrade their functionality and generate negative impacts over people, especially during the emergency phase, where timely access of humanitarian operations is critical. An interruption of humanitarian relief supply chains at the short-term emergency stage increases the human suffering (deprivation costs) resulting from the lack of access to essential goods or services. These costs are generally not considered in the mathematical formulations used for assessing vulnerability in transportation networks, which can lead to inappropriate strategies for humanitarian assistance. Consequently, in this doctoral thesis a vulnerability assessment model for the development of high impact humanitarian logistics operations is presented. The model is based on an economic analysis that involves both the logistical costs of humanitarian distribution operations and the deprivation cots derived from the delays in the provision of basic supplies

Performance Measures to Assess Resiliency and Efficiency of Transit Systems

Transit agencies are interested in assessing the short-, mid-, and long-term performance of infrastructure with the objective of enhancing resiliency and efficiency. This report addresses three distinct aspects of New Jersey’s Transit System: 1) resiliency of bridge infrastructure, 2) resiliency of public transit systems, and 3) efficiency of transit systems with an emphasis on paratransit service. This project proposed a conceptual framework to assess the performance and resiliency for bridge structures in a transit network before and after disasters utilizing structural health monitoring (SHM), finite element (FE) modeling and remote sensing using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR). The public transit systems in NY/NJ were analyzed based on their vulnerability, resiliency, and efficiency in recovery following a major natural disaster

Evaluation of Korea’s response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake

This thesis seeks to develop an alternative approach for the evaluation of humanitarian aid in order to make the gaps of the current approaches smaller. To do this, the thesis applies McConnell’s framework to the case of Korea’s response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake which has been already assessed by the DAC-OECD criteria, the dominant framework in the humanitarian sector. It thus explores three different dimensions of Korea’s response: process, programme and politics, and then determines the degree of success or failure of each dimension to investigate the validity and scope conditions of McConnell’s theory to the evaluation of humanitarian aid. This study affirms that McConnell’s theory helps us to alleviate the difficulties and complexities of the humanitarian evaluation. His theory provides a broader perspective on evaluating humanitarian aid by assessing three aspects of policy in which the political dimension was relatively well understood, and easily determining the degree of success or failure through the provision of detailed criteria and a five-level continuum from success to failure: success, durable success, conflicted success, precarious cusses and failure. It is thus possible to argue that McConnell’s theory alleviates the shortcomings of existing approaches for humanitarian evaluation by widening the scope of evaluation and specifying the degree of success or failure of humanitarian aid

Evaluation of Korea’s response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake

This thesis seeks to develop an alternative approach for the evaluation of humanitarian aid in order to make the gaps of the current approaches smaller. To do this, the thesis applies McConnell’s framework to the case of Korea’s response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake which has been already assessed by the DAC-OECD criteria, the dominant framework in the humanitarian sector. It thus explores three different dimensions of Korea’s response: process, programme and politics, and then determines the degree of success or failure of each dimension to investigate the validity and scope conditions of McConnell’s theory to the evaluation of humanitarian aid. This study affirms that McConnell’s theory helps us to alleviate the difficulties and complexities of the humanitarian evaluation. His theory provides a broader perspective on evaluating humanitarian aid by assessing three aspects of policy in which the political dimension was relatively well understood, and easily determining the degree of success or failure through the provision of detailed criteria and a five-level continuum from success to failure: success, durable success, conflicted success, precarious cusses and failure. It is thus possible to argue that McConnell’s theory alleviates the shortcomings of existing approaches for humanitarian evaluation by widening the scope of evaluation and specifying the degree of success or failure of humanitarian aid

Case study in the selection of warehouse location for WFP in Ethiopia

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2009.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-99).Humanitarian logistic organizations struggle to make strategic and tactical decisions due to their lack of resources, the unpredictability of humanitarian events and the lack of readily available information; the existing tools that assist optimal decision making require large amounts of precise information. As a consequence of all these challenges, most of the work in humanitarian logistics concentrates on the operational level that can only offer short term benefits. Alternatively, optimal strategic decisions maximize the resources of humanitarian organizations making them more flexible and effective in the long term; this directly impacts the ability to help the millions of people in need. This thesis presents a model that assists the largest humanitarian organization in the world, The World Food Programme, to make optimal strategic decisions. The model uses the Analytic Hierarchy Process, a multiple attribute decision tool that provides structure to decisions where there is limited availability of quantitative information. This methodology uses a framework that determines and prioritizes multiple criteria by using qualitative data and it scores each alternative based on these criteria. The optimal alternative will be the one that has the highest weighted score. This model solves the challenges that The World Food Programme, as any other humanitarian organization face when making complex strategic decisions. The model, not only works with easily acquired information but, it is also flexible in order to consider the ever-changing dynamics in the humanitarian field.(cont.) The application of this model focuses on the optimization of warehouse locations for the World Food Programme in the Somali region of Ethiopia. However, this model can easily be scaled in order to be used in any other decision making process in the humanitarian field.by Gina Malaver [and] Colin Regnier.M.Eng.in Logistic

Emergency Resource Layout with Multiple Objectives under Complex Disaster Scenarios

Effective placement of emergency rescue resources, particularly with joint suppliers in complex disaster scenarios, is crucial for ensuring the reliability, efficiency, and quality of emergency rescue activities. However, limited research has considered the interaction between different disasters and material classification, which are highly vital to the emergency rescue. This study provides a novel and practical framework for reliable strategies of emergency rescue under complex disaster scenarios. The study employs a scenario-based approach to represent complex disasters, such as earthquakes, mudslides, floods, and their interactions. In optimizing the placement of emergency resources, the study considers government-owned suppliers, framework agreement suppliers, and existing suppliers collectively supporting emergency rescue materials. To determine the selection of joint suppliers and their corresponding optimal material quantities under complex disaster scenarios, the research proposes a multi-objective model that integrates cost, fairness, emergency efficiency, and uncertainty into a facility location problem. Finally, the study develops an NSGA-II-XGB algorithm to solve a disaster-prone province example and verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed multi-objective model and solution methods. The results show that the methodology proposed in this paper can greatly reduce emergency costs, rescue time, and the difference between demand and suppliers while maximizing the coverage of rescue resources. More importantly, it can optimize the scale of resources by determining the location and number of materials provided by joint suppliers for various kinds of disasters simultaneously. This research represents a promising step towards making informed configuration decisions in emergency rescue work

MODELING THE RESILIENCE OF SURFACE FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS: AN APPLICATION TO

Goods producers in Canada rely on transportation networks to move raw materials and intermediate goods among production sites and finished goods to domestic and international markets. Firms in the retail, tourism and other service sectors also depend o