Stochastic network models for logistics planning in disaster relief

Emergency logistics in disasters is fraught with planning and operational challenges, such as uncertaintyabout the exact nature and magnitude of the disaster, a lack of reliable information about the locationand needs of victims, possible random supplies and donations, precarious transport links, scarcity ofresources, and so on. This paper develops a new two-stage stochastic network flow model to help decidehow to rapidly supply humanitarian aid to victims of a disaster within this context. The model takesinto account practical characteristics that have been neglected by the literature so far, such as budgetallocation, fleet sizing of multiple types of vehicles, procurement, and varying lead times over a dynamicmultiperiod horizon. Attempting to improve demand fulfillment policy, we present some extensions ofthe model via state-of-art risk measures, such as semideviation and conditional value-at-risk. A simpletwo-phase heuristic to solve the problem within a reasonable amount of computing time is also suggested.Numerical tests based on the floods and landslides in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, show that the modelcan help plan and organise relief to provide good service levels in most scenarios, and how this dependson the type of disaster and resources. Moreover, we demonstrate that our heuristic performs well for realand random instances

Emergency logistics for wildfire suppression based on forecasted disaster evolution

This paper aims to develop a two-layer emergency logistics system with a single depot and multiple demand sites for wildfire suppression and disaster relief. For the first layer, a fire propagation model is first built using both the flame-igniting attributes of wildfires and the factors affecting wildfire propagation and patterns. Second, based on the forecasted propagation behavior, the emergency levels of fire sites in terms of demand on suppression resources are evaluated and prioritized. For the second layer, considering the prioritized fire sites, the corresponding resource allocation problem and vehicle routing problem (VRP) are investigated and addressed. The former is approached using a model that can minimize the total forest loss (from multiple sites) and suppression costs incurred accordingly. This model is constructed and solved using principles of calculus. To address the latter, a multi-objective VRP model is developed to minimize both the travel time and cost of the resource delivery vehicles. A heuristic algorithm is designed to provide the associated solutions of the VRP model. As a result, this paper provides useful insights into effective wildfire suppression by rationalizing resources regarding different fire propagation rates. The supporting models can also be generalized and tailored to tackle logistics resource optimization issues in dynamic operational environments, particularly those sharing the same feature of single supply and multiple demands in logistics planning and operations (e.g., allocation of ambulances and police forces). © 2017 The Author(s

A new focus on risk reduction: an ad hoc decision support system for humanitarian relief logistics

Particularly in the early phases of a disaster, logistical decisions are needed to be made quickly and under high pressure for the decision‐makers, knowing that their decisions may have direct consequences on the affected society and all future decisions. Proactive risk reduction may be helpful in providing decision‐makers with optimal strategies in advance. However, disasters are characterized by severe uncertainty and complexity, limited knowledge about the causes of the disaster, and continuous change of the situation in unpredicted ways. Following these assumptions, we believe that adequate proactive risk reduction measures are not practical. We propose strengthening the focus on ad hoc decision support to capture information in almost real time and to process information efficiently to reveal uncertainties that had not been previously predicted. Therefore, we present an ad hoc decision support system that uses scenario techniques to capture uncertainty by future developments of a situation and an optimization model to compute promising decision options. By combining these aspects in a dynamic manner and integrating new information continuously, it can be ensured that a decision is always based on the best currently available and processed information. And finally, to identify a robust decision option that is provided as a decision recommendation to the decision‐makers, methods of multi‐attribute decision making (MADM) are applied. Our approach is illustrated for a facility location decision problem arising in humanitarian relief logistics where the objective is to identify robust locations for tent hospitals to serve injured people in the immediate aftermath of the Haiti Earthquake 2010.Frank Schätter, Marcus Wiens and Frank Schultman

Yüzen Sürdürülebilir Şehirler İçin Açık Deniz Petrol Ve Doğalgaz Platformlarının Yeniden İşlevlendirilmesi

Bu tezde yeniden işlevlendirme metoduna dair literatür taraması yapılmış, yeniden işlevlendirmenin kullanım alanları, tarihçesi, yararları, kategorileri, yeniden işlevlendirmeye dair zorluklar araştırılmıştır. Aynı zamanda, tezde yeniden işlevlendirmenin küresel ısınmanın etkilerini azaltmaya ve sürdürülebilir bir şehir oluşturmaya dair yararları anlatılmıştır. Tezde, yeniden işlevlendirmenin gelecekte su seviyesi artışı tehlikesi için kullanımı araştırılmış, su seviyesi artışından etkilenecek hatta su seviyesi artışı sonucu evsiz kalabilecek popülasyonu, bulunduğu bölgede, yeniden işlevlendirme metodu kullanarak su seviyesinden muhafaza etmenin yolları, nitel yöntemler kullanılarak araştırılmıştır. Bu kapsamda, yeniden işlevlendirmenin kullanım olanaklarına geniş bir perspektiften bakılarak, petrol ve doğalgaz platformlarının yeniden işlevlendirilmesi üzerine inceleme yapılmış, petrol ve doğalgaz platformlarının, yüzer yapıların yeniden kullanılabilirliği araştırılmıştır. Petrol ve doğalgaz platformlarının enerji üretim süreci bittikten sonra geçirdiği süreç ve devreden çıkma süreçleri anlatılmıştır. Tezde yüzer strüktürlere, yüzen şehirlere ve petrol ve doğalgaz platformlarının yeniden kullanıldığı çalışmalara yer verilmiştir. Yapılan araştırmalar neticesinde, yeniden işlevlendirme metodunun doğalgaz ve petrol platformlarına uygulanabileceği, fakat bu yapının sürdürülebilir, kendine yetecek şekilde bir şehir gibi tasarlanması gerektiği kanısına varılmıştır.This study reviewed the history, categories, benefits, and difficulties of adaptive reuse. Hence, this study explained the benefits of adaptive reuse in decreasing the effects of global warming and the role of adaptive reuse in building a sustainable environment. Furthermore, the study explored the future use of adaptive reuse for sea level rise (SLR). Thus, the study explored adaptive reuse to protect people vulnerable to SLR and even at the risk of homelessness without relocation with qualitative methods. Meanwhile, the scope of adaptive reuse is examined from a broad perspective. Therefore, adaptive reuse of oil and gas structures and floating structures are examined. Postproduction and decommissioning process of oil and gas platforms explained. The thesis explained studies about floating structures, floating cities, and the reuse of oil and gas platforms. As a result, adaptive reuse of oil and gas platforms is suitable. However, this structure must be designed as a sustainable and self-sufficient city

Multicriteria optimization approach to deploy humanitarian logistic operations integrally during floods

This paper addresses frequent and foreseeable floods in the short-term preparedness of an imminent event using a multicriteria optimization model integrated with a geographical information system to simulate flood levels, determine the best strategies, and update information. The proposed model takes into account the four main relief operations: location of emergency facilities (i.e., distribution centers, shelters, and meeting points), prepositioning of humanitarian aid, evacuation, and distribution of humanitarian aid. Three criteria are considered in the formulation to minimize: the maximum evacuation flow-time, the maximum distribution flow-time, and total cost of relief operations. The approximation to the efficient frontier is built using multiobjective programming through the use of commercial software. The usefulness and robustness of the model are verified using data from one of the worst Mexican floods considering various flood levels created from three key elements in humanitarian logistics. The strategies provided by the proposed methodology are compared with those implemented by the Mexican authorities during the studied disaster