Priority Dispatch and Aircraft Allocation: A Study of Strategic Airlift Scheduling

摘要

Computer simulation was used to test the effects of strategic airlift scheduling policies on system throughput and cargo tardiness in a surge airlift operation. Priority rules from job shop scheduling are adapted and used with alternate aircraft allocation procedures for scheduling C-5 aircraft. A simulation model was written in SLAM (Simulation Language for Alternative Modeling) to test the scheduling policies in a dynamic, pipeline network of airfields. Multiattribute utility theory was used to develop a Scalar Scoring Function(SSF) which combined the response variables into a single value for each policy to facilitate comparisons among the various scheduling policies. A full factorial experiment was performed--the two factors were the cargo priority rules (five levels) and the aircraft allocation rules (three levels). Thirty replications were accomplished for each policy. Oneway analysis of variance was used to compare the mean SSF values for each policy. The most effective priority rule used ranked cargo requirements by earliest due date. Next in effectiveness was the slack-per-operation rule. The most effective aircraft allocation rules released C-5s for missions with bulk and oversize cargo. Least effective was the rule reserving C-5s for outsize cargo. The report ends with recommendations for further research. (Author)