Decision Support System for Truck Route Modelling (D – TRM)

Abstract

The introduction of Information Technology (IT) into the Irish Forestry sector is becoming ever increasing. During the Gudrun hurricane in Sweden in January 2005, thousands of cubic metres of timber were clearfelled by the ferocity of the storm. Irish timber harvesters and hauliers travelled to Sweden to aid in the recovery effort. The Irish workers experienced the impressive use of IT in the Swedish Forestry Industry at first hand for perhaps the first time. There is a strong belief now that the same technology can be implemented into the Irish forestry situation for an increase in efficiency in harvesting and haulage operations. This work is another step into the overall integration of IT into the timber sector in Ireland. The development of this Spatial Decision Support System can be used to calculate the costs per kilometre associated with timber haulage. It works in conjunction with a GIS road map and the Network Analyst tool. The NAT is used to define routes most probable for the timber haulier and the DSS can then analyse the CPK associated with these routes. Routes were verified through GPS tracking of the truck. The CPK were compared to the GPS route and the GIS simulated route. The results of the study certainly discovered some interesting facts. For example, the GIS Drogheda route that defined its route through Dublin City had a higher CPK of 0.84 as opposed to the GPS route. Even though the GPS route was longer and travelled the ring road around Dublin City at an extra cost of 5.60, the GPS rout