Productivity Apex

The USDOT's Cross-Town Improvement Project (C-TIP) focused on the development and deployment of an information sharing / transfer capability that facilitates the coordination of moves between parties to maximize value-added moves, maximize load matching and backhauls, and minimize unproductive moves. The PAI team was selected to develop and deploy a drayage optimization application designed with the goal of enabling drayage companies to improve their operational efficiency. It was proven that by utilizing powerful and intelligent optimization heuristics that took into consideration all operational constraints, the system produced a more efficient freight movement operation with documented benefits:

• Orders per Truck Increase: 9%
• Total Miles Reduction: 1%
• Unproductive Miles Reduction (Bobtail Miles): 12%
• Fuel Consumption Improvement: 8%
• Emission Reduction: 10%
• Driving Time Utilization % Improvement: 15%
• Total Time Utilization % Improvement: 16%

Upon the success of the Memphis C-TIP project, the first Freight Advanced Traveler Information System (FRATIS) prototype was implemented in the Los Angeles gateway region, where the PAI team ultimately helped to move cargo out of the ports more efficiently by developing and enhancing applications to address dynamic travel planning around the marine terminals and queues. PAI enabled drayage operators to develop more robust plans using real travel time data, improved communication between drayage operators and marine terminals, and helped drivers avoid long wait times in front of marine terminal gates. Specific private-sector benefits include improving fleet productivity, empowering dispatchers with real-time information for faster and better decisions, and dynamic routing of drivers to avoid heavy traffic, incidents and congestion.

Another extension of the FRATIS program, the Orlando Off-Hours/Off-Peak Freight Delivery Pilot Project applies freight transportation planning tools to delivery operations at the Orlando Health Medical Campus. The PAI team is able to collaborate with state/federal government and Orlando Health to implement and extend an off-hours freight delivery pilot to consider off-peak time windows for freight deliveries in the Central Florida region.

The goal of FRATIS Orlando is to customize the optimization algorithm to support off-hours/off-peak freight delivery objectives and constraints, and to schedule deliveries to the Orlando Health campus during off-hours and off-peak periods whenever possible. By building an operational-based solution for Orlando Health Campus stakeholders and moving truck deliveries to these "off" times, the regional transportation community is promoting better transportation planning and policy, better utilization of existing infrastructure and capacity, and increased safety of the traveling public. As a direct result of these efforts, the Orlando urban area will experience reduced congestion, improved freight flows, and positive impacts on air quality, environmental justice, sustainability and livability.

FRATIS Miami focuses on dynamic travel planning and drayage optimization, but also includes integration with the drayage company's legacy order management system for automatic retrieval of orders' information, and considers local railway schedules for dispatching to help drivers avoid missing railroad terminal cutoff times. Additional benefits gained by the intermodal facilities and freight hubs of South Florida include receiving pre-notification notices from trucking companies, communicating directly with dispatchers to notify about terminal closures, and reducing facility waiting time and turnaround time. Implementing these technology solutions provides less congestion and better overall control of truck arrivals at intermodal terminals by spreading them out throughout the day. 

The FRATIS project in Dallas-Fort Worth utilizes the first-hand experience of the PAI team in order to provide expert technical assistance in customizing the drayage optimization application to the unique environment of the FRATIS-Dallas site. This includes optimizing freight flow on the I-35 transportation corridor - from San Antonio, TX to Dallas-Fort Worth, TX - while utilizing the I-35 Traveler Information During Construction (TIDC) system for high quality traffic and construction data. By tailoring our route optimization solution to utilize data feeds for construction activities and lane closures as well as historical speed and travel time data for the different freight corridor segments, local drayage companies receive more robust plans that reflect real travel times and expected delays due to construction activities.