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A mathematical model to optimize the volumetric capacity of trucks utilized in the transport of food products

Abstract

Road transport accounts for 61% of the cargo transport in Brazil. Researches that focus on the optimization of truck capacity are important because they may help reduce the number of trucks on the roads, improving flow and safety. The objective of this paper is to conduct a logistical study using a mathematical model based on the Three-dimensional Bin Packing Problem to optimize the arrangement of boxes inside the vehicles, leading to a better use of the vehicle’s volumetric capacity to transport food. The proposed model aims to make better use of the vehicle’s volumetric capacity, considering a box arrangement in three dimensions, support area, delivery sequence of boxes to avoid blocking, rotation of boxes in the X-Y plane, and rectangular boxes. The solution achieved by the model showed significant gains compared with the manual planning done by the company, reducing the number of vehicles and creating economic gains.

Keywords:
Three-dimensional Bin Packing Problem; Food product logistics; Cargo transport

Universidade Federal de São Carlos Departamento de Engenharia de Produção , Caixa Postal 676 , 13.565-905 São Carlos SP Brazil, Tel.: +55 16 3351 8471 - São Carlos - SP - Brazil
E-mail: gp@dep.ufscar.br