Overview
The problem in logistics planning and deviation management currently is that the used tools were placed on existing historical systems, which are now department-specific isolated solutions which have to be unified for multimodal view. The basic problem in determining the LoS (Level of Service) is the difference of LoS definitions and their varying designation (e.g. computer science: QoS, etc.).
The goal of the project „LoS VEgAS“ was to develop possible recommendations for adapting the definition of „Levels of Services“ in the area of transport and to create a basis for the comparability of the transport modes. This will represent the fundament of future transport and deviation management systems for national and international intermodal supply chains. Within the project all relevant information chains of each transport mode were analysed regarding to possible conjunction among each other.
The analyses of possible influence factors and the legal framework of each transport mode were accomplished with the help of network analyses (NA) and artificial intelligence methods. The network analyses also respected the results of an appropriate online-questionnaire and the expert interviews.
In the next steps the project team tried to adjust the given LoS-definitions of the EN 13816 („Logistics and Services - Public Passenger Transport“) for the definition of LoS-categories that are valid for all transport modes similarly using a standardized terminology. Comparing to the EN 13816 all transport modes were also reviewed regarding to their sensibility against environmental impact (e. g. influence of weather situations, environmental conditions, etc.). By calculating the degree of cross-linking it was possible to identify the critical and important nodes after combining the single transport mode parameter networks to an aggregated network that helps to define a general level of service for transportation and shipping.
Funding
Results
The project created mode-specific mind maps on Level-of-Service (LOS) components in freight transport with the help of expert consultations and online questionnaires. Inspired by the European norm EN 13816, „Logistics and Services - Public Passenger Transport“ a LOS concept for intermodal freight transport was finally derived. Criticality analyses, e.g. considering wather impacts, allowed to identify particularly sensitive nodes of intermodal freight chains.
The system shall contribute to information based decision support systems for optimising freight transport across all modes. The study results in this respect addressed the varying levels of data used in different modes. It has been shown that dynamic data including historic records are superior to static LOS indicators solely derived from current data for shippers and their customers.
The results of the study represent a fundament for future decision support systems, which will help to design new or optimize existing multimodal supply chains. For a better understanding of the coherences of the transport modes a web-based interactive diagram was implemented which is available via http://atlas.arsenal.ac.at/LoS_multimodal.html
Findings of the study are published by a final report (German only) which is available online via the Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology (BMVIT):
www2.ffg.at/verkehr/file.php?id=325