Optimal scheduling of logistical support for an emergency roadway repair work schedule

The completion of every disaster rescue task performed by repair work teams relies on the in-time supply of materials to the rescue workers. Up to now, logistical support planning for emergency repair work in Taiwan has been done manually, which is neither effective nor efficient. To remedy the problem, this study presents a logistical support scheduling model for the given emergency repair work schedule. The objective is to minimize the short-term operating cost subject to time constraints and other related operating constraints. This model is formulated as an integer multiple-commodity network flow problem which is characterized as NP-hard. A heuristic algorithm, based on the problem decomposition and variable fixing techniques, is also proposed to efficiently solve this problem. Computational tests are performed using data from Taiwan's 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake. The results show that the model and the solution algorithm would be useful for the logistical support scheduling.