|
Security and Efficiency in Transportation (SETRA) research group
Click here to access SETRA Project Website.
Persons Involved
- GT Faculty
- Chelsea (Chip) C. White, III (Chaired Professor in Transportation and Logistics)
- Alan Erera (Assistant Professor)
- GT Research
- Brian Lewis (Ph.D. Graudate Student, ISyE)
- Rajeev Namboothiri (Ph.D. Graudate Student, ISyE)
Project Description
- Intelligent Transportation Center (ITC) Freight, Trade, Airport and Seaport
Security, and Economic Strength
The initial mission of the ITC is to focus on transportation security and
efficiency and consider such topics as airport passenger terminal security,
port container and cargo security, and the movement of hazardous materials.
The medium to long term center objective, however, is to address a broader
set of transportation issues important to Georgia and the Nation, including
the state of the infrastructure, the use of information technology to improve
infrastructure and vehicle management, environmental impact, safety, and
congestion mitigation.
- Efficient Container Security Operations at Transshipment Seaports
The health of the world economy today depends on efficient, reliable global
freight transportation. Maritime transportation is the dominant mode for
international trade, and 80% of the goods (measured by value) moved by
ocean are transported in intermodal containers. To enhance the security of
the international intermodal freight system, programs such as the United
States' Container Security Initiative (CSI) intend to distribute container
inspection processes globally, focusing initially on large transshipment "megaports"
that source much of the container volume destined for the United States. Container
security inspections take time, however, and thus a key problem for transshipment
ports is to integrate inspection processes into existing operations without
significantly impacting productivity. In this research, we are developing
and solving a set of problems in optimal transshipment container management
that explicitly account for security inspections. The developed models should
assist port managers in the operational problem of how to sequence containers
for inspection, and in the strategic problems of understanding what percentage
of transshipped containers can be inspected without significantly compromising
key efficiency measures.
- HAZMAT Transportation and Security
The U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Hazardous Materials Safety
(HMS) estimates that an average of 800,000 shipments of hazardous materials
(HAZMAT) are made each day in the United States. HMS also reports that
approximately 1.5 billion tons of HAZMAT are shipped annually. A major issue
in the managing the movement of HAZMAT is how the vehicle carrying the HAZMAT
should be routed. Routes for trucks carrying hazardous materials are typically
developed with the intent of balancing two objectives: reduce the risk to life
and property due to a spill, explosion, etc., on the route and reduce the cost
of moving the load on the route. The events of 11 September 2001 suggest that
a spill or explosion may not occur on-route but may be intended to occur close
to a vulnerable site, such as a power or water treatment plant, if the driver
is a rogue or if the shipment has been hijacked. This report provides background
and outlines a suite of research directions that result from these possibilities.
- USDOT Intermodal Freight Process Map
The U.S. Department of Transportation has developed a systematic process map
detailing the domestic intermodal movement of freight and the associated flows of
information. This process map serves to align thinking, helps to identify current
knowledge gaps, and provides a comprehensive example of intermodal logistics.
Our group is working to expand the process map in two different areas: 1)
domestic and international security and 2) the international movement of
freight and the associated information flows. Our scope is focused on domestic
seaports and foreign "megaports" (e.g. Singapore, Rotterdam) and their immediate
interactions with the international, intermodal transportation system.
Collaboration Companies/Organizations
Publications/Reports/Research Findings
- Chelsea C. White III. "Freight Movement Efficiency and Security",
Freight Transportation: Issues and Problems, National Symposium on
Transportation, International Trade, and Economic Competitiveness Long Beach,
CA. 25 October 2002
- Lewis, B., A. Erera, and C. White. "Efficient Container Security Operations at
Transshipment Seaports", In Proceedings of the Inaugural Annual Intelligent
Transportation Society (Singapore) Symposium, September 5-6, 2002, Singapore.
(The above paper is currently an "Article Exclusive" on the Port Technology
International's website. A similar version of the paper has been accepted for
presentation at the Transporation Research Board (TRB) 82nd Annual Meeting,
2002 and is currently being edited submisison in Transportation Research
Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board)
- Lewis, B., A. Erera, and C. White. "Port Security and Efficiency - A U.S.
Perspective." Port of Singapore Magazine, July 2002, pp. 6-9.
- Brian Lewis. "Container Targeting and Inspection Procedures of the United
States and Singapore", SETRA Report, 8 March 2002.
- Brian Lewis. "Port Security: Container Inspection Technology", SETRA Report, 9 March 2002.
- Brian Lewis. "Background Information regarding the Port of Singapore and the
Port of Savannah", SETRA Report, 25 February 2002.
- Brian Lewis. "Background Information regarding the Port of Rotterdam",
SETRA Report, 26 June 2002.
- James Luedtke and Chelsea C. White, III. "HAZMAT Transportation and Security:
Survey and Directions for Future Research", SETRA Report, 1 August 2002.
|
