A truck scheduling framework for sugarcane transportation (the case of Mumias Sugar Company)
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Date
2011Author
Mbakaya, Jonathan E
Type
ThesisLanguage
enMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Supply and demand imbalance is one of the crucial problems in sugarcane factories in Kenya.
Even though proper delivery allocation planning is made to match with the factory demands, i.e.
the factorycrushing capacities, critical factors such as distance from the mill, field characteristics
and individual truck capabilities under varying circumstances are ignored. This results in higher
costs of work in process inventory holding, transportation, as well as labor on both the field
owners and the processing mills.
This research work proposes a dual approach to resolve this problem; first; the key factors that
affect the entire process of the sugarcane transportation are established. The finite and not high
level factors are then consolidated and analyzed with regard to their level of impact on the
transportation process. Since truck allocation is the key interface between the demand in the
processing factory and the supply from the harvested cane production units; the identified factors
are then mapped to the available truck types. This ensures that the right trucks are allocated to
the right routes and fields.
A prototype is developed to show the relationship between the various factors that drive the
transportation process and the different trucks. It clearly indicates how the allocation and
scheduling of the trucks is done.
Citation
Master of Science in Information SystemsSponsorhip
University of NairobiPublisher
University of Nairobi School of Computing and Informatics