MDSS Stakeholder Meeting June, COMPUTING A BETTER WAY TO PLOW IN NORTHEASTERN MINNESOTA Kwasi D. Amoah, Graduate Student, MSEM University of Minnesota Duluth Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering Northland Advanced Transportation Systems Research Laboratory

MDSS Stakeholder Meeting June, Background Snowplow Operations & Resource Management (SORM) Funded through the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) and the Center for Transportation Studies (CTS), University of Minnesota Focus on Winter Maintenance issues in District 1 of Mn/DOT

MDSS Stakeholder Meeting June, Concerns Efficient and effective utilization of resources Consistent service levels for roadways Previous attempts in implementing route optimization software by Mn/DOT failed Federal Highway Administration’s development of multi-state decision support system for winter road maintenance

MDSS Stakeholder Meeting June, Goal Develop a Management Planning Tool (Decision Support System) using Discrete Event Simulation Modeling to assist in –Operations Improvement –Resource Utilization –“What-if” Scenarios

MDSS Stakeholder Meeting June, Why Simulation? Complexity of operations cannot be modeled by analytical methods Provides a mechanism for developing and analyzing different scenarios Serves as a general management tool that can be modified to meet future needs

MDSS Stakeholder Meeting June, Our Approach Work with Virginia, MN Select 5 routes on Highway 53 corridor Work with Area Superintendent, Supervisors and Drivers to understand operations Virginia

Clean up Post Plowing Operations Dump Extra Sand and Salt Refuel Wash Complete ODVI report End of Storm? Storm Arrives Bare Lane? Drivers arrive at Mn/DOT in Virginia Drivers complete Operators Daily Vehicle Inspection Report Plowing Load Plows with Sand & Salt Fill Brine No End of Shift? Yes No Yes Clean up completed? No Yes Flow Process

Concept Map Plow Speed Traffic density Visibility Snow Moisture Content Snow Depth Time of Day Pavement Temperatur e Air Temperature Snow Accumulation Rate Sun Humidity Wind Speed & Direction

Concept Map - Simplified Pavement Temperature Material Application Plow Speed Traffic density Visibility Snow Moisture Content Snow Depth Snow Accumulation Rate

Input Data Collection & Modeling Data Collection “Expert Opinion” –Plow Speeds RWIS –Accumulation Rates –Moisture Content –Pavement Temperature Virginia - Mn/DOT Guidelines –Material Application Rates Probability Density Functions Plow Speed –Triangular Distribution –Beta Distribution Accumulation Rates, Moisture Content and Pavement Temps –Fit distribution using RWIS data Material Application Rates –Fit distribution using historical application data from Mn/DOT

MDSS Stakeholder Meeting June, Model Layout

MDSS Stakeholder Meeting June, Start Simulation

MDSS Stakeholder Meeting June, Model Design & Data Flow Route Characteristics Storm Characteristics MS Excel VBA ProModel Road Conditions Output Data Model Parameters Simulation Model ActiveX COM

MDSS Stakeholder Meeting June, Output Summary Report: Route 201 Rural Commuter; Lane Miles = 81.92Number of Replications = 5 NameUnitsMinimum ValueMaximum ValueAvg Value Storm Start TimeMinutes000 Storm End TimeMinutes Time To Bare LaneMinutes Time To Bare PavementMinutes Material Appliedlbs Material Cost$ Labor Cost$

MDSS Stakeholder Meeting June, Conclusions The model adequately captures the plowing operation Initial Validation suggests that the model might be inadequate in predicting times to bare lane Validation will be an ongoing effort as more “accurate” data on the model parameters are obtained and as the scope of the model expands Verify Processing Logics & “Rules of Practice” Model has capability of conducting “what-if” scenarios to assist with operations improvement and resource management Continue to improve user interface

MDSS Stakeholder Meeting June, Acknowledgements Center for Transportation Studies Northland Advanced Transportation Systems Research Laboratory Minnesota Department of Transportation University of Minnesota Duluth Federal Highway Administration