On Scheduling Delivery in a Military Deployment Scenario

Abstract

The ability to rapidly and accurately perform sensitivity analysis in military deployment planning is a vital tool for force deployment planners. The Deployment Scheduling Analysis Tool (DSAT), a new software tool, provides this ability. DSAT builds the deployment scenario through a graphic user interface, invokes an adaptation of the Virtual Factory to schedule the movement and delivery of the equipment and provides meaningful output in the form of reports and graphics. The Virtual Factory is a job shop scheduling procedure developed at North Carolina State University which is proven to rapidly provide near-optimal solutions to large problems.

This research focuses on evaluating both the accuracy and effectiveness of DSAT. An existing tool, the Deployment Analysis Network Tool Enhanced (DANTE), is proven to minimize the time required to deliver the equipment (Cmax). Since DANTE is a relaxation of the original problem, it establishes a lower bound for Cmax. An extension of DANTE, COMFLOW, includes due date information and establishes a lower bound on the maximum lateness of the equipment, Lmax. DSAT's schedule, in terms of Cmax and Lmax, are compared to their lower bounds. Finally, DSAT's schedule, in terms of transporation asset utilization, is compared to accepted asset utilization planning factors. This evaluation indicates that DSAT provides near optimal schedules for air deployments and good schedules for deployments including rail and sea movement.