What Is Operations Research
Engineering Research Paper
What is operations research? Operations research is the application of the methods of science to complex problems arising in the direction and management of large systems of men, machines material, and money in industry, business, government and defense. The distinctive approach is to develop a scientific model of the system, incorporating measurements of factors such as chance and risk, with which to predict and compare the outcomes of alternative decisions, strategies or controls. The purpose is to help management determine its policy and actions scientifically. (Ravindran, Phillips and Solberg 1987).
How does operations research apply to highway systems inefficiency? Let’s find out!
“Automakers don’t build roads and governments don’t build autos, yet we expect cars and roads to mesh together seamlessly to form a transportation network.” For year’s automakers and regional transportation planners have been working to put information age technology to work solving traffic problems. All over the world people are choosing to travel by automobile because this flexible mode of travel best meets their needs. But grid locked expressways threaten to take the “mobile” out of “automobile.” This presentation will try to show reasons why our expressways are so congested, what the Federal Highway Administration proposals are to alleviate congestion and the advantages and disadvantages of these proposals under review.
The Research paper on Cots Software Paper Systems Research
... For example, Ballista testing can find ways to make operation systems crash, and can make other software packages suffer abnormal ... The focus of the proposed research is how can we develop complex software systems by integrating together different combinations ... software selection, then critiques it and identifies possible new research directions and future solutions. This paper provides many great ...
Firstly what are some of the causes of urban highway congestion? Rush hour traffic is one of the leading contributors of highway congestion. It isn’t our imagination. Every year commute times to work take longer and longer. Since 1986 car travel has increased almost 40%, while highway capacity has barley grown. As a result most major interstate routes in Metropolitan areas are jammed during rush hours. Grid locked cost Americans almost the equivalent of $51 billion a year in lost wages and wasted fuel. And the situation is only going to get worse. (Steisand, Betsy. 1996).
What causes rush hour traffic? Simply put, at specific times of the day be it in the morning or evening motorists in general are either on their way to work or home. There is such a glut of vehicles on the expressways at this time. They all need to get to their destinations at peak times of the day. It is a simple equation: Too many cars incorporated with the lack of sufficient roadways equals traffic build up or congestion.
Bottlenecks are another issue of heated debate. How is it possible to have a six lane major highway, miraculously turn or transform itself into a four-lane system? It is not possible for the quantity of cars traveling on the highways to get through this section of roadway without some delay. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that this solution, which is sometimes unavoidable due to land constraints, is simply unacceptable in today’s fast paced economy.
Another issue that is at the forefront of this subject is aggressive driving leading to highway accidents. We’ve all been there: stuck behind the slow moving truck crawling up hill on a two lane road; cut off by a speeding car that zips in front of us; tailgated by a driver who wants to practice for the Indy 500 on the local highway. (William, Cassidy 1997).
” Road rage” and aggressive driving cause about one-third of highway accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concludes that these drivers must be stopped because their driving is taking a toll on America’s highways. The top causes of aggressive driving are irresponsibility on the driver’s part, reduced traffic enforcement, and increased congestion and traffic in urban cities.
The Term Paper on Highway traffic operations
Introduction Highway traffic operations are influenced by the behavior of drivers. A highway can be used by a finite number of vehicles, and the driver perceived safe distances between vehicles determine this limit. For a given speed, as distances become shorter, more vehicles can use the highway. Both the volume of drivers choosing to use the highway (demand) and the maximum volume that can be ...
Forces of nature also play a significant part in this scenario. In bad weather like snow, rain and fog people have a natural tendency to be more cautious and deliberate when behind the wheel of a car with these conditions. Slower movement of traffic suggests that these cars are not traveling at the recommended speeds causing a build up of cars for every section of highway. We refer back to the equation; more cars equals traffic congestion. Even though nature cannot be controlled its repercussions on the expressways of urban cities today is having a profound effect.
Tolls are another situation begging for attention when transportation planners and organizers develop their models of these systems, in order to attain results for real life implementation. Tolls are necessary, but it too is a traffic flow delay on most expressways. Despite the fact that it costs a great deal of expense to use a piece of real estate which was and is supposed to be free of charge, its existence is vital for revenue generated to have roadways maintained. However, flow of traffic is always interrupted by motorists who wait until the last moment to pay their toll only to realize that they don’t have the required amount, are in the lane which explicitly says “exact change” and they have a twenty dollar bill in hand, or they simply are not coordinated enough to deposit the money in the change bin preventing the barricade from lifting and allowing them to proceed. These motorists frequently cause a “pile up” of cars behind them, which in a short space of time can stretch for miles. ( Mackprang and Parker, 1999).
Road construction too is also a contributor to urban highway congestion. As motorists we ask ourselves; why is it necessary to keep building if all it would accomplish in encourage more cars on the roads? The solution: construction, although a headache at times is necessary for the expressways to function at optimum levels. Before these detours are placed on the road ways models of these scenarios are developed to give transportation officials some idea or clue that the rate of flow of cars, time it takes the navigate through the detour, also the number of cars in this juncture of the road, is at a specific quantity or time to warrant the necessary construction. These obstacles on the expressways that alter the flow and cause delays are planned very methodically for minimum delay but also within optimum capacity and functioning constraints.
The Essay on Information Systems Highway
One of the greatest controversies in todays society is control over the internet. Many large companies design software with intents for people to purchase and use respectively. Hackers are finding ways to crack the encryption on this software and post it across the internet for any body to download and use for free. Certain people believe that this is stealing and people should be punished. My ...
Upon determining some of the leading causes of urban highway congestion it must be shown that the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) does have proposals to help solve these problems. There are many proposals that are currently under review and consideration by transportation authorities that will have a profound effect on the condition of the expressways today.
One such proposal is High Speed Rail Systems (HSR).
In 1992 there were negotiations underway in Florida that amended its 1984 Transportation Act authorizing (FDOT) Florida Department Of Transportation to implement innovative mechanisms required to effect the joint venture approach to planning, locating, permitting, managing, financing, constructing, operating and maintaining an Inter Regional High Speed Rail System for the state linking, Tampa, Orlando and Miami. It does not depend on Federal Government for financial support, instead will be funded by the private sector of the economy.
This system would prove very useful in this state since the state’s environmental organizations have for the most part embraced high speed rail as a good way to solve air pollution and congestion problems, especially since it would not have to build new airport or highway infrastructure. (Vantuoro, William 1995).
A second such proposal that has already been implemented is the use of a High Occupancy Vehicle lane (HOV).
This technique encourages carpooling, recognizing that the objective is to move people, not vehicles. The carpooling system suggests that this lane of traffic flow should be used by motorists with three or more passengers and also no heavy vehicles (E.g. Trucks, etc).
The logic is that passengers in these lanes would essentially have to commute in one vehicle instead of four separate ones to get to their destination. Fewer cars on the roadways suggest a reduction in traffic congestion. A heuristic approach to this situation shows that the (FHWA) had to actually conduct investigations for themselves not relying on models of the system to gather information to show if this proposal was in fact efficient. ( Samuel, Peter 1999).
The Essay on Health Care Delivery Systems 2
Abstract The American health care system is designed to focus on the organizations of individuals, places, and to treat and prevent adequate health care for the target populations. The federal government conducts an immense portion of delivering health care systems in our world today. The purpose for health care delivery systems is to provide financial tangible benefits and provide health care ...
Seeing that it is almost impossible to build a way out of this congestion one of the better alternatives to help counteract woeful traffic congestion is the implementation an integration of Automated Highway Systems (AHS) into society not tomorrow, but now!
It’s magic! Or so it seems- cars driving themselves. In San Diego on August 7th to 10th, 1997. Bob Bryant rode in a car, a minivan and a bus and said that it was exhilarating to barrel down that 12.2 km segment of the Interstate 15 high-occupancy-vehicle lanes at 105km/h with the drivers feet tucked under their seats and their hands in their laps- truly “hands-off” “feet-off” driving.
Demo ’97- Put on by the National Automated Highway System Consortium (NAHSC), an industry-government-academia collaboration- was a congressionally mandated demonstration to prove that it is technically “feasible” to use these (AHS) technologies to significantly alleviate several of the most enduring transportation problems in the United States. For each year in the US more than 40,000 people are killed and 5million people are injured in automobile crashes. Because human error is a leading factor in nine out of ten crashes and because AHS promises to significantly reduce the element of human error, AHS offers a great potential for saving lives and avoiding injuries. (Bryant, Bob 1997).
The use of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) was also studied to help prevent highway congestion. Some of the devices that automakers are working on include radar systems for avoiding crashes, speed sensitive cruise control, which automatically slows the vehicle if it gets too close to the car in front and a device that prevents a car from starting if it detects that the driver is too sleepy or intoxicated. This in essence has a ripple down effect. Safer cars prevent human errors that prevent vehicular accidents that ultimately prevent highway congestion. While recognizing that (ITS) is no panacea, planners hope that the new technologies will provide quick and less expensive solutions to traffic congestion. (Knapp, Kevin 1999).
The Essay on Caused By The Overload Of Cars Car Road Problem
Since Chinese car market has been opened in 1970! s, owning a private car had become a dream of most of Chinese families. Nowadays, with the development of economy, this dream can be easily realized, as most Chinese families has had their own cars. However, the massive growth in private car ownership over the last two decades has led to many problems such to the society such as traffic ...
Another solution to highway congestion although a bit far fetched does have some merit to its conclusions. They contend that even though the American population is in love with the automobile and its capabilities, its drawbacks are quite glaring. Traffic, high mentainance, gas prices etc. Yet they advocate that more people should drive. Their theory is that the more people there are on the roads, the more cars will be on the roads and hence traffic would reflect accordingly. Eventually these motorists will begin to use public transportation as a means to an end thus reducing traffic congestion. (Zhang, Lee 1997).
Collecting tolls without tollbooths is already an idea being implemented in most states of the US. It requires an automated device in the car purchased by the owner and situated in a specific place in the vehicle which automatically deducts the required toll without insisting the driver bring the vehicle to a complete stop. This system incorporates a bar code on the device and a sensor on the road, which reads and calculates the transaction quickly and efficiently. This system has proven very successful in statistical data gathers by the (FHWA) through the use of transportation models and linear equations of the system. With the flow of traffic going through at a constant rate and speed it but almost completely prevents a disruption in traffic flow and negates highway congestion.
Providing separate lanes for cars and trucks is another proposal being toyed with by the (FHWA).
Because cars are much smaller, cars-only lanes can be double-decks, either above the road surface on in tunnels beneath high value real estate. Paris and Los Angeles are developing new urban expressways using these concepts. Special purpose truck lanes would permit larger, heavier trucks than are now legal in most states and would allow trucks to by-pass congested all-purpose lanes, facilitating just-in-time deliveries (JIT) valued by shippers and receivers. (Samuel. Peter 1999).
Even though the causes of and some proposals to help prevent highway congestion in urban cities have been concluded they do not arrive without having advantages and disadvantages. HSR, ITS, AHS and the other proposals made by the (FHWA) have advantages which heavily outweigh the disadvantages. Some of these are an increase in fuel efficiency and road way safety, an increase in the capacity with which the expressways were meant to function optimally, it all but eliminates the stress of driving and even prevents road rage, it allows businesses to flourish due to JIT deliveries and processes, a reduction in air pollution which is always a plus for the eco system and a dream come true for environmentalists and simply stated, allows the working population to get some extra needed rest in the mornings.
The Term Paper on Road Planning Roads Traffic Speed
... a general rule, a road system which has been designed to carry the work -tip traffic will have sufficient ... defined and which indeed, may be incapable of precise definition. Congestion, 'free flow ', 's safety ' are three ... to use illuminated overhead signs to indicate which lanes are to be used but this method is ... imply condition in which the driver of motor car can get into it, starts his journey and ...
Alongside these advantages come disadvantages. Some of these are a reduction in revenue acquired through tolls. The fear, if congestion were eased tolls would suffer. Funny the whole idea originally was to relieve congestion. Spending billions more on public transportation that hardly anyone will use. Forces people into a system which conflicts with the way they live and work. For HOV lanes, it causes transit like constraints such as scheduling and a more circuitous route. Also more than half of carpoolers now appear to be members of one family most of whom would travel together whether government high occupancy policies existed or not. (Lidley, Jeff 1997).
These proposals suggested by the Federal Highway Administration hold allot of promise for the future of the commuting public-fewer accidents, less congested roadways, greater traffic density and speedier travel. Further development of these systems coupled with the findings obtained through model testing will only help to bolster and encourage a society, which is at the breaking point. With the advancement of technology and assistance from the state and private sectors it will only be a short period of time before unrealistic, wild ideas conjured in one’s mind today, is driving parallel to your car tomorrow.
References
(1)”Automated highway systems” by: William, Siuru. Popular Electronics. , v. 15 no1 (Dec. 1998)p. 33-5.
(2)”Traffic congestion: A solvable problem” by: Peter, Samuel. Issues in Science and Technology. , v. 15 no 3 (Spring 1999) p. 49-56.
(3)”Cruise control: ‘Intelligent transportation’ systems hit the fast lane” by Kevin, Knapp. Crain’s Chicago Business. , v 22 no2 (Jan. 11 ’99) p. 13.
(4)”Moving forward smartly: The role of ITS in the NEXTEA” by: Jeff, Lindley. Public Roads. , Wntr 1997, v60 n3 p57(4).
(5)”Message in a bottleneck: It’s time to start charging rush hour commuters” by: Betsy, Steisand. U.S News and World Report; Dec 30 1996, v121, n26, p47(2).
(6)”Fighting road rage” by: William B. Cassidy. Traffic World,v. 251 (Aug. 11 ’97) p. 31.
(7)”For Florida a second chance” by: William C. Vantuono. Railway Age. , v. 196 (Apr. ’95) p. 59-60.
(8)”Actual hands-off steering- and other wonders of the modern world” by: Bob, Bryant. Public Roads; Nov-Dec 1997, v61, n3, p32(6).
(9)”91 Express ways do not work well” by: Mackprang, Peter and Harry, Parker. American City and County. , v. 114 no12 (Oct. 1999)p. 6.
(10)”Operational models and traffic control in intelligent vehicle systems” by; Zhang, L. Transportation Research PartA: Policy and Practice; (Jan 1997), v31, n1, p64.
