A real-time routing model for hazardous materials

Experiences in hazardous materials transportation show that purely strategic or planning approaches have considerable shortcomings and that real-time management must be addressed. The commercialization of advanced location and communications technology provides the basis for real-time guidance. Considering the possibilities this new technology offers, a real-time routing model is proposed. It is based on the premises that a human dispatcher must assess the impacts of sudden events on safety and transportation costs and evaluate safe and cost-effective routing alternatives. Due to high uncertainty and time constraints in this real-time environment, risks and transportation costs are expressed as preferences on an ordinal scale. The model has been integrated into a decision support system and assessed in an experimental setting. This ordinal preference model turned out to be superior to a utility approach due to its robustness in risk assessment and route selection.