Article ID: | iaor19991319 |
Country: | United States |
Volume: | 28 |
Issue: | 4 |
Start Page Number: | 21 |
End Page Number: | 30 |
Publication Date: | Jul 1998 |
Journal: | Interfaces |
Authors: | Racer Michael, Thomas Clive, Campbell Kevin, Hines Gail |
Success in the express-mail market hinges on paying attention to every parcel in the system. A key component is safe, efficient loading of aircraft. Federal Express, a perennial leader in the express business, has recently added the Airbus A300, a lighter aircraft, to its fleet. Because of the Airbus design, shear limits – shear being a measure of the downward forces exerted on the plane – are extremely sensitive to the loading, a problem not experienced in the heavier craft. We developed a heuristic for loading containers into positions on the aircraft to address loading preferences and maintain feasibility constraints.