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National Networks

Project has been ended in 2007.

The optimal design and control of national logistics networks is becoming more complex. This is also the case for the transport of bulk materials in the construction industry. Data from recent research shows that in the Netherlands 25% of the domestic transport movements over the road are related to activities in the construction sector. This Transumo project aims to optimize the transportation networks of building materials. Therefore, the project starts with analyzing the possibilities for multimodal transport in one sub-sector of the construction industry: the sub-sector of road construction.

Road construction projects are executed all over the Netherlands on changing locations. The major input for these projects in terms of bulk materials is asphalt. Asphalt is produced at asphalt installations all over the country. From these installations, asphalt is transported by road to the location of the construction projects. The long waiting times when delivering fresh and taking milled asphalt are a major problem at construction sites. Furthermore, there are possibilities to increase the average payload of the transport fleet, to improve the planning of transport and to use other transport modes instead of road transport (the dominant mode for transporting asphalt)

This Transumo project aims at designing and implementing technological innovations in road construction by:

  • more efficient logistics networks decreasing the risks of delays and decreasing the logistics costs of transport of asphalt;
  • optimal use of the existing production capacity of asphalt by implementing multimodal transport;
  • improved coordination between asphalt installations, asphalt depots and construction sites;
  • improved cooperation between the parties involved in the supply chain of asphalt;
  • preparing the introduction of technological innovation (road trains, asphalt boats);
  • minimizing the inconvenience of road users and society in general related to road construction.

In this project different models, methods and techniques will be developed and tested in order to optimize the transport networks in road construction. The major question is: What is the optimal design and control of national transport network in road construction in order to deal with the strict time schedules in which road construction activities can take place. The focus is on two aspects:

  • logistics: multimodal transport, throughput times, cross-docking, frequency of delivery, and network structures;
  • technological: design and realization of alternative transport modes (besides road), such as road trains, the asphalt boat and the asphalt train, and new (un-)loading concepts;

Implementing multimodal transport and related systems in the transport networks of asphalt means an important transition. This transition has the following advantages:

  • logistics: optimizing transport of asphalt and relieving roads by using other modes of transport;
  • environment: less CO2 emission as a result of a more efficient organization of transport and the use of multimodal transport;
  • business: saving personnel costs, lower investment costs (more efficient use of existing production capacity through higher market reach) and lower transport costs.

Participants
Participants TNO, Twente University, HAN, Technical University Delft, Heijmans, Bruil, De Bruijn Transport, Transport and Logistics Netherlands, AJK Nederland, Den Hollander Klundert. Also governmental bodies will be involved in the project through participation in the steering group. International: Technical University of Denmark – Department of Civil Engineering, Copenhagen. Knowledge transfer takes places via Sintef (Norway) and the Nordic Research School. In addition, several other parties are interested to participate in the project, including the government and companies in the building sector.

Projectmanager
TNO: Ir. C. Verweij