Geographical Information System Modeling for Planning Internal Transportation in a Manufacturing Plant’s Outdoor Area

Abstract

A geographical information system (GIS) is an advanced tool for collecting, managing, and analyzing spatially-referenced data. The contribution of GIS use to process performance indicators can be improved by combining it with multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). Combining a GIS and MCDA is, in the scientific literature, rarely discussed for planning an internal transportation system in a manufacturing plant’s outdoor area. The purpose of this article is to clarify what mangers can expect from using a combined approach when deciding on a transport fleet and the operational routing of vehicles. Beside the simulation of MCDA, the computer software ArcGIS Pro 3.0.2 with the Network Analyst extension was used for modelling the transportation system in the form of a case study. The article demonstrates the feasibility and effectiveness of GIS and MCDA use and reveals the extent of the challenge of how decision makers could make the most of ArcGIS functionality. The final solution for an internal transportation system in a manufacturing plant’s outdoor area includes such a vehicle fleet and the set time windows of orders for transport services, so that there are no violations of time windows and the work is completed within the work shift while minimizing costs, time, and distance. Decision makers can use the program without advanced knowledge of optimization approaches, following a procedure that does not differ much from that of learning to use other business software tools. On the contrary, the listed disadvantages can be summarized as the rigidity of setting detailed boundary conditions for a specific simulation scenario.