Off-hour Deliveries Research Articles

Association between Delivery during Off-Hours and the Risk of Severe Maternal Morbidity: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study.

This study evaluated the association between off-hour deliveries and the risk of severe maternal morbidity (SMM). Data regarding Korean deliveries between 2005 and 2019 obtained from the National Health Insurance Service were used. SMM was evaluated using an algorithm developed by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Modified Poisson regression analyses were conducted to investigate the association between off-hour deliveries and SMM, with stratification by hospital region and the number of beds. Approximately 32.7% of the 3,076,448 nulliparous women in this study delivered during off-hours, including 2.6% who experienced SMM. Patients who delivered at night had the highest risk of SMM (weekday nights, adjusted risk ratio (aRR): 1.41, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.38-1.44; weekend nights, OR: 1.40, 95% CI: 1.34-1.46). The SMM of night deliveries was higher at hospitals located in small cities and those with 100-499 beds (weekend night: small cities, aRR: 1.49, 95% CI: 1.40-1.59; 100-499 beds, aRR: 1.83, 95% CI: 1.67-2.01; weekday night: small cities, aRR: 1.46, 95% CI: 1.42-1.51; 100-499 beds, aRR: 1.70, 95% CI: 1.62-1.79). Therefore, nighttime deliveries are associated with a higher risk of SMM, especially at hospitals located in small cities and those with 100-499 beds.

Evaluating the Impact of Urban Consolidation Center and Off-Hour Deliveries on Freight Flows to a Retail District Using Agent-Based Simulation

With rapid ongoing urbanization, cities across the world face a multitude of challenges in urban logistics. Delivery of goods to retail districts is particularly challenging as these places are typically located in congested urban centers. In response, policy makers have explored various freight management initiatives, including urban consolidation centers (UCC) and off-hour deliveries (OHD). This study examines the impact of these initiatives on freight flows to a retail district in Singapore. The study approach pairs empirical behavioral models and an agent-based simulation. First, using results from a stated preference survey, the choice behavior of two relevant actors—establishments that ship goods and establishments that receive goods within a retail district—and their likelihood of participating in UCC or OHD are analyzed. Then, the resulting behavioral models are incorporated into a city-scale agent-based simulator to evaluate the impact of these initiatives on freight flows, tracking multiple logistics-related performance indicators. The results show that the likelihood of participating in UCC and OHD declines when multiple actors are involved in the participation decision. Both UCC and OHD have the potential to reduce freight traffic and parking demand, although in different ways. For UCC, a minimum level of participation must be achieved to guarantee increase in vehicle load factors. OHD decreases load factors as well as the required number of dedicated trips to the retail district.

The Effect of "Off Hours" on Maternal and Perinatal Outcomes in a Diverse U.S. Cohort.

This study aimed to evaluate the "off-hour effect" on maternal and neonatal adverse events in a large cohort representing U.S. A secondary analysis of the Consortium on Safe Labor (CSL) dataset with 208,695 women and 229,385 deliveries was performed. The study included the deliveries of ≥23 gestational weeks from 19 hospitals in the United States from 2002 to 2008. Babies with congenital anomalies were excluded from neonatal outcomes. We compared maternal and neonatal outcomes of patients delivered during weekdays versus off hours (nights and weekends). The primary outcomes of the study were composite maternal and composite neonatal adverse events. The secondary outcomes were delivery type and individual maternal and neonatal adverse events including maternal death and perinatal mortality rate. Associations between off hours and all the outcomes were analyzed in bivariable and multivariable analyses. The same analyses were performed in strata by indication for admission (spontaneous labor or induction of labor). Composite maternal adverse events (6.19 vs. 6.06%, p = 0.41) and maternal death (0.01 vs. 0.01%, p = 0.19) were not significantly different between off hours and weekday groups. In contrast, composite neonatal adverse events (6.91 vs. 5.84%, p < 0.001) and perinatal mortality rate (1.03 vs. 0.77%, p < 0.001) were higher in the off-hour group. After adjusting for confounding variables, only the composite neonatal outcome continued to be associated with off hours (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.10, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.04-1.16). Stratified analyses showed that the off-hour effect for the neonatal composite outcome was not present in those presenting in spontaneous labor (6.1 vs. 5.9%, p = 0.40). Off-hour delivery was not associated with severe maternal morbidity and was only modestly associated with severe neonatal morbidity. This association was observed in women undergoing induction, not in those presenting in spontaneous labor. These data draw into question the existence of a clinically meaningful and correctable "off-hour effect" in obstetrics. · The presence of a significant off-hour effect in obstetrics is still questionable.. · If the off-hour effect exists, it seems that not to be related with staffing issues.. · There is not a big difference for adverse events at off hours in spontaneously laboring patients..

Evaluating the potential environmental impacts of a large scale shift to off-hour deliveries

This paper assesses the potential environmental impacts of a large-scale deployment of off-hour deliveries (OHD), focusing on CO2 and pollutant emissions. We use a methodological framework involving four steps: transport demand estimation, traffic simulation, emissions calculation and emissions environmental social cost calculation. Based on five scenarios, depending on the scale of the shift to OHD, and applied to the case of the Lyon urban area, we find that OHDs lead to a reduction in CO2 and pollutant emissions. However, their impact is rather small. The maximum reduction in CO2 emissions is 3.4% for 100% OHD for the whole urban area of Lyon (1.9 million inhabitants and 3325 km2). Some factors (population size, density, traffic conditions, research methodology, vehicle fleet composition, etc.) limit the comparability of the results obtained from other case studies. One of the reasons for this low environmental impact of OHDs is that the LUA is a small and not very congested metropolitan area. This impact is 5% when we focus on the densest area (core of area with 0.7 million inhabitants on 2.2% of surface area) which is more important than in the least dense area (outskirts of area with 0.6 million inhabitants on 83.6% of surface area) with 2.6%. These results confirm the limited impacts of OHDs in smaller, less congested urban areas. It also reaffirms the need for OHDs to be implemented in the densest parts of metropolitan areas. The maximum decrease in the environmental social cost is 4.25 million euros per year. Furthermore, the analysis reveals that the adoption of OHD makes it possible to achieve gains of 2.5 million hours per year in travel time that augur a productivity gain for all the actors involved in urban goods movement.

A case study of off-hour delivery collaboration and cost-sharing between freight receivers and carriers

This paper is concerned with using MATSim to investigate off-hour delivery collaboration between a carrier and receivers agents in the City of Cape Town, South Africa. Results indicate that the carrier’s delivery cost reduced by up to 12.1% when more receivers were willing to accept off-hour deliveries. This reduction was facilitated by the ability of the carrier to use more extra-large delivery vehicles and better utilise the capacity of its vehicles during deliveries, decreasing its delivery cost per tonne. In addition, it was found that the majority of grand coalition receivers were willing to accept off-hour deliveries when carrier cost savings were transferred to them.

Stakeholders perceptions to sustainable urban freight policies in emerging markets

Abstract The aim of this paper is to analyze the perceptions of key stakeholders to a set of policies designed to address urban logistics issues in two cities in Colombia. A ranking survey was conducted and analyzed unveiling levels of acceptance to the proposed policies for three types of stakeholders (Carriers, Receivers, and Citizens). Though some methodologies attempt to understand stakeholders’ perspectives towards urban freight policies, often only a certain type of stakeholder is considered; perceptions of Citizens are usually overlooked. The results suggest that stakeholders agree on the importance of having space to conduct freight operations in their urban areas. However, different stakeholders perceive policies differently and local context plays a key role, suggesting that decision-makers must consider these aspects before transferring initiatives from other urban settings. When space for freight operations cannot be provided, the results show that Carriers prefer a Receiver-led Consolidation program, Receivers consider an Urban Consolidation Center as the best alternative, and Citizens prefer Off-hour deliveries. While all of the preferred alternatives call for a more active role played by the other stakeholders, they also call for more sustainable practices and move away from traditional, restrictive policies. The results from this study serve as a tool for planners and decision-makers seeking input on the preferences of various stakeholders to, and the potential acceptability of, urban freight policies.

Assessing Fuel Distribution in Urban Areas: Off-Hours Deliveries in the City of Rio de Janeiro

Abstract This article analyzes impact that initiatives for improving freight system performance can generate in fuel distribution in urban areas, especially in mega-cities. We propose a comprehensive methodology to identify initiatives with the most potential in terms of cost and efficiency for the fuel distribution process in urban areas, and then to assess impacts of such initiatives in terms of environmental and economic sustainability. Results indicated off-hours deliveries as having a higher potential to increase sustainability in fuel distribution within city borders. Therefore, an application of the proposed methodology is presented to assess results of a live experiment of off-hours deliveries held in a fuel-distribution process in a mega-city in comparison to daytime deliveries, which is companies’ standard practice. Several positive results were observed during off-hour deliveries, such as reduction in fuel consumption, reduction in the emission of air pollutants and greenhouse gases, reduction in travel time, increase in average operational speed as well as the possibility of carrying out two trips with the same vehicle per day leading to a reduction in expenses with drivers when there is an increase in daily truck deliveries. Although the case assessed was conducted during the Olympic Games of Rio de Janeiro, the method can be applied in any other mega-city.

The effect of off-hour delivery on severe maternal morbidity: a population-based cohort study.

Severe maternal morbidity is an indicator for quality of maternal care. Recently, there has been growing interest in identifying which provision factors affect the quality of maternity care. The extent to off-hour delivery on SMM rates contributes to individual or provision factor in Korea has not been studied. This study aimed to determine the relationship between off-hour delivery and SMM during childbirth hospitalization. This is a population-based retrospective cohort study. Data were extracted from the Korean National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort for 90 072 cases of delivery in Korea between 2003 and 2013. The main outcome was SMM which was determined using the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's algorithm. A generalized estimating equation model with log link was performed for the relationship with SMM and day/time of delivery adjusted covariates. Of the 90 072 delivery cases, 2085 (2.31%) had SMM. Women who were on weekdays at night time or on weekend delivery had a higher risk of SMM compared with those who were on weekdays at daytime (RR 1.26, 95% CI 1.10-1.46, and RR 1.58, 95% CI 1.30-1.93, respectively). Weekday at night time or weekend delivery was related to the risk of SMM. Policymakers should provide financial support and systematically allocate adequate human resources and labour facilities in vulnerable areas, as well as during weekends and night times to improve the quality of intrapartum and postpartum maternity care.

Planning with stakeholders: Analysing alternative off-hour delivery solutions via an interactive multi-criteria approach

Many cities of different size and in different areas of the world have successfully tested the introduction of off-hour deliveries (OHD) on a voluntary basis, reporting positive effects, both on freight distribution efficiency and sustainability. However, those initiatives have not been implemented so far at a large scale. This paper investigates OHD potential in Rome, focusing on one of the most important barriers to its adoption, i.e. stakeholder acceptability. The study investigates stakeholders' preferences for different OHD configurations using both a qualitative approach, based on in-depth interviews, and a quantitative analysis, based on an interactive multi-actor multi-criteria analysis. Results show that stakeholders prefer a solution where OHD are jointly implemented together with one or more urban consolidation centres. This preliminary analysis paves the way for further technical/economic evaluations needed for OHD implementation in Rome. Stakeholders’ involvement is of outmost importance to understand their heterogeneous preferences and increase their awareness of urban freight transport problems, with the overall aim to foster behaviour change.

Functional and environmental impact analysis of urban deliveries in a Brazilian historical city

This study aims to characterize the transportation of urban goods from multiple retail stores in the Brazilian municipality São João Del Rei, in the state of Minas Gerais, as well as measure the environmental impact in terms of CO2 emissions. The study takes place in the downtown part of the city, which depends on a wide range of companies to provide employment, products and services for a large part of the city’s population, along with neighboring cities. As a historical heritage city, the traditional city streets reflect planning from a long time ago, during a time in which modern transportation vehicles and services were practically nonexistent. These factors make commerce in the downtown region a particular challenge for the urban organism. To better understand this scenario and indicate measurements to improve the functioning of the urban transportation network, 152 companies responded to interview questions about the main implicit variables in their goods receiving processes, along with information regarding cargo and vehicle types, trips and infrastructure. Any measure taken to mitigate these problems must obligatorily consider the historic nature of the city and establish coherence between the conflicting objectives of the diverse actors which make up the urban environment. The results show the need for creation of new policies for urban logistics, including more areas reserved for loading and unloading of cargo, along with greater monitoring these areas from authorities to guarantee that the law is upheld. Emission reductions are achieved using freight demand management such as off-hour deliveries and investing in technology to reduce emissions from delivery trucks.

Optimal Routing for Off-Hour Delivery Trucks with Noise- Reduction and Transport Costs Objectives

Optimal Routing for Off-Hour Delivery Trucks with Noise- Reduction and Transport Costs Objectives

Avaliando a sustentabilidade alcançada por meio de entregas noturnas: o caso da distribuição de combustíveis na cidade do Rio de Janeiro

Este trabalho tem como objetivo analisar o impacto que a implantação de iniciativas para aumentar o desempenho do transporte de carga pode gerar na distribuição de combustíveis em áreas urbanas, em relação à sustentabilidade ambiental e econômica, bem como à eficiência da operação. Desta forma, o artigo propõe uma metodologia a ser ­ das iniciativas com maior potencial, em termos de custo e eficiência, para contribuir para o processo de distribuição de combustíveis em áreas urbanas, bem como para a avaliação do impacto de sua implantação, em termos econômicos e ambientais. O resultado apontou a entrega noturna como a prática com maior potencial de ganhos para o setor, de modo que a metodologia proposta é aplicada para avaliar os resultados de um experimento de entregas noturnas de combustíveis na zona Sul da cidade do Rio de Janeiro, em uma das maiores distribuidoras do Brasil. Os resultados do período de teste de entregas noturnas foram comparados em relação às entregas diurnas, prática padrão da empresa. Foram observados diversos resultados positivos durante o processo de entrega noturna, tais como:, 9% de redução no consumo de combustível; 66% de aumento na velocidade média operacional dos caminhões; redução média de 31% no tempo de viagem, possibilitando o aumento do número de viagens diárias por veículo com a utilização de um mesmo motorista; além da redução média de 13% na emissão de poluentes atmosféricos e gases de efeito estufa no meio ambiente.

Freight and service parking needs and the role of demand management

PurposeThis paper assesses the parking needs of freight and service related commercial activities and identifies the role of demand management in mitigating these needs.MethodsTo provide a context for the analyses, the authors selected two small commercial areas of about the same number of commercial establishments—one in Troy, NY, and the other in New York City—and applied freight and service trip generation models to estimate the total freight and service traffic generated at these sites. Then, using different assumptions of the amount of time these vehicles spend at a parking location, the authors estimated the number of parking spaces required by time of day under different assumptions of demand management.ResultsThe results show that parking needs are proportional to the average parking durations. Essentially, the longer the duration the higher the parking needs. In terms of impacts on demand management, the results show that the 100% Off-Hour Deliveries (OHD) program is expected to be the most impactful as it reduces the parking needs by 70–80% during peak hours. In second place, Staggered Deliveries reduces parking needs by about 60% during the peak hours. The third place is occupied by the 30% OHD Scenario and the Receiver-Led Consolidation programs, which are virtually tied, offering about 10–25% reduction.ConclusionsThe initial analysis revealed the importance of parking duration as it was shown to be proportional to parking needs; the longer the duration the higher the need for parking. The delivery simulation further bolstered this finding by showing that the optimal case occurs (i.e. minimizing parking duration) the closer the parking location is to the establishment. The further away the vehicle is parked the longer the walking time to the establishment, hence increasing the time the vehicle occupies the parking spot. The strategies applied to the case studies showed that Transportation Demand Management (TDM) strategies are effective in decreasing the number of parking spots needed during peak periods.

Evaluating the impact of off-hour deliveries: An application of the TRansport Agent-BAsed model

The expected growth of freight transport should affect the performances of our transport system if we keep with the business as usual. Especially urban settings suffer from congestion and air pollution. Shifting deliveries to the night is considered as one promising solution to alleviate the growing congestion and emissions generated by freight transport. In order to check the compatibility of night deliveries with its local environment, research has been mostly focused on the analysis of trials and on the impacts it has at a micro level. This paper aims at analysing the impact of night distribution at a macro level. It evaluates the contribution of off hour deliveries on the performances of the transport system. The paper will use TRABAM, a freight transport agent based model, to simulate the impact of different use of night distribution in supermarkets. The organisation of the freight flows resulting from the new time constraints is then evaluated according the externalities generated by these flows. The analysis shows that a distribution where deliveries are possible only during the day performs the worst since it generates the highest external costs. The business as usual gives already some good performances since night distribution is already used by some supermarkets in Wallonia. But the scenario where a maximum of one delivery per night is allowed to supermarkets is found to be the best trade-off between the benefits and drawbacks of night distribution.

The New York City Off-Hour Delivery Program: A Business and Community-Friendly Sustainability Program

The New York City Off-Hour Delivery (NYC OHD) program is the work of a private-public-academic partnership—a collaborative effort of leading private-sector groups and companies, public-sector agencies led by the New York City Department of Transportation, and research partners led by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The efforts of this partnership have induced more than 400 commercial establishments in NYC to accept OHD without supervision. The economic benefits are considerable: the carriers have reduced operational costs and parking fines by 45 percent; the receivers enjoy more reliable deliveries, enabling them to reduce inventory levels; the truck drivers have less stress, shorter work hours, and easier deliveries and parking; the delivery trucks produce 55–67 percent less emissions than they would during regular-hour deliveries, for a net reduction of 2.5 million tons of CO2 per year; and citizens’ quality of life increases as a result of reduced conflicts between delivery trucks, cars, bicycles, and pedestrians, and through the use of low-noise delivery practices and technologies that minimize the impacts of noise. The total economic benefits exceed $20 million per year. The success of the OHD program is due largely to the policy design at its core, made possible with the behavioral microsimulation. This unique optimization-simulation system incorporates the research conducted into an operations research/management science tool that assesses the effectiveness of alternative policy designs. This enabled the successful implementation of the project within the most complex urban environment in the United States.

Fostering unassisted off-hour deliveries: The role of incentives

This paper describes the chief findings of research conducted to assess the willingness of receivers of supplies to accept unassisted off-hour deliveries (U-OHD), which are those conducted outside regular business hours and without the assistance of the receiving establishment staff. U-OHD have potential to increase economic competitiveness, reduce congestion, improve environmental conditions, enhance livability, and increase quality of life in urban areas. This study considers the role that public policy initiatives could play in fostering receivers’ acceptance of U-OHD by analyzing survey data collected from potential U-OHD adopters. The paper describes the survey conducted, performs descriptive analyses of the data, analyzes the respondents’ stated willingness to participate in unassisted off-hour deliveries, estimates discrete choice models to gain insight into receivers’ decision-making processes, and analyzes the effectiveness of alternative policy scenarios. It is found that a number of policy levers can foster U-OHD: (1) public sector provision of a one-time incentive, a public recognition program, and business support services; (2) carriers providing shipping discounts to receivers of U-OHD; and (3) the creation of a Trusted Vendor Certification Program.

Investigating the potential for off-hour deliveries in the city of Rome: Retailers’ perceptions and stated reactions

This paper investigates the potential for off-hour deliveries in the city of Rome. It focuses on retailers that play a fundamental role in the decision making process often determining delivery times. It explores their preferences for three off-hour delivery prototypes and inquires retailers' willingness to adopt them, both with and without the provision of dedicated incentives. Finally, it analyses retailers’ reactions to a hypothetical scenario where a mandatory off-hour delivery policy is imposed. The overall results show a good inclination towards off-hour deliveries. This induces optimism with respect to their potential introduction as well as skepticism about the lack of attention local decision makers have, so far, paid to this policy option.

Receivers’ willingness-to-adopt novel urban goods distribution practices

There is no doubt that goods transport continues to play a vital role in today’s society, in spite of the advances made with new information and communications technologies. The main objective of this research is to analyse the behaviour of goods receivers in two Spanish cities (Santander and Barcelona) when they are confronted with the possibility of adopting new goods distribution practices. The new goods distribution policies proposed to the receivers were: an Off-Hour Deliveries policy (OHD) and a policy which uses Urban Distribution Centres (UDC). The methodology used was based on a stated preference survey and a Mixed Logit model. The results show that in both cases, receivers generally do not wish to change the manner in which they receive their goods, especially if such change involves increased costs. However, both policies were generally more accepted in a medium size city like Santander than in Barcelona, and some results can be achieved even without tax reductions which will result in fewer distribution vehicles circulating at peak times and therefore less congestion and pollution on urban streets. In addition, it is important to consider that not all the commercial sectors react the same way, so this heterogeneity has to be taken into account in the specification of the models and in the proposed policies.

Direct impacts of off-hour deliveries on urban freight emissions

The most significant negative environmental impacts of urban trucking result largely from travel in congested traffic. To illustrate the potential of innovative solutions to this problem, this paper presents new research on the emission reductions associated with off-hour freight deliveries (OHD). The paper uses fine-level GPS data of delivery operations during regular-hours (6AM to 7PM), and off-hours (7PM to 6AM), to quantify emissions in three major cities in the Americas. Using second-by-second emissions modeling, the paper compares emissions under both delivery schedules for: reactive organic gases, total organic gases, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, and particulate matter. The results show that the magnitude of the emission reductions depends on the extent of the change of delivery time. In the case of the “Full” OHD programs of New York City and São Paulo—where the deliveries were made during the late night and early morning periods (7PM to 6AM)—the emission reductions are in the range of 45–67%. In the case of the “Partial” OHD used in Bogotá (where OHD took place between 6PM and 10PM), the reductions were about 13%. The emission reductions per kilometer are used to estimate the total reductions for the cities studied, and for all metropolitan areas in the world with more than two million residents. The results indicate the considerable potential of OHD as an effective—business friendly—sustainability tool to improve the environmental performance of urban deliveries. The chief implication is that public policy should foster off-hour deliveries, and all forms of Freight Demand Management, where practicable.

Role and potential of a trusted vendor certification program to foster adoption of unassisted off-hour deliveries

The paper describes the research conducted by the authors regarding the willingness of receivers of supplies to accept unassisted off-hour deliveries (UOHD)—deliveries made during the off-hours without staff from the receiving establishment present at the time of delivery—from vendors certified by a Trusted Vendor Certification Program (TVCP). The main intent of the TVCP is to certify vendors as worthy of trust to conduct UOHD in a way that is both community friendly and that does not put the receiving establishment at risk. To this effect, the authors collected attitudinal data from a sample of 450 receivers from two different metropolitan areas, who were asked whether or not they would be inclined to accept UOHD if the vendors are certified as “trusted vendor” by a TVCP. The paper conducts descriptive analyses of the data and estimates behavioral models to gain insight into the industry sectors and establishment types that are the most inclined to accept UOHD if a TVCP program is created.