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Urban Freight Lab

Research Topic: Freight System Resiliency

Freight system resiliency is the ability of the freight system to adapt to changing conditions and withstand and rapidly recover from disruption due to emergencies. A resilient freight transportation system is responsive and able to provide reliable services when it encounters small disruptions and return to service quickly after large disruptions.

Blog

Freight’s Role in Delivering Equitable Cities (Part I)

URL: https://www.goodsmovement2030.com/post/delivering-equitable-cities-p1
Publication: Goods Movement 2030: An Urban Freight Blog
Publication Date: 2022
Summary:

What does an equitable and just freight system actually look like?

We asked UFL members this question at the summer 2022 quarterly meeting. Their responses, shown in the graphic below, cover a wide range of ideas and topics. Some define equity in terms of equal access to the numerous benefits a freight system brings; others call for a reduction in freight costs — like pollution, noise, and traffic — to historically marginalized people.

Members differ on who the appropriate stakeholders are when it comes to addressing equity in urban freight. Is it the public agencies and big companies currently driving zero-carbon transitions? The warehouse workers, owner-operators and migrant truck drivers? The customers who shop online? Or the families who live near warehouses and truck routes?

Addressing these challenges is no simple task. Such questions challenge the urban freight community to grapple with the implications of histories of injustices that remain visible in today’s freight networks. And it also challenges us to look beyond the purview of planners and policymakers and assess the active role logistics companies play in delivering equity. In fact, evidence suggests the C-suite does think seriously about justice both within and beyond the context of the company. These understandings can be a foundation for a more equitable freight system and creating a truly equitable city.

Authors: Travis Fried
Recommended Citation:
"Freight’s Role in Delivering Equitable Cities (Part I)" Goods Movement 2030 (blog). Urban Freight Lab, November 16, 2022. https://www.goodsmovement2030.com/post/delivering-equitable-cities-p1
Paper

Review of Performance Metrics for Community-Based Planning for Resilience of the Transportation System

 
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URL: https://doi.org/10.3141/2604-06
Publication:  Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
Volume: 2604
Pages: 44-53
Publication Date: 2017
Summary:

Community resilience depends on the resilience of the lifeline infrastructure and the performance of the disaster-related functions of local governments. State and federal resilience plans and guidelines acknowledge the importance of the transportation system as a critical lifeline in planning for community resilience and in helping local governments to set recovery goals. However, a widely accepted definition of the resilience of the transportation system and a structure for its measurement are not available. This paper provides a literature review that summarizes the metrics used to assess the resilience of the transportation system and a categorization of the assessment approaches at three levels of analysis (the asset, network, and systems levels). Furthermore, this paper ties these metrics to relevant dimensions of community resilience. This work addresses a key first step required to enhance the efficiency of planning related to transportation system resilience by providing (a) a standard terminology with which efforts to enhance the resilience of the transportation system can be developed, (b) an approach to organize planning and research efforts related to the resilience of the transportation system, and (c) identification of the gaps in measurement of the performance of the resilience of the transportation system.

Authors: Dr. Anne GoodchildJosé Luis Machado León
Recommended Citation:
Machado, Jose Luis, and Anne Goodchild. Review of Performance Metrics for Community-Based Planning for Resilience of the Transportation System. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, Transportation Research Record, 2604(1), 44–53. https://doi.org/10.3141/2604-06
Student Thesis and Dissertations

Economic Implications of the Use of Technology in Commercial Vehicle Operations

URL: https://digital.lib.washington.edu/researchworks/handle/1773/21986
Publication Date: 2012
Summary:

The effective and efficient movement of freight is essential to the economic well-being of our country but freight transport also adversely impacts our society by contributing to a large number of crashes, including those resulting in injuries and fatalities. Technology has been used increasingly to facilitate safety and operational improvements within commercial vehicle operations, but motor carriers operate on small profit margins, limiting their ability to make large investments without also seeing an economic benefit from such technologies. This dissertation explores the economic implications associated with using onboard monitoring systems to enhance safety in commercial vehicle operations.

First, to better understand how electronic on-board systems work, paper-based methods of recording driver hours of service are compared to automated (or electronically recorded) hours of service for three motor carriers using process analysis. This analysis addressed the differences between manual (paper-based) and electronic methods of recording hours of service, specifically as they relate to the frequencies and magnitude of the errors. Potential errors are categorized by operations within an information-based process and the findings suggest that a reduction of errors can be achieved with an electronic system.

A benefit-cost analysis provides a better understanding of the economic implications of onboard monitoring systems from the perspective of the carrier. In addition to the benefits of reduced crashes, benefits associated with electronic recording of hours of service, reduced mileage, and reduced fuel costs are considered. A sensitivity analysis is used and demonstrates that on-board monitoring systems are economically viable under a wide range of conditions. Results indicate that, for some fleet types, reducing crashes and improving hours of service recording, provides a net benefit of close to $300,000 over the five-year expected lifespan of the system. Furthermore, when exploring additional benefits such as reduced fuel consumption and reduced vehicle miles, benefits can be upwards of seven times more than safety-related benefits. This research also shows that net positive benefits are possible in large and small-sized fleets. Results can be used to inform policies for motivating or mandating carriers to use such systems and to inform carriers regarding the value of system investment.

Authors: Kelly A. Pitera
Recommended Citation:
Pitera, Kelly Ann. "Economic Implications of the Use of Technology in Commercial Vehicle Operations." PhD diss., 2012.
Thesis: Array
Paper

Effect of Tsunami Damage on Passenger and Forestry Transportation in Pacific County Washington

 
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URL: https://doi.org/10.3141/2604-11
Publication: Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
Volume: 2604 (1)
Pages: 88-94
Publication Date: 2017
Summary:

The outer coast of Washington State is exposed to significant seismic and tsunami hazards. A Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) event is expected to cause high earthquake intensities and tsunami inundation resulting in considerable infrastructure loss, inundation of developed land, and degraded functioning of coastal communities.

One area of particular concern is Pacific County, located in southwest Washington, where over 85% of the population is expected to experience severe shaking intensities.

This paper establishes the pre-disaster passenger and freight transportation patterns and the damaged post-disaster road network in Pacific County. The hazard used in the analysis is the CSZ magnitude 9.1 earthquake and resulting tsunami. Passenger travel is compared to forestry travel along the following characteristics: overall change in travel distance, percentage of trips that are longer, the percentage of trips that are no longer possible, and the distributions of travel distance.

Because passenger and freight travel have different purposes and patterns, understanding how they are affected differently can serve as a foundation for community-based disaster recovery planning to increase community resilience to earthquakes and tsunamis.

Authors: Dr. Anne Goodchild, Maura Rowell
Recommended Citation:
Rowell, Maura, and Anne Goodchild. "Effect of Tsunami Damage on Passenger and Forestry Transportation in Pacific County, Washington." Transportation Research Record 2604, no. 1 (2017): 88-94.
Paper

Assessing the Safety Effects of Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems: A Bowtie Analysis Approach

URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2016.11.014
Publication: Accident Analysis and Prevention
Volume: 99 (A)
Pages: 125-141
Publication Date: 2017
Summary:

The safety effects of cooperative intelligent transport systems (C-ITS) are mostly unknown and associated with uncertainties, because these systems represent emerging technology. This study proposes a bowtie analysis as a conceptual framework for evaluating the safety effect of cooperative intelligent transport systems. These seek to prevent road traffic accidents or mitigate their consequences. Under the assumption of the potential occurrence of a particular single-vehicle accident, three case studies demonstrate the application of the bowtie analysis approach in road traffic safety. The approach utilizes exemplary expert estimates and knowledge from literature on the probability of the occurrence of accident risk factors and of the success of safety measures. Fuzzy set theory is applied to handle uncertainty in expert knowledge. Based on this approach, a useful tool is developed to estimate the effects of safety-related cooperative intelligent transport systems in terms of the expected change in accident occurrence and consequence probability.

Authors: Dr. Ed McCormack, Ute Christine Ehlers, Eirin Olaussen Ryeng, Faisal Khan, Sören Ehlers
Recommended Citation:
Ehlers, Ute Christine, Eirin Olaussen Ryeng, Edward McCormack, Faisal Khan, and Sören Ehlers. "Assessing the safety effects of cooperative intelligent transport systems: A bowtie analysis approach." Accident Analysis & Prevention 99 (2017): 125-141.

Dr. Ed McCormack

Dr. Ed McCormack
Dr. Ed McCormack
  • Research Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • Washington State Transportation Center (TRAC)
  • Director, Sustainable Transportation Master's degree program
edm@uw.edu  |  206-543-3348  |  Wilson Ceramics Lab 108
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  • Freight Mobility in Urban Areas
  • Transportation Technology Evaluation
  • Freight Systems Performance Measurement

Dr. Ed McCormack’s research program is broadly around the theme of the use of technology to improve mobility for people and goods. Improved data storage, wireless communications, and faster computers have created new streams of high quality transportation information. This information allows operators and the public to be more strategic and efficient about using our transportation system but also requires new thinking and innovative approaches. Given the belief in our society that technology can solve many problems, one challenge that he frequently addresses in his research is elemental: what works? For example, his research has evaluated the application and usability of different in-vehicle tracking technologies and of freight-oriented traveler information systems.

A second topic of importance is his recent research—derived from his interest in technology—that explores the development of quantitative tools that can use streaming data. Many of his projects have used these data to create performance measures that allow the monitoring of vehicle travel activity and the calculation of metrics that support engineering and planning decisions.

He has increasingly focused on freight mobility. Despite freight’s obvious importance to our society, this area of transportation has traditionally been understudied by academics, particularly in comparison to people transportation. As a researcher, he has found that there are opportunities to provide innovative insights in this area.

  • Faculty Appreciation for Career Education & Training (FACET) Award for mentoring of students (2020)
  • Ph.D., Geography, University of Washington (1997)
    Dissertation: A Chained-Based Exploration of Work Travel by Residents of Mixed Land-Use Neighborhoods
  • M.S., Civil Engineering, University of Washington (1985)
    Thesis: An Examination of Transit’s Work-Share Using Census Journey–to-Work and Transit On-Board Survey Data
  • B.S.E., Geography, University of Washington (1979)

Dr. Ed McCormack is an international leader in truck GPS data applications for freight performance measurement, and technology that facilitates truck flows along roadways and through border crossings and marine ports. He developed methods for the Washington State Department of Transportation and the Norwegian government to measure truck speed and reliability performance on highways and roads through the analysis of truck GPS data. He recently served as the Chief Engineer in the ITS section of the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.

He holds a PhD in Geography, MS in Civil Engineering, and a BA in Geography—all from the University of Washington. Before working at UW, he was an engineering consultant with David Evans and Associates and a transportation planner with both King County and the Puget Sound Regional Councils.

Dr. McCormack has worked on National Academy of Sciences Transportation Research Board (TRB) projects to identify and improve truck bottlenecks, incorporate smart growth principles into freight forecasting tools, and help public agencies obtain freight data and turn it into valuable information.

He is an independent evaluator for U.S. Department of Transportation freight technology projects, including those addressing truck queuing and congestion. He is directs and teaches in the Sustainable Transportation Master’s degree program and Livable Communities certificate program.

  • Professor (II), Department of Civil and Transport Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
  • Adjunct Research Associate Professor, Urban Design and Planning, University of Washington
Paper

Exploring Transportation Applications of Small Unmanned Aircraft

URL: https://trid.trb.org/view.aspx?id=908723
Publication: Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Journal
Volume: 79 (12)
Pages: 32-36
Publication Date: 2009
Summary:

This article describes the promise of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in transportation-related applications. Small UAVs are increasingly affordable, easy to transport and launch, and can be equipped with cameras that provide information usable for transportation agencies. Potential uses of UAVs include accident scene photography, surveying, security inspections, construction data collection, and monitoring the condition and congestion of roadways. However, there are currently limitations that hinder the use of UAVs by state departments of transportation. The limitations are linked to the need to obtain authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration, which has expressed concern about the ability of UAVs to see and avoid manned aircraft. Recent tests were conducted by the Washington State Department of Transportation to evaluate the technical capabilities and institutional concerns related to the use of UAVs. Results from these tests indicate that the UAVs can perform effective and autonomous aerial surveillance, but concerns linger about the reliability of UAVs and the consequences of a crash.

Authors: Dr. Ed McCormack
Recommended Citation:
McCormack, Edward. "Exploring transportation applications of small unmanned aircraft." Institute of Transportation Engineers. ITE Journal 79, no. 12 (2009): 32.

Shipping Resilience: Strategic Planning for Coastal Community Resilience to Marine Transportation Risk

A catastrophic earthquake could disrupt marine transportation across coastal British Columbia, severely affecting supply chains to coastal communities and emergency response capabilities. This project seeks to better understand such risks and develop effective resilience strategies for different types of coastal communities. It inquires into how disaster events would likely affect ports, marine transportation routes, and the associated movement of people and resources in the emergency response phase, and what strategies would be effective to alleviate potential consequences.

Co-principal investigators on this project are David Bristow at the University of Victoria (infrastructure systems modeling), Ron Pelot and Floris Goerlandt at Dalhousie University (shipping risk), C. Lin and L. Zhou at the University of Victoria (port geotech and structural modeling), and Anne Goodchild at the University of Washington (shipping logistics).

This project aims to improve understanding of how coastal marine transportation systems would be disrupted in natural hazard events, how such disruption would impact coastal communities, and what strategies could effectively address this risk. Focusing on the movement of people and goods in the emergency response phase of a disaster, the study develops new tools, information, and risk assessments to support preparedness planning by local and provincial governments and the transportation sector. The research delivers: (1) workshops for engaging government and transport sector stakeholders; (2) a framework for assessing coastal community resilience to shipping disruption; (3) a simulation tool based on this framework; and (4) specific findings and recommendations for two case studies – a detailed analysis of catastrophic earthquake risk in British Columbia and exploratory analysis of hurricane risk in Atlantic Canada.

Paper

Data-Driven Innovations in Policy-Oriented Freight Transport Models and Planning Methods

 
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URL: https://doi.org/10.18757/ejtir.2016.16.1.3109
Publication: European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research
Volume: 16(1)
Pages: 3-Jan
Publication Date: 2016
Summary:

Freight transport is a challenging economic sector, as it is essential for the functioning of production and distribution systems but and the same time is at the origin of many nuisances such as congestion, greenhouse gas emissions, pollution and noise. When responding to these issues, planners dispose nowadays of a growing body of freight data that can be used for the implementation of policies towards achieving smart mobility. Because contrary to current practice and dominant discourse, smart mobility is not just a matter of passengers: it also largely relies on more sustainable freight plays an transport. Policy makers see in those new sources of data an opportunity to increase their knowledge on freight transport as well as to have suitable decision support tools to the choices they need to make. In developed countries this trend is illustrated by the increasing requirement of data by recent legislation on freight transport. But these data are not always easily available, and when they are, they are not necessarily adapted to the needs of practitioners. This mismatch partly results in a lack of dialogue between researchers and practitioners, that this special issue intends to promote.

Authors: Dr. Anne Goodchild, Jesus Gonzalez-Feliu, David Guerrero
Recommended Citation:
Gonzalez-Feliu, Jesus, Anne Goodchild, and David Guerrero. "Data-driven innovations in policy-oriented freight transport models and planning methods." European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research 16, no. 1 (2016).

Behavior-Based National Freight Demand Modeling

Current models for forecasting freight movement in the United States have been developed primarily at the statewide level, along with a few regional freight forecasting models. This project is developing a national freight forecasting model for the FHWA. The model, the first of its kind at the national level, will support national freight policy making and planning. As a subcontractor to RSG, UW researchers are helping to identify the most useful and promising structures for a national model and are leading the evaluation of model components and their integration. They are also developing an approach to test the potential specifications for each model component and are contributing to the development of national sources of data for use in the model. The project will demonstrate the model in a software application.

Learn More:

Development of a Behavioral-Based National Freight Demand Model Fact Sheet