DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR OPTIMAL SELECTION OF HAUL ROUTES BASED ON TIME SLOTS IN EARTHMOVING OPERATION

Haul routes for earthmoving operation need to be carefully selected because the decision on the haul routes could make a significant difference in the project's cost and time. This paper proposes a decision support system for improving productivity of earthmoving operation that helps construction managers choose the best haul routes of trucks based on time slots. Also, a methodology for optimal selection of haul routes considering traffic conditions and topographic conditions of the routes is explained. Raster data model is used to find an available shortest path based on cost weighted distance. A system was developed on a geographic information system environment for efficient database management and easy manipulation of graphical data. A real-world case study was conducted to verify the applicability of the proposed system.