Non-parametric Linear Technique for Measuring the Efficiency of Winter Road Maintenance in the Arctic Area
Improving the performance of Winter Road Maintenance (WRM) can increase the traffic safety and reduce the cost as well as environmental impacts. This study evaluates the efficiency of WRM technique, named salting, in the Arctic area by using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), which is a non-parametric linear method to measure the efficiencies of decision-making units (DMUs) based on handling multiple inputs and multiple outputs at the same time that their associated weights are not known. Here, roads are considered as DMUs for which the efficiency must be determined. The three input variables considered are traffic flow, road area and WRM cost. In addition, the two output variables included are level of safety in the roads and environment impacts resulted from WRM, which is also considered as an uncontrollable factor in the second scenario. The results show the performance of DMUs from the most efficient WRM to the inefficient/least efficient one and this information provides decision makers with technical support and the required suggested improvements for inefficient WRM, in order to achieve a cost-effective WRM and a safe road transportation during wintertime in the Arctic areas.
[1] A. Kociánová, "The intelligent winter road maintenance management in Slovak," in Theoretical Foundation of Civil Engineering, 2015.
[2] E. Pilli-Sihvola, P. Leviakangas, R. Hautala, "Better winter road weather information saves money, time, lives and environment," in 19th Intelligent Transport System World Congress, ITS 2012, 2012.
[3] H.R. Vignisdottir, et al., "A review of environmental impacts of winter road maintenance," Cold Regions Science and Technology, vol. 158, pp. 143-153, 2019.
[4] H. Norem, "Selection of Strategies for Winter Maintenance of Roads Based on Climatic Parameters," Journal of Cold Regions Engineering, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 113-135, 2009.
[5] D.K. Jones, et al., "Investigation of road salts and biotic stressors on freshwater wetland communities," Environmental Pollution, vol. 221, pp. 159-167, 2017.
[6] J.F. Nystad, "Nasjonal transportplan 2018–2029," vol. 48, 2016, pp. 48(05): 10-13.
[7] NPRA, "Norwegian Public Roads Administration," 2013.
[8] NMTC, "Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications," 2013.
[9] D.M. Ramakrishna, T. Viraraghavan, "Environmental Impact of Chemical Deicers – A Review," Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, vol. 166, no. 1-4, pp. 49-63, 2005.
[10] M. Riehm, "Measurements for winter road maintenance, KTH Royal Institute of Technology," KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 2012.
[11] A. Charnes, W.W. Cooper, E. Rhodes, "Measuring the efficiency of decision making units," European Journal of Operational Research, vol. 2, no. 6, pp. 429-444, 1978.
[12] M.E. Ozbek, "Development of a Comprehensive Framework for the Efficiency Measurement of Road Maintenance Strategies using Data Envelopment Analysis," Virginia Tech, 2007.
[13] M.E Ozbek, J.M. de la Garza, K. Triantis, "Data and Modeling Issues Faced during the Efficiency Measurement of Road Maintenance Using Data Envelopment Analysis," Journal of Infrastructure Systems, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 21-30, 2010a.
[14] M.E Ozbek, J.M. de la Garza, K. Triantis, "Efficiency Measurement of Bridge Maintenance Using Data Envelopment Analysis," Journal of Infrastructure Systems, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 31-39, 2010b.
[15] L. Hjalmarsson, J. Odeck "Efficiency of trucks in road construction and maintenance: an evaluation with data envelopment analysis," Computers & Operations Research, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 393-404, 1996.
[16] T.R. Sexton, R.H. Silkman, A.J. Hogan, "Data envelopment analysis: Critique and extensions," New Directions for Program Evaluation, vol. 1986, no. 32, pp. 73-105, 1986.
[17] K. Triantis, " "Efficiency measures and data envelopment analysis " ISE 5144 fall 2005 class notes," Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va, 2005.
[18] K. Cullinane, D.W. Song, T. Wang, "The Application of Mathematical Programming Approaches to Estimating Container Port Production Efficiency," Journal of Productivity Analysis, vol. 24, no. 1, p. 73–92, 2005.
[19] B. Golany, Y. Roll, "An application procedure for DEA," Omega, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 237-250, 1989.
[20] R.G.Dyson and et al. "Pitfalls and protocols in DEA," European Journal of Operational Research, vol. 132, no. 2, pp. 245-259, 2001.
[21] J. Sarkis, "Preparing Your Data for DEA," Modeling Data Irregularities and Structural Complexities in Data Envelopment Analysis, Springer, pp. 305-320, 2007.
[22] A. Charnes, C.T. Clark, W.W. Cooper, B. Golany, "A developmental study of data envelopment analysis in measuring the efficiency of maintenance units in the U.S. air forces," Annals of Operations Research, vol. 2, no. 1, p. 95–112, 1984.
[23] C. LIU, "Measuring the relative efficiency and reorganization-The example of CDFAs of the NAN-TOU County in Taiwan," Economics Bulletin, vol. 17, no. 9, pp. 1-11, 2005.
[24] A. Charnes, W.W. Cooper, A.Y. Levin, L.M. Seiford, Data Envelopment Analysis: Theory, Methodology, and Applications, 2013.
[1] A. Kociánová, "The intelligent winter road maintenance management in Slovak," in Theoretical Foundation of Civil Engineering, 2015.
[2] E. Pilli-Sihvola, P. Leviakangas, R. Hautala, "Better winter road weather information saves money, time, lives and environment," in 19th Intelligent Transport System World Congress, ITS 2012, 2012.
[3] H.R. Vignisdottir, et al., "A review of environmental impacts of winter road maintenance," Cold Regions Science and Technology, vol. 158, pp. 143-153, 2019.
[4] H. Norem, "Selection of Strategies for Winter Maintenance of Roads Based on Climatic Parameters," Journal of Cold Regions Engineering, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 113-135, 2009.
[5] D.K. Jones, et al., "Investigation of road salts and biotic stressors on freshwater wetland communities," Environmental Pollution, vol. 221, pp. 159-167, 2017.
[6] J.F. Nystad, "Nasjonal transportplan 2018–2029," vol. 48, 2016, pp. 48(05): 10-13.
[7] NPRA, "Norwegian Public Roads Administration," 2013.
[8] NMTC, "Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications," 2013.
[9] D.M. Ramakrishna, T. Viraraghavan, "Environmental Impact of Chemical Deicers – A Review," Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, vol. 166, no. 1-4, pp. 49-63, 2005.
[10] M. Riehm, "Measurements for winter road maintenance, KTH Royal Institute of Technology," KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 2012.
[11] A. Charnes, W.W. Cooper, E. Rhodes, "Measuring the efficiency of decision making units," European Journal of Operational Research, vol. 2, no. 6, pp. 429-444, 1978.
[12] M.E. Ozbek, "Development of a Comprehensive Framework for the Efficiency Measurement of Road Maintenance Strategies using Data Envelopment Analysis," Virginia Tech, 2007.
[13] M.E Ozbek, J.M. de la Garza, K. Triantis, "Data and Modeling Issues Faced during the Efficiency Measurement of Road Maintenance Using Data Envelopment Analysis," Journal of Infrastructure Systems, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 21-30, 2010a.
[14] M.E Ozbek, J.M. de la Garza, K. Triantis, "Efficiency Measurement of Bridge Maintenance Using Data Envelopment Analysis," Journal of Infrastructure Systems, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 31-39, 2010b.
[15] L. Hjalmarsson, J. Odeck "Efficiency of trucks in road construction and maintenance: an evaluation with data envelopment analysis," Computers & Operations Research, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 393-404, 1996.
[16] T.R. Sexton, R.H. Silkman, A.J. Hogan, "Data envelopment analysis: Critique and extensions," New Directions for Program Evaluation, vol. 1986, no. 32, pp. 73-105, 1986.
[17] K. Triantis, " "Efficiency measures and data envelopment analysis " ISE 5144 fall 2005 class notes," Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va, 2005.
[18] K. Cullinane, D.W. Song, T. Wang, "The Application of Mathematical Programming Approaches to Estimating Container Port Production Efficiency," Journal of Productivity Analysis, vol. 24, no. 1, p. 73–92, 2005.
[19] B. Golany, Y. Roll, "An application procedure for DEA," Omega, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 237-250, 1989.
[20] R.G.Dyson and et al. "Pitfalls and protocols in DEA," European Journal of Operational Research, vol. 132, no. 2, pp. 245-259, 2001.
[21] J. Sarkis, "Preparing Your Data for DEA," Modeling Data Irregularities and Structural Complexities in Data Envelopment Analysis, Springer, pp. 305-320, 2007.
[22] A. Charnes, C.T. Clark, W.W. Cooper, B. Golany, "A developmental study of data envelopment analysis in measuring the efficiency of maintenance units in the U.S. air forces," Annals of Operations Research, vol. 2, no. 1, p. 95–112, 1984.
[23] C. LIU, "Measuring the relative efficiency and reorganization-The example of CDFAs of the NAN-TOU County in Taiwan," Economics Bulletin, vol. 17, no. 9, pp. 1-11, 2005.
[24] A. Charnes, W.W. Cooper, A.Y. Levin, L.M. Seiford, Data Envelopment Analysis: Theory, Methodology, and Applications, 2013.
@article{"International Journal of Mechanical, Industrial and Aerospace Sciences:79259", author = "Mahshid Hatamzad and Geanette Polanco", title = "Non-parametric Linear Technique for Measuring the Efficiency of Winter Road Maintenance in the Arctic Area", abstract = "Improving the performance of Winter Road Maintenance (WRM) can increase the traffic safety and reduce the cost as well as environmental impacts. This study evaluates the efficiency of WRM technique, named salting, in the Arctic area by using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), which is a non-parametric linear method to measure the efficiencies of decision-making units (DMUs) based on handling multiple inputs and multiple outputs at the same time that their associated weights are not known. Here, roads are considered as DMUs for which the efficiency must be determined. The three input variables considered are traffic flow, road area and WRM cost. In addition, the two output variables included are level of safety in the roads and environment impacts resulted from WRM, which is also considered as an uncontrollable factor in the second scenario. The results show the performance of DMUs from the most efficient WRM to the inefficient/least efficient one and this information provides decision makers with technical support and the required suggested improvements for inefficient WRM, in order to achieve a cost-effective WRM and a safe road transportation during wintertime in the Arctic areas.
", keywords = "DEA, environmental impacts, risk and safety, WRM. ", volume = "13", number = "11", pages = "687-6", }
