Evaluation of Truck Balance Locations for Hazardous Materials Using Empirical Approach: Case Study in Argentina

Abstract

The logistical problems that companies must face tend to have conflicting interests between customers and service providers, which makes them difficult to solve. In turn, when the activities involve the transport of hazardous materials, the problem becomes critical in security terms, and makes logistics operations even more difficult. In the hazardous materials transportation literature, problems related to the routing of vehicles and the geographic location of supply or service centres are often addressed. However, there are not many studies related to the study of the loading, unloading and weighing operations of trucks that handle hazardous materials within industrial plants. That is why this work presents a case study of the installation of a new truck balance in an industrial plant in Argentina. To do this, the internal logistics operation and the current state of the plant's infrastructure are analyzed. A detailed study of the alternatives for the location of the balance was carried out following the criteria set by the company's management and the problem was solved using an empirical weighting method coordinated with the heads of the Supply Chain Department. A satisfactory solution was obtained.