In this paper, we present a novel quantitative analysis for the strategic planning decision problem of allocating certain available prevention and protection resources to, respectively, reduce the failure probabilities of system safety measures and the total expected loss from a sequence of...

A set of models and procedures is described for finding the optimal distribution of empty freight cars owned by the railroads participating in a pooling agreement. A distinction is drawn between a system focus, in which the emphasis is on minimizing total cost, and a company focus, in which the...

The debate about the use of dedicated trains for shipping spent fuel and high level nuclear waste has been going on for the past 15 years. The nuclear industry and its regulatory agencies would like to consider the case closed. The recent passage of the Hazardous Materials Transportation Uniform...

Although computer simulation can be used to determine the distribution of the product of two triangularly distributed variables for a specific application, a closed-form expression is preferable in general. Assuming independence, the closed-form probability density function of this product is...

The methodology presented here solves an R&D program portfolio selection problem that arises in critical infrastructure protection and similar security risk reduction problems. It requires priorities to be assigned to the risks, existing risk levels to be assessed, and the effectiveness of...

When products are sold by multiple vendors in various locations, the purchaser must decide what to order from each vendor and where to send it. To solve this decision problem, a novel optimization model is developed and applied to a situation involving the nationwide wholesale distribution of...

This paper proposes and analyzes a model for maximizing the profit of a product sold under warranty. The decision variables assumed in the model are the price of the product and the length of the period throughout which the manufacturer is responsible for service. The paper focuses on the...

Models are formulated and computed to assess the risks of hazardous materials releases in train derailments in terms of: the probability of any number of fatalities in an accident, the probability of any total number of fatalities from all the accidents in a year, and the frequency of accidents...