MODELING TRANSPORTATION RESOURCE CAPACITY AND OPTIMIZING SECURE SHIPPING OPERATIONS

The Department of Energy owns a number of nuclear materials that require physical protection. This protection is required for the materials in transit as well as in storage. The resource capacity for protecting these materials in transit was allowed to decline after the end of the cold war. As Records of Decision regarding the disposition of surplus special nuclear materials (SNM) are implemented, the Department’s secure transportation workload will increase dramatically. New resources cannot be added fast enough to support the growth in work scope unless secure shipping operations become more efficient. This paper describes our effort to model integrated secure shipping operations and to recommend changes to shipping plans that reduce workload and increase capacity.