sustainability
Article
Optimizing the Vehicle Scheduling Problem for Just-in-Time
Delivery Considering Carbon Emissions and Atmospheric
Particulate Matter
Bingtao Quan 1 , Sujian Li 1 and Kuo-Jui Wu 2, *
Citation: Quan, B.; Li, S.; Wu, K.-J.
Optimizing the Vehicle Scheduling
Problem for Just-in-Time Delivery
Considering Carbon Emissions and
Atmospheric Particulate Matter.
Sustainability 2022, 14, 6181. https://
doi.org/10.3390/su14106181
Academic Editor: Maxim A.
Dulebenets
Received: 5 April 2022
Accepted: 16 May 2022
Published: 19 May 2022
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral
with regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional affil-
iations.
Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).
Sustainability 2022, 14, 6181. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14106181
1 School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China;
quanbingtao@163.com or b20150274@xs.ustb.edu.cn (B.Q.); lisujian@me.ustb.edu.cn (S.L.)
2 School of Management, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 106335, Taiwan
* Correspondence: garykjwu@gmail.com or garykjwu@mail.ntust.edu.tw
Abstract: The coordinated development of companies and ecological protection are possible only
with increasing environmental awareness. Therefore, this study aims to investigate how companies
can achieve sustainable development. It is found that the scientific implementation of the vehicle
scheduling problem (VSP) for just-in-time (JIT) delivery in the raw material procurement logistics
of iron and steel companies can reduce the carbon emissions in the VSP process and, taking into
account the negative correlation between weather conditions and PM10, can effectively reduce PM10.
On this basis, a multiobjective optimization model is constructed with the objectives of minimizing
carbon emissions and PM10 along with the traditional objective of cost optimization. A greedy
algorithm with high computational efficiency and an embedded genetic algorithm (GA) is used to
further improve the response time of the VSP. Verification shows that in practice, the model enables
companies to effectively reduce not only logistics costs but also PM10 and carbon emissions; in theory,
the model expands the applicability of JIT to all value-added activities, exploring all value-added
activities in different spatial and temporal dimensions to achieve the optimal combination of company
cost, environmental effects, and weather dimensions.
Keywords: just-in-time; vehicle scheduling problem; carbon emission; atmospheric particulate matter
1. Introduction
In 2019, United Nations Secretary-General Guterres stated that without drastic mea-
sures to reverse the trend of carbon emissions, we will continue to experience deadly and
disastrous heatwaves, storms, and pollution. As a major carbon emitter, China has pledged
to reduce carbon emissions per unit gross domestic product (GDP) by more than 65% by
2030 from those in 2005. The steel industry is a key factor in China’s carbon emission control.
For HBIS Group Chengsteel Company (hereinafter referred to as Chengsteel), realizing pol-
lution and emission reduction will determine the future survival and fate of the company.
In terms of procurement logistics, due to its location in inland mountainous areas, 100% of
vanadium containing iron powder, 30% of imported ore powder, 10% of coke, and 100% of
the auxiliary materials purchased by the company need to be transported by road. Road
transport is the mode of transport with the highest percentage of emissions. This study
takes the procurement logistics of vanadium-titanium iron powder as the research object
and employs the “door-to-door” feature of automobile transportation to realize “loading
and unloading” scheduling from suppliers to factories through the implementation of
the vehicle scheduling problem (VSP) for just-in-time (JIT) delivery to reduce the carbon
emissions and logistics costs from the waiting time for vehicle loading and unloading
as well as reshipment between storage stockyards [1]. In addition, through the analysis
of the impact of weather changes on PM10, the functional relationship between weather
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability
Sustainability 2022, 14, 6181 2 of 19

changes and the PM10 cost target is established. Finally, a comprehensive multiobjective
optimization model of logistics cost, carbon emissions, and PM10 cost is constructed [2].
With the JIT-VSP, JIT delivery is completed by vehicle scheduling, where the manu-
facturer’s supply requirements for each piece of goods from the supplier are within an
acceptable time range, there is a designated location, and the quantity requested is available
in the current inventory. Under multitask and multiconstraint conditions, the supplier
completes all transportation tasks through vehicle scheduling according to the carrying
capacity of vehicles [3]. Admittedly, JIT-VSPs are common, but more constraints may be
added according to the actual conditions. To address the uncertainty in factors such as
supply chain operation, the perishability of transported products, and the termination of
partnerships, [4] establish cross-warehouse facilities between suppliers and manufacturers
to improve the effectiveness of product distribution. Ref. [5] consider the scheduling of
returning vehicles for recycling packaging materials to achieve JIT supply chain sustainabil-
ity. Ref. [6] discuss the internal JIT-VSP and establish that the exact number of parts can be
delivered to the workstation in time through the tractor with carrying capacity constraints.
A review of the VSP-related literature finds that some scholars have not clearly distin-
guished between the JIT-VSP and time window VSP (TWVSP). Ref. [7] argue that the VSP
based on cross-transfer facilities to meet customers’ required time windows (TWs) should
be viewed as a TWVSP. Facing the same problem, [4] define it as a JIT-VSP. This issue
occurs because the understanding of the JIT concept is not sufficiently thorough. This study
distinguishes the two different concepts through comparative analysis. The basic objective
of JIT is to reduce inventory, and the strategy to achieve the objective is to quickly respond
to customers’ demands [5]. However, the focus of JIT is to take the means to solve the
problems exposed by reducing inventory: production streamline, production equalization,
and resource allocation rationalization [8]. The ultimate objective is to improve production
efficiency by solving problems and eliminating all waste. Therefore, the ultimate objective
of the JIT-VSP is to maximize profits, while the focus of the TWVSP is to meet the needs
of customers.
Based on the JIT-VSP of procurement logistics in iron and steel firms, the first objective
of this study is to reduce the logistics cost, including vehicle operation cost, inventory
cost, as well as intermediate inventory loading and unloading cost; the second and third
objectives are to reduce the carbon emission and PM10 costs of vehicles [9], respectively,
and the comprehensive optimal objective is achieved by the greedy algorithm with an
embedded genetic algorithm (GA) [10]. This study contributes to JIT theory and company
management. Specifically, the contributions to the JIT production system are as follows:
(1) the implementation of the JIT-VSP can reduce emissions and improve the ecological
environment; (2) JIT can not only eliminate all non-value-added activities but also create
all valuable activities; (3) JIT can enable core firms and upstream firms to “maximize
profits” and achieve a win-win outcome. Through one-year cost analysis, (1) the cost
of vehicles used by the firm is significantly reduced, (2) the annual carbon emissions
are reduced and the PM10 fines are significantly reduced, and (3) the comprehensive
target cost is 50,178,635 RMB, amounting to a reduction of 16,282,459 RMB compared
with 66,461,094 RMB before optimization. The rest of this article is organized as follows:
Section 2 briefly reviews the relevant literature; the mathematical model is constructed, and
the algorithm flow is introduced in Section 3; Section 4 describes the problem, introduces a
case, and verifies it; Section 5 presents the theoretical and managerial implications of the
present study; and Section 6 gives conclusions.

2. Literature Review
2.1. JIT and VSP
JIT is an extension of the Toyota Production System and has been adopted to address
the issue of receiving goods from suppliers as needed for reducing inventory holding costs
or increasing inventory turnover. However, most researchers treat the ideas of JIT and
lean production as interchangeable. The difference between these two ideas is that JIT
Sustainability 2022, 14, 6181 3 of 19

is production-oriented based on a company, while lean production is customer-oriented.

Therefore, studies applied the JIT concept in different fields to promote a company’s perfor-
mance through the implementation of continuous improvements and problem-solving in
their organization [11,12]. Several studies attempted to adopt the JIT concept to reduce the
lead time and inventories through integration with VSPs [13]. In a recent application, [14]
attempted to utilize JIT considerations in dealing with the COVID 19 pandemic to balance
economical and managerial aspects. Several studies highlighted that JIT may be able to
control the consumer food waste by generating adaptive interventions [15,16].
The wide applicability of the VSP has attracted many scholars to engage in research
in the related fields. Compared with static VSP, the dynamic VSP can adjust the response
to external changes in real-time, improving the degree of freedom of decision-making.
For example, in a travel plan, the itinerary of tourists may change midway, which causes
the originally planned schedule to become suboptimal or even infeasible [17]. The VSP
is closely related to the urban public transport system. Urban public transport systems
are difficult to model because of their multicriteria characteristics [18]. Due to the environ-
mental protection benefits and low cost of electric vehicles, the number of electric buses is
gradually increasing in traditional public transport systems, so traditional public transport
dispatching systems are no longer suitable for the current demand [19,20]. Based on the
research of single depots, the multidepot VSP is more widely applicable [21,22].
The ultralong distance JIT-VSP of multinational corporations is a new challenge. To
increase the coordination and consistency between manufacturing plants and suppliers, [23]
set up a transfer station at a wharf. Overseas suppliers store parts and components in the
transfer station, and the vehicles realize container distribution according to the production
plan of the factory. To solve the VSP of parts distribution in an automobile assembly line,
a JIT distribution mode for a parts supermarket was designed [4]. The past research on
the JIT-VSP focuses more on solving the problem of how to meet the production demand
on time and rarely connects JIT-VSP with the ecological environment for discussion. The
impact of JIT on atmospheric suspended particle emissions is even less often studied.
It is increasingly difficult to solve mathematical models of the JIT-VSP with increasing
complexity. Default solvers and exact algorithms can solve only some small-scale problems
in a limited time. To solve some large-scale problems in practical applications, heuristic
algorithms are used to obtain approximate solutions [24]. To solve the VSP based on a
JIT automobile assembly line, taking the total penalty of punctual advance and delay
time as constraints in the model design and minimization of the inventory level of the
production line as the optimization objective, an improved discrete artificial bee colony
metaheuristic algorithm was developed [25]. An example showed that the improved
algorithm improves the mining ability of the metaheuristic algorithm. In addition, the
time penalty of punctuality can be taken as the optimization objective. Aiming at the
JIT-VSP of sending parts to an assembly plant, a multiobjective model was constructed
by minimizing the number of vehicles and the total waiting time, and the approximate
solution was obtained by using the algorithm of large-scale neighborhood search. An
example showed that the solution speed is fast and that the result is much better than that
of the solver. The JIT-VSP with cross warehouse facilities is another a problem often faced
by manufacturing companies. Taking the minimization of the VSP cost as the optimization
objective, a delayed start parallel evolutionary algorithm was designed. An example
showed that the performance of the improved hybrid heuristic algorithm is superior to that
of the general metaheuristic algorithm for solving the JIT-VSP [4].

2.2. Proposed Methods

Greedy algorithms always make the best choice when solving a problem. In other
words, without considering the overall optimization, the algorithm obtains the local optimal
solution. Greedy algorithms have been successfully applied to various scheduling prob-
lems [26,27]. Iterative greedy (IG) algorithms are simple random metaheuristic algorithms.
This type of algorithm starts with an initial solution and then tries to improve the current
Sustainability 2022, 14, 6181 4 of 19

solution through three main stages of iteration (destruction, construction, and acceptance);
this can be applied to the workshop scheduling problem with different processing capa-
bilities and unrelated parallel machines. A simple and effective IG algorithm can be used
to further improve the quality of the solution. The greedy algorithm has the advantage
of a fast operation speed but is easily trapped in local optima. Therefore, more studies
use hybrid algorithms combining global search and greedy algorithms to obtain better
solutions. An improved particle swarm optimization algorithm combined with a greedy
algorithm was introduced for multirobot task allocation strategy optimization [28]. Aiming
at the task allocation problem of a multi-intelligent system, with careful consideration of
the constraints of space, time, and energy consumption in a multi-intelligent system, a
distributed algorithm combining the multiobjective evolutionary algorithm D-NSGA3 and
the greedy algorithm was used to search for an optimal solution.
Compared with precise algorithms, heuristic algorithms find a “near-optimal” solution
within an acceptable time range. Therefore, researchers prefer to use heuristic algorithms
to solve practical problems. In particular, the GA is an effective metaheuristic algorithm
that can be used to solve operation management problems such as facility layout problems,
supply network design problems, scheduling problems, prediction problems, and inventory
control problems [29] and shows good performance in scheduling problems such as process
planning and scheduling integration [30–32]. The GA can find a better solution in an
acceptable time range in the field of operations research, so the GA is the designated
algorithm tool by default [33]. An efficient and order-aware hybrid GA was applied to
solve the vehicle routing problem with carrying capacity in the Internet of Things [34].
The algorithm improves the initialization strategy and designs the crossover operator for
specific problems. Combined with the characteristics of production continuity in iron and
steel firms, this study requires rapid scheduling response, so the greedy algorithm with the
embedded GA are used to solve it.

3. Materials and Methods

3.1. Objective Function
In the objective function of Equation (1), min Z is the minimized target cost of ten
weather characteristics during T [35]. f 1 is the logistics cost during T, including the
cost to use the scheduled vehicles, the penalty cost of violating the left TW, the vehicle
transportation cost, the inventory cost increase according to the relative humidity level, the
inventory cost increase according to the rainfall level, and the water content transportation
cost; f 2 is the cost of carbon emissions during T, including those from waiting for unloading
and transportation [36]; and f 3 is the PM10 penalty function generated by transportation
during T.

L H K L H M I K Qk n o
f 1 = ∑ ∑ ∑ nlT + nhT Gk + α ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ nlT + nhT max LSkmq − tsikq , 0



l =1 h =1 k =1 l =1 h =1 m =1 i =1 k =1 q =1
I K Qk H L  
+ε ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ nlT yi xkilq + nhT yi xkihq + zih kq
i =1 k =1 q =1 h =1 l =1
I K H L Qk  
+µ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ nlT yi xkilq + nhT yi xkihq + zih kq
i =1 k =1 h =1 l =1 q =1
L H M K I Qk n o (1)
λ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ nlT + nhT max LSkmq − tsikq , 0


f2 =
l =1 h =1 m =1 k =1 i =1 q =1
I K H L Qk  
+θ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ nlT yi xkilq + nhT yi xkihq + zih kq
i k =1 h =1 l =1 q =1
L K I Qk L
f 3 = ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ γl xkilq nlT + nhT


l =1 k =1 i =1 q =1 l =1
min Z = f 1 + f 2 + f 3
Sustainability 2022, 14, 6181 5 of 19

3.2. Constraints
Equation (2) describes the qth transportation when vehicle k is assigned to the ith
mineral occurrence under weather conditions with a relative humidity level l; Equation (3)
expresses the qth transportation when vehicle k is assigned to the ith mineral occurrence
under weather conditions with a rainfall level h; Equation (4) expresses the qth transporta-
tion when vehicle k is assigned to the ith mineral occurrence under weather conditions
with a rainfall level h. Since the water content in iron powder increases during the trans-
portation process, the inventory is increased accordingly. Equation (5) determines the
total transportation distance when the weather relative humidity or rainfall is determined;
Equation (6) is the constant carrying capacity of vehicle k; Inequality (7) expresses the
situation when the procurement plan for iron powder is much greater than the vehicle
carrying capacity; Inequality (8) expresses the situation where the total transportation
batch of vehicles is greater than 1; Equation (9) is the time expression of vehicle k when
it departs from the loading & unloading stockyard, reaches the mineral occurrence i, and
returns to the loading & unloading stockyard; Equation (10) expresses the constraint of the
update of the inventory in the loading & unloading stockyard; Inequality (11) expresses the
constraint of the inventory of the loading & unloading stockyard; Inequality (12) expresses
the situation when the transportation volume of mineral occurrence i is greater than or
equal to the planned procurement volume of mineral occurrence i.

K I
∑ ∑ xkilq = 1 ∀q, l (2)
k =1 i =1

K I
∑ ∑ xkihq = 1 ∀q, h (3)
k =1 i =1
K I
∑ ∑ zihkq = 1 ∀q, h (4)
k =1 i =1

I K Qk I K Qk
∑∑ ∑ yi xkilq + ∑ ∑ ∑ yi xkihq = Bl + Fh ∀l, h (5)
i k =1 q =1 i k =1 q =1

Uk = A ∀k (6)
I
∑ ri  Uk ∀k (7)
i =1
I
r
∑ Uik > 1 ∀k (8)
i =1
 n o 
xkilq max Oki q + tikq , tip + Load + tikq = tsi
k q ∀ k, i (9)
i i i i
RCm +1 = RCm + Pm − Dm ∀i, m (10)
i
Csmin ≤ RCm + Pmi ≤ Csmax ∀i, m (11)
ri ≥ ui ∀i (12)

3.3. Algorithm Process Flow

Taking the beneficiation of vanadium-titanium iron powder as the starting point, the
iron powder is transported to the loading & unloading stockyard by automobiles, sent to
the sintering stockyard by conveyor belt, sent to the sintering machines by conveyor belt,
and finally sintered. Figure 1 is the algorithm process flow chart.
Sustainability 2022, 14, 6181 6 of 19

Figure 1. Algorithm process flow chart.

3.4. Coding Design

This study takes the load capacity of a vehicle as one production unit. According to the
production cycle of each production unit and the procurement plan of vanadium-titanium
iron powder, a two-dimensional (2D) matrix of production units is established. First, a list
composed of the starting time of production of each mineral occurrence is used as the initial
code, and the initial population is generated by random combination. While scheduling
a vehicle, the earliest completed production unit in the 2D matrix is determined as the
transportation unit of this vehicle, and it is matched with the transportation route in the
decoding process.
Equation (13) shows the 2D matrix of the production unit. t11 indicates the completion
time of the first production unit of mineral occurrence 1, and so on. tip is the completion
time of the pth production unit of mineral occurrence i; v is the completion time of the last
production unit.
t1 · · · t1I
 1 
 .. .. 
 . ti .  (13)
p
t1v · · · tvI

3.5. Decoding Process

1. Complete the vehicle scheduling for the procurement plan (weather conditions with
relative humidity of 0–39%).
Randomly generate the initial population, determine the transportation task of each
mineral occurrence according to the procurement plan, arrange the mineral occurrences to
begin production, and set the loading & unloading TW. Check the current inventory RCm i

of the loading & unloading stockyard, and determine the number of schedulable vehicles
before decoding. Complete the matching process between the earliest completion time of
the production unit and the vehicle k in the 2D matrix of the production unit, and obtain
the time tsikq at which the vehicle returns to the loading & unloading stockyard. Update the
current inventory RCm i of each loading & unloading stockyard. According to the loading

& unloading TW and the arrival time tsikq at the stockyard, calculate the penalty function
value of the qth transportation. The specific steps are as follows:
• Step 1 Set the parameters and initial conditions
First, set the minimum number of vehicles used K and various parameters to generate
the initial population, and establish the 2D matrix of production unit. Generate the current
inventory list of each loading & unloading stockyard and the unloading time of each vehicle.
• Step 2 Update the current inventory and vehicle unloading time list
• Step 3 Determine vehicle scheduling, and arrange vehicle transportation
Sustainability 2022, 14, 6181 7 of 19

# Step 3.1 Determine vehicle scheduling

If the vehicles are in the initial state, randomly select a vehicle to start scheduling.
If vehicles are in the process of executing tasks, sort and compare the unloading times
of all schedulable vehicles according to the greedy algorithm, and take the vehicle k
with the current earliest unloading time. Determine the iron powder to be transported
i ∈ {1, 2, . . . , I }, match k with the earliest finished production unit in the 2D matrix of
the production unit that has not been transported, and record vehicle ’s departure time
Oki q from the stockyard. Record the vehicle loading time according to Equation (14) and
the vehicle arrival time at the stockyard according to Equation (15). Use Equation (16) to
calculate the unloading time tuikq of the vehicle, and add the data into the unloading time
list. Additionally, increase the unit transportation volume, and suspend the elements of the
production unit corresponding to the production unit that has completed transportation in
the 2D matrix of the production unit.
n o
ij
tkq = max Oki q + tikq , tip (14)

ij
tsikq = tkq + Load + tikq (15)


 LSkmq + UnLoad, tsikq ≤ LSkmq

tuikq = tsikq + UnLoad, LSkmq < tsikq ≤ RSkmq (16)
LSkmq+1 RSkmq tsikq


 + UnLoad, <

# Step 3.2 Calculate the TW penalty function

Compare the current left TW with tsikq and, calculate the value of the TW penalty function.

• Step 4 Determine whether the transportation task is completed in the current TW

0
Calculate the current updated inventory Ci and the maximum inventory of this
i
procurement plan Csmax according to Equation (17). If the current TW is lower than the
maximum inventory, return to step 2. Otherwise, complete transportation task of mineral
occurrence i within the current TW.
0
Ci = Ci + 80 (17)

• Step 5 Supply sintering batch

According to the mixing ratio of sintering raw materials, take the materials from the
loading & unloading stockyard and send them to the sintering stockyard through the
belt, and calculate the current stock of each loading & unloading warehouse according to
Equation (10). Return to step 2, and execute the vehicle scheduling task in the next TW.
2. Add procurement plan and vehicle scheduling according to the relative humidity or
rainfall level of that day.
• Step 6 Determine the relative humidity level (weather condition with relative humidity
of 40–100%), and carry out vehicle scheduling
If it is not rainy, determine the relative humidity level l, increase the inventory of
loading & unloading stockyard i accordingly, then perform steps 2 and 3.
• Step 7 Determine the rainfall level of the day and dispatch vehicles
If it is rainy and snowy, according to the h-level of rainfall, increase the inventory of
loading & unloading stockyard i accordingly. Additionally, since the rainfall level reaches h,
the water content increases; thus, increase the transportation volume; accordingly, perform
steps 2 and 3.
• Step 8 Calculate the objective function value
Sustainability 2022, 14, 6181 8 of 19

Calculate the objective function value Z of the number of dispatched vehicles K. Then,
add another vehicle, and return to Step 1. Until all available vehicles are dispatched,
calculate the objective function value Z of the number of dispatched vehicles is, then
compare and take minZ. Figure 2 presents the entire computation procedures.

Figure 2. Algorithm flow chart.

In the flowchart, Scur is the inventory of the loading & unloading stockyard in the
current period, Smax the maximum stock for the procurement plan, Mit is the maximum
number of iterations of the GA, Vmax is the maximum number of dispatchable vehicles, and
Vnums is the number of vehicles at present.
Sustainability 2022, 14, 6181 9 of 19

4. Results
4.1. Case Information
This study takes Chengsteel as an example. The proven reserves of vanadium-titanium
magnetite in the Chengde area reach 5.537 billion tons mainly distributed within 100 km
around Chengsteel. Nearly 200 concentrators can provide vanadium-titanium iron powder
for Chengsteel. The Nanshan stockyard of Chengsteel is responsible for the unloading
storage production, supply of iron powder.
Due to the limitations of process equipment and technology, the company faces
following problems:
1. The size of the stockyard is small
Chengsteel is located in a mountainous area, and the stockyard area is small, which
does not match the sintering production capacity of Chengsteel, resulting in a multitude of
problems. For example, the distance between stockpiles is too small, which often causes
material mixing and affects the batching accuracy, the classification of iron powder types is
too rough, and the components fluctuate greatly.
2. The material handling method is outdated
The production and material supply of the stockyard adopts forklift loading & unload-
ing and automobile transportation. The reshipment cost is high.
3. Weather factors have a great influence
Iron powder is stacked in the open air, and the inventory can be seriously damaged.
In the cold in wintertime, the surface iron powder containing water is frozen into blocks,
so this iron powder cannot be used for further production; when it rains in summer, the
moisture content of iron powder increases from 5 to 10%, affecting the batching accuracy.
It has been demonstrated that the implementation of JIT deliveries of iron powder can
effectively reduce the cost, improve the efficiency, reduce the damage to goods, and improve
the sintering quality.

4.2. Analytical Result

Complete the vehicle scheduling for the procurement plan (weather conditions with
relative humidity of 0–39%).
1. Set parameters and generate initial conditions
After several test trials, the parameters of the algorithm are chosen as follows: popula-
tion size 30, crossover probability 0.3, mutation probability 0.01, and maximum number of
iterations 1000 [37]; and the model parameters are set as follows: production unit 80 tons,
vehicle weight 15 tons, minimum number of vehicles 5, maximum number of vehicles 20,
loading time 13 min, unloading time 10 min; driving speed 60 km/h.
According to the time taken for processing one production unit at each mineral occur-
rence provided in Table 1, generate a 2D matrix of the production units in the Section 3.4
coding design according to the purchase plan. Set the purchase cycle to 24 h. From time
zero, randomly generate the processing time of the mineral occurrence to generate the
initial code, and then generate the initial population.
Sustainability 2022, 14, 6181 10 of 19

Table 1. Symbol definitions.

Data
i Mineral occurrence (loading & unloading stockyard) ID, i ∈ {1, 2, . . . , I }
I Total number of loading & unloading stockyards
k Vehicle ID, k ∈ {1, 2, . . . , K }
α Penalty coefficient for violating the left TW of the loading & unloading stockyard
m TW ID of the loading & unloading stockyard, m ∈ {1, 2, . . . , M}
M Total number of TWs
l Relative humidity level, l ∈ {1, 2, . . . , L}
L Total number of relative humidity levels
h Rainfall level, h ∈ {1, 2, . . . , H }
H Total number of rainfall levels
Transportation distance from mineral occurrence i to the loading & unloading stockyard, yi ∈
yi
{ y1 , y2 , . . . , y I }
Uk Load capacity of vehicle k
ε Vehicle transportation cost coefficient
µ Inventory cost coefficient
A Constant load capacity of a vehicle
i
Csmin Minimum stock of loading & unloading stockyard i
i Maximum stock for loading & unloading stockyard i’s procurement plan (the relative humidity is
Csmax
between 0 and 39%)
Load Loading time
UnLoad Unloading time
Gk Cost to use vehicle k
λ Carbon emission coefficient of waiting for unloading
θ Carbon emission coefficient of vehicle transportation
γl PM10 penalty coefficient corresponding to vehicle transportation under level l relative humidity
ui Planned procurement volume of the ith mineral occurrence
ri Transportation volume of the ith mineral occurrence
Bl Total transportation mileage under l-level relative humidity. This is a constant.
Total transportation mileage under h-level rainfall, excluding the added inventory caused by the increased
Fh
water content. This is a constant.
i Single demand from the sin tering stockyard towards the loading & unloading stockyard during
Dm
the time period of TW m
i Supply volume of loading & unloading stockyard i corresponding to the loading & unloading
Pm
stockyard TW m
kq qth transportation for vehicle k, k q ∈ {1, 2, . . . , Qk }
T One production cycle
nlT Number of days under l-level relative humidity in production cycle T
nhT Number of days under h-level rainfall in production cycle T
Variables
K Total number of vehicles used
Under the l −level relative humidity, this term is 1 if vehicle k is assigned to mineral occurrence i for the qth
xkilq
time and 0 otherwise.
Under the h−level rainfall, this term is 1 if vehicle k is assigned to mineral occurrence i for the qth time
xkihq
and 0 otherwise.
Under the h−level rainfall, this term is 1 if vehicle k is assigned to mineral occurrence i for the qth time
zih
kq
and the inventory increases due to increasing water content in iron powder during the transportation
process and 0 otherwise.
tsikq Time when vehicle k arrives at the loading & unloading stockyard i for the qth time
tip Completion time of the pth production unit at mineral occurrence i
RCm i Current inventory of loading & unloading stockyard i at TW m
Oki q Departure time of vehicle 0 s qth transportation from loading & unloading stockyard to mineral occurrence i
Qk Total number of trips for vehicle k
Transportation time of vehicle k when it departs from the loading & unloading stockyard to mineral
tikq
occurrence i for the qth time
tuikq Time of unloading when vehicle k arrives at the loading & unloading stockyard i for the qth time
h i
m
LSkmq . . . , . . . RSkq mth TW of the loading & unloading stockyard corresponding to vehicle k0 s qth transportation
Sustainability 2022, 14, 6181 11 of 19

2. Vehicle scheduling starts from the minimum number of vehicles

Convert the time from the transportation distance and vehicle speed in Table 2, and
carry out the vehicle scheduling of each vehicle according to the greedy algorithm. Record
the time when the vehicle arrives at the stockyard, and compare it with the TW of the
loading and unloading stockyard, currently in Table 3. Calculate the unloading time of
the vehicle and the TW penalty function value of the current vehicle. In addition, within
the current TW, according to Equation (11), determine the stock of the material warehouse,
and circularly dispatch transportation.

Table 2. Mineral Occurrence Data.

Mineral Occurrence ID 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Processing Time (min) 42 48 30 46 39 35 35 28 45 36 46 40
Transportation Distance (km) 35 60 34 60 23 39 55 28 45 49 35 59
Current Purchasing Plan (t) 720 720 720 720 480 240 240 480 640 640 640 640
Mixing Ratio 3 3 3 3 2 1 1 2 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7

Table 3. Loading and Unloading Stockyard TW.

1 2 3 4 5
Number
Left Right Left Right Left Right Left Right Left Right
TW 2:00 3:50 4:20 7:10 7:40 10:30 11:00 13:50 14:20 15:30
6 7 8 9
Number
Left Right Left Right Left Right Left Right
TW 16:00 17:10 17:40 18:50 19:20 22:10 22:40 23:20

3. Calculate the sintering batch supply and annual comprehensive cost before optimization
Complete transportation scheduling within the current TW. Carry out sintering mixing
according to the batching formula in Table 4, and supply the sintering stockyard. Calculate
the current stock of each material warehouse according to Equation (10). Cycle the vehicle
scheduling of the next TW until the procurement plan of one production cycle is completed.

Table 4. Annual Comprehensive Cost before Optimization.

Number of Dispatched Vehicles 24

Reshipment Cost (RMB) 1,098,650
Transportation Cost (RMB) 46,517,352
Carbon Emissions (ton) 76,729
Cost to use Vehicles (RMB) 3,153,600
Transportation Waiting Time Cost (RMB) 159,414
Logistics Cost ( f 1 ) (RMB) 51,264,816
Carbon Emissions ( f 2 ) (RMB) 11,711,988
PM10 Fines ( f 3 ) (RMB) 3,484,290
Comprehensive Cost ( Z ) (RMB) 66,461,094
Explanatory Note: Country-level social cost of carbon in China is US$24 per tCO2 Reprinted/adapted with
permission from Ref. [38].

Add procurement plan and dispatch vehicles according to the weather characteristics.
1. Statistically analyze the weather data
Statistical analysis shows that the average value of the correlation coefficient r between
HR and PM10 of relative humidity in Beijing from 2019 to 2021 is −0.59, indicating that there
is a negative correlation between HR and PM10. In this study, the weather characteristics
of relative humidity and rainfall in Beijing are classified into 10 levels based on relevant
classification criteria.
Sustainability 2022, 14, 6181 12 of 19

2. Calculate the probability distribution function value of relative humidity and rainfall
in a year
A data set of the relative humidity and rainfall (rain and snow) in Beijing from 2018
to 2020 is collected. According to the statistical analysis of the data, the relative humidity
distribution of nonrainfall weather in Beijing follows a normal distribution with µ = 49.58
and σ = 19.018, and the rainfall follows an exponential distribution with λ = 0.025. The
distribution probability is calculated according to the full probability formula. Table 5 shows
grading division and probability distribution function values of weather characteristics.

Table 5. Grading Division and Probability Distribution Function Values of Weather Characteristics.

Weather Light Moderate Heavy

No Rain
Condition Rain Rain Rain
Weather
Characteristic 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Value
Relative
0–39% 40–49% 50–59% 60–69% 70–79% 80–89% 90–99% 100% 100% 100%
Humidity
Increase in
Moisture
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.56% 0.77% 1.43%
Content During
Transportation
Conditional
0.29 0.20 0.20 0.16 0.09 0.04 0.02 0.22 0.24 0.54
Probability
Total Probability
0.24 0.17 0.17 0.13 0.08 0.03 0.02 0.04 0.04 0.09
Distribution
Probability
Distribution 88 60 61 48 28 13 6 13 15 33
Function Value

3. Add procurement plan and vehicle scheduling

According to the weather characteristic values, carry out vehicle scheduling after
the procurement plan is added to increase the inventory, and calculate the time penalty
function value of each vehicle schedule. After completing the vehicle scheduling for one
procurement cycle, gradually increase the number of vehicles, and then carry out vehicle
scheduling for another procurement cycle until the scheduling of the maximum number of
vehicles is completed. Ultimately, the cumulative statistical table of time penalty function
under weather characteristic value in Table 6 is generated. The data in the gray cells in the
table are the cumulative minimum values of the TW penalty under the current weather
characteristic values.
4. Calculate the objective function value
Table 7 shows the annual logistics costs calculated based on Equation (1) f 1 . under
different weather characteristic values. The data in the gray cells in the table are the
annual logistics costs minimum values under the current weather characteristic values.
Figure 3 shows local near-optimal solution obtained with the combination of logistics
cost and vehicle quantity under different weather characteristic values.). Table 8 is based
on the annual carbon emissions according to Equation (1) f 2 . under different weather
characteristic values, the data in the gray cells in the table are the annual carbon emissions
minimum values under the current weather characteristic values. Figure 4 shows local
near-optimal solution obtained with the combination of carbon emissions and vehicle
quantity under different weather characteristic values. Appendix A shows the annual
PM10 fines, calculated based on Equation(1) f 3 . Table 4 lists the annual comprehensive
cost before optimization, and Table 9 lists the annual comprehensive cost after optimization.
The data in the gray cells in the table represent the minimum values under the current
weather characteristic values. Figure 5 shows near-optimal solution obtained with the
combination of annual comprehensive cost and vehicle quantity under different weather
characteristic values).
Sustainability 2022, 14, 6181 13 of 19

Table 6. Cumulative Values of the Time Penalty Function under Different Weather Characteristic Values (units: minutes).

CumulativeTW Penalty Weather Characteristic Value

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Number of Vehicles
8 0 100 150 170 200 700 1500 1300 3000 8500
9 300 150 240 300 300 500 1200 1000 2500 7300
10 320 120 250 330 480 550 1000 800 2000 6300
11 360 390 400 450 500 600 900 750 1700 5100
12 400 450 500 520 550 700 900 800 1500 3800
13 520 580 600 730 560 800 900 850 1400 2700
14 610 660 710 760 800 700 900 900 1200 1950
15 630 690 780 820 910 980 1300 1230 1400 2600
Sustainability 2022, 14, 6181 14 of 19

Table 7. Annual Logistics Costs under Different Weather Characteristic Values (units: RMB).

Characteristic Value
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Number of Vehicles
8 11,468,582 7,848,888 8,001,968 6,310,550 3,694,174 1,721,522 801,089 1,771,312 2,126,172 5,205,248
9 11,566,262 7,877,988 8,037,653 6,343,430 3,707,054 1,726,852 800,249 1,766,242 2,112,822 5,118,128
10 11,602,342 7,895,088 8,061,138 6,364,310 3,729,734 1,732,182 802,409 1,764,422 2,099,472 5,047,508
11 11,642,822 7,957,188 8,105,973 6,395,990 3,741,214 1,740,112 806,069 1,767,477 2,093,622 4,960,388
12 11,683,302 7,987,788 8,143,183 6,421,670 3,754,794 1,748,042 809,729 1,773,782 2,091,522 4,865,018
13 11,741,382 8,028,888 8,180,393 6,464,150 3,765,574 1,759,222 813,389 1,780,087 2,093,172 4,786,148
14 11,792,862 8,062,488 8,219,128 6,485,030 3,792,454 1,767,152 817,049 1,786,392 2,091,072 4,736,153
15 11,828,942 8,088,588 8,251,763 6,509,510 3,810,234 1,774,432 825,209 1,801,797 2,103,972 4,801,658

Figure 3. Local near-optimal solution obtained with the combination of logistics cost and vehicle
quantity under different weather characteristic values.

Table 8. Annual Carbon Emissions under Different Weather Characteristic Values (units: ton).

Characteristic Value
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Number of Vehicles
8 17,367 11,884 12,103 9531 5577 2599 1214 2715 3347 8801
9 17,554 11,905 12,142 9575 5585 2601 1205 2687 3294 8520
10 17,567 11,892 12,147 9585 5621 2602 1205 2669 3241 8286
11 17,592 12,007 12,211 9626 5625 2612 1210 2664 3209 8005
12 17,617 12,033 12,255 9650 5635 2621 1214 2669 3188 7701
13 17,691 12,088 12,298 9721 5637 2639 1218 2673 3177 7443
14 17,748 12,122 12,346 9732 5685 2649 1222 2678 3156 7268
15 17,760 12,135 12,376 9752 5707 2656 1239 2708 3177 7420

Figure 4. Local near-optimal solution obtained with the combination of carbon emissions and vehicle
quantity under different weather characteristic value.
Sustainability 2022, 14, 6181 15 of 19

Table 9. Annual Comprehensive Cost under Different Weather Characteristic Values (units: RMB).

Characteristic Value
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Number of Vehicles

8 12,325,997 8,404,732 8,537,817 6,709,169 3,913,280 842,299 842,299 1,774,027 2,129,519 5,214,050
9 12,423,865 8,433,853 8,573,541 6,742,093 3,926,168 841,450 841,450 1,768,930 2,116,116 5,126,649
10 12,459,957 8,450,940 8,597,030 6,762,984 3,948,884 843,610 843,610 1,767,091 2,102,713 5,055,795
11 12,650,658 8,618,570 8,755,219 6,883,850 4,011,667 858,267 858,267 1,789,070 2,094,228 4,743,421

Figure 5. Near-optimal solution of the comprehensive cost Equation (1)min Z.

5. Implications
This section presents the theoretical and management implications of this study from
the analysis of the test results.

5.1. Theoretical Implications

Previous studies on the JIT-VSP mostly focused on controlling the vehicle cost and
time cost while satisfying the time constraints of downstream processes but ignored the
inventory problem under JIT. Based on the core idea of JIT “pull”, this study takes inventory
minimization as the production constraint of downstream processes. The implementation
of the JIT-VSP has a direct impact on the carbon emissions of the dispatching vehicles.
Compared with the continuous improvement concept of eliminating all non-value-added
activities, this new solution creatively puts forward the idea of constantly exploring all
value-added activities and reasonably dispatches vehicles according to the impact of
weather changes on PM10. An example shows that the implementation of JIT can achieve
the objective of “zero inventory” for downstream companies and upstream companies at
the same time and ultimately is mutually beneficial.
Production JIT argues that inventory is proof of an unreasonable production system
design, uncoordinated production processes, and poor production operation. Realizing
“zero inventory” not only eliminates waste in inventory but also improves the external
production efficiency, which is a reason why “zero inventory” is a primary objective of
JIT. Previous studies focused only on JIT supply to meet demand, that is, the external
appearance of JIT, while ignoring the core concept of JIT production.
While vehicle scheduling meets JIT production, it can reduce vehicle waiting time
or vehicle driving distance by improving the connection of various production links to
reduce carbon emissions. Technology creates value. In the dimensions of space and time,
exploring all value-added activities is essential. According to the environment and weather
changes in the area where a company is located, this study associates vehicle scheduling
with multiple weather factors to realize added value in the dimensions of time and space.
The JIT-VSP is implemented to realize the optimal combination of firm cost, environmental
factors and three-dimensional weather conditions.
In previous studies, the JIT production models based on supply chain strategies focus
on the interests of core companies while ignoring the contributions of relevant upstream
suppliers. They often sacrifice the interests of suppliers to achieve the production and
operation objectives of core companies. Based on actual conditions, in this study, upstream
Sustainability 2022, 14, 6181 16 of 19

firms are used as a link in the production of core firms to implement JIT for joint continuous
improvement; thus, everyone benefits.

5.2. Managerial Implications

Logistics costs represent the largest cost in procurement and transportation. The
logistics cost after optimization is 48,437,582 RMB, which is 2,827,234 RMB lower than the
logistics cost (51,264,816 RMB) before optimization, shown in Tables 4 and 8. In particular,
the reduction in vehicle use cost is the main factor reducing the logistics cost. Before
the optimization, the company used 24 vehicles. After the optimization, 8 vehicles can
complete the same transportation task in 90% of the cases in a year.
Carbon emissions and atmospheric particulate matter from iron powder transportation
are the main pollutants in procurement. After the implementation of the JIT-VSP, according
to Table 7, the annual carbon emissions are 73,354 tons, whereas the carbon emissions
before optimization are 76,729 tons, amounting to a reduction in carbon emissions after
optimization of 3375 tons. According to Appendix A, the PM10 fines after optimization
are 2,643,264 RMB, amounting to a reduction of 24.1% compared with the 3,484,290 RMB
before optimization.
According to Table 7, 73,354 tons/year of annual carbon emissions are generated dur-
ing the transportation of iron powder, a reduction of 3351 tons/year after the optimization
compared with the annual carbon emissions of 76,705 tons/year before the optimization;
this reduction is achieved by decreasing the vehicle waiting time for unloading. The imple-
mentation of JIT-VSP improves the efficiency of the connection between processes and thus
reduces the vehicle waiting time for unloading to a certain extent, thereby achieving the
effect of carbon emission reduction.
Atmospheric particulate matter is a major pollutant in the transportation of iron pow-
der. Referring to Appendix A, the PM10 penalty cost after the optimization is
2,643,264 RMB/year, a 24.1% reduction compared with 3,484,290 RMB/year before the op-
timization, indicating that the implementation of JIT-VSP substantially lowers the emissions
of atmospheric particulate matter during the transportation of iron powder.
The objective of the model is to optimize the combination of logistics cost, carbon
emission and PM10 fines. Referring to Tables 4 and 9, the comprehensive target cost
is 50,178,635 RMB, amounting to a reduction by 16,282,459 RMB compared with the
66,461,094 RMB before optimization. In the vehicle scheduling description of Figure 5, the
values of 1–5, 6–7, 8 and 9–10 are taken according to the weather characteristics, and the
corresponding numbers of scheduled vehicles are 8–11 and 14, respectively.

6. Conclusions
The consequences of various types of environmental pollution have demonstrated to
the world that national action to reduce pollution and emissions is urgently needed. The
iron & steel industry is a major emitter and a key target for emission control in China. Based
on the annual output of 8 million tons of steel, Chengsteel needs more than 16 million tons
of raw fuel. At present, 1/3 of the raw fuel still needs to be transported by automobile. In
addition, 100% of the tailings produced by smelting are transported by automobile, and
the total annual automobile transportation volume is more than 10 million tons. Moreover,
the carbon emissions of trucks are more than ten times, even dozens of times, those of cars.
Therefore, it is of great practical significance to study the carbon emissions and suspended
particulate matter emissions of the carrier vehicles operated by Chengsteel.
Different from the previous studies on JIT-VSP, this study focuses on the core idea
of JIT “pull”, determines the unreasonable designs, uncoordinated production processes,
and poor production operations in the production system through the implementation
of the strategy of gradually reducing inventory, and gradually improves and perfects
them [39]. In addition, the implementation of the JIT-VSP can reduce the vehicle retention
time, reduce the vehicle driving distance and reduce carbon emissions by improving the
connection of all production links. Based on the classical JIT theory, this study creatively
Sustainability 2022, 14, 6181 17 of 19

proposes exploring all value-added activities and realizing the optimal combination of
firm cost, environmental factors and weather conditions in the dimensions of space and
time. It is empirically verified that compared with the comprehensive objective of the
company without implementation of optimization, when 24 vehicles are used, the cost
is reduced after optimization, when 8 vehicles are used for 90% of the year, the carbon
emissions are reduced by 4.3%, and the PM10 is reduced by 24.1%, thus achieving the effect
of comprehensive optimization.
Empirical verification reveals an enormous gap between the optimized comprehensive
cost and the optimal cost target. For example, the carbon emissions due to vehicle waiting
time for unloading is 14,087 tons/year, accounting for 19.2% of the total carbon emissions;
the logistics cost due to vehicle waiting time for unloading is 5,073,500 RMB, accounting
for 9.55% of the total logistics cost. The gap from the optimal comprehensive cost target
suggests that there remains significant room for improvement in future research.
The implementation of the JIT-VSP on vanadium-titanium iron powder reveals an
important discovery after a period of application. Vanadium-titanium iron powder is
produced continuously and in batches. If the corresponding batch is purchased, the
chemical composition of iron powder is relatively stable. Adopting JIT-VSP’s “loading and
unloading” and “zero inventory” management models from suppliers to manufacturers
further stabilizes the sinter ingredients and improves the sinter quality and realizes quality
tracking of vanadium-titanium iron powder from the supplier to the manufacturer. If the
blast furnace conditions fluctuate, it is easier to find the cause from the source. Second, the
implementation of the JIT-VSP not only improves the use efficiency of vehicles but also
alleviates the traffic congestion in the stockyard, making the links such as vehicle entry,
weight inspection and sampling smoother.
This study only takes the JIT-VSP of vanadium-titanium iron powder from Chengsteel
as a verification example to demonstrate through production practice the contribution of
the proposed method toward sustainable firm development. Under the pressure of the
state policy on environmental protection, the test method has been quickly applied to
practical production. Therefore, further verification will be performed in the follow-up
study using a comparative model to address the limitations of this study in verifying
the test method. This study takes the JIT-VSP of vanadium-titanium iron powder from
Chengsteel as an example for verification purpose. If it is applied to other raw fuels and
auxiliary materials such as imported ore, coke, and fluorite, further study should be carried
out in combination with the constraints (e.g., purchase and transportation conditions,
production process performance, storage mode, and mixed transportation) of each raw fuel
and auxiliary material. In addition, how to improve the recovery rate and recovery quality
and reduce environmental pollution for steel recyclable tailings (e.g., sinter return, blast
furnace slag, gas ash, and steel slag) is a more complicated and comprehensive problem
in the application of JIT-VSP in circular supply chain. Considering the very high resource
consumption of iron and steel firms and their serious threat to the environment, how to
deal with recyclable tailings, wastewater, and waste in a scientific and reasonable way is
also an urgent problem to be addressed as a next step.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, B.Q.; Data curation, S.L.; Investigation, B.Q.; Methodology,
K.-J.W.; Supervision, S.L.; Writing—original draft, B.Q.; Writing—review & editing, K.-J.W. All authors
have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Sustainability 2022, 14, 6181 18 of 19

Appendix A

Table A1. Fines under Different Weather Characteristic Values (units: RMB).

Characteristic Values
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Number of Cars
8 840,048 543,960 523,746 389,088 213,528 92,898 39,996 0 0 0
9 840,048 543,960 523,746 389,088 213,528 92,898 39,996 0 0 0
10 840,048 543,960 523,746 389,088 213,528 92,898 39,996 0 0 0
11 840,048 543,960 523,746 389,088 213,528 92,898 39,996 0 0 0
12 840,048 543,960 523,746 389,088 213,528 92,898 39,996 0 0 0
13 840,048 543,960 523,746 389,088 213,528 92,898 39,996 0 0 0
14 840,048 543,960 523,746 389,088 213,528 92,898 39,996 0 0 0
15 840,048 543,960 523,746 389,088 213,528 92,898 39,996 0 0 0

Table A2. Case Parameters.

Freight (RMB/ton-kilometer) 0.21

Carbon Emissions (kg/ton-kilometer) 0.47
Carbon Emissions Cost (US$/ton) 24
Vehicle Load(ton) 80
Vehicle Body Weight (ton) 15
PM10 Fines (RMB/each transport) 111

References
1. Dulebenets, M.A. An Adaptive Polyploid Memetic Algorithm for scheduling trucks at a cross-docking terminal. Inf. Sci. 2021,
565, 390–421. [CrossRef]
2. Liu, Z.Z.; Wang, Y.; Huang, P.Q. AnD, A many-objective evolutionary algorithm with angle-based selection and shift-based
density estimation. Inf. Sci. 2020, 509, 400–419. [CrossRef]
3. Boysen, N.; Briskorn, D.; Emde, S. Just-in-time vehicle scheduling with capacity constraints. IEEE Trans. 2016, 48, 134–145.
[CrossRef]
4. Dulebenets, M.A. A Delayed Start Parallel Evolutionary Algorithm for just-in-time truck scheduling at a cross-docking facility.
Int. J. Prod. Econ. 2019, 212, 236–258. [CrossRef]
5. Tseng, S.H.; Wee, H.M.; Reong, S.; Wu, C.I. Considering JIT in assigning task for return vehicle in green supply chain. Sustainability
2019, 11, 6464. [CrossRef]
6. Emde, S.; Schneider, M. Just-in-time vehicle routing for in-house part feeding to assembly lines. Transp. Sci. 2018, 52, 657–672.
[CrossRef]
7. Ladier, A.L.; Alpan, G. Cross-docking operations, Current research versus industry practice. Omega 2016, 62, 145–162. [CrossRef]
8. Pinto, J.L.Q.; Matias, J.C.O.; Pimentel, C.; Azevedo, S.G.; Govindan, K. Introduction to lean and just-in-time manufacturing.
In Just In Time Factory; Springer: Cham, Switzerland, 2018; pp. 1–4. [CrossRef]
9. Dulebenets, M.A.; Pasha, J.; Kavoosi, M.; Abioye, O.F.; Ozguven, E.E.; Moses, R.; Boot, W.R.; Sando, T. Multiobjective optimization
model for emergency evacuation planning in geographical locations with vulnerable population groups. J. Manag. Eng. 2020,
36, 4019043. [CrossRef]
10. Fathollahi-Fard, A.M.; Dulebenets, M.A.; Hajiaghaei-Keshteli, M.; Tavakkoli-Moghaddam, R.; Safaeian, M.; Mirzahosseinian, H.
Two hybrid meta-heuristic algorithms for a dual-channel closed-loop supply chain network design problem in the tire industry
under uncertainty. Adv. Eng. Inform. 2021, 50, 101418. [CrossRef]
11. Alcaraz, J.L.G.; Macías, A.A.M.; Luevano, D.J.P.; Fernández, J.B.; López, A.D.J.G.; Macías, E.J. Main benefits obtained from a
successful JIT implementation. Int. J. Adv. Manuf. Technol. 2016, 86, 2711–2722. [CrossRef]
12. Chakrabarty, R.; Roy, T.; Chaudhuri, K.S. An examination of inventory and production costs in the models with stock out risk
under JIT system. Int. J. Bus. Forecast. Mark. Intell. 2017, 3, 259–269. [CrossRef]
13. Apornak, A.; Hezaveh, M.A. Extension of the model of manufacturing supply chain quality management, an empirical study. Int.
J. Product. Qual. Manag. 2019, 28, 417–437. [CrossRef]
14. Milewski, D. Managerial and Economical Aspects of the Just-In-Time System “Lean Management in the Time of Pandemic”.
Sustainability 2022, 14, 1204. [CrossRef]
15. Nahum-Shani, I.; Smith, S.N.; Spring, B.J.; Collins, L.M.; Witkiewitz, K.; Tewari, A.; Murphy, S.A. Just-in-time adaptive
interventions (JITAIs) in mobile health, key components and design principles for ongoing health behavior support. Ann. Behav.
Med. 2018, 52, 446–462. [CrossRef]
Sustainability 2022, 14, 6181 19 of 19

16. Roe, B.E.; Qi, D.; Beyl, R.A.; Neubig, K.E.; Apolzan, J.W.; Martin, C.K. A Randomized Controlled Trial to Address Consumer
Food Waste with a Technology-aided Tailored Sustainability Intervention. Resour. Conserv. Recycl. 2022, 179, 106121. [CrossRef]
17. Ozbaygin, G.; Savelsbergh, M. An iterative re-optimization framework for the dynamic vehicle routing problem with roaming
delivery locations. Transp. Res. Part B Methodol. 2019, 128, 207–235. [CrossRef]
18. Anokić, A.; Stanimirović, Z.; Davidović, T.; Stakić, Ð. Variable neighborhood search based approaches to a vehicle scheduling
problem in agriculture. Int. Trans. Oper. Res. 2020, 27, 26–56. [CrossRef]
19. Teng, J.; Chen, T.; Fan, W.D. Integrated approach to vehicle scheduling and bus timetabling for an electric bus line. J. Transp. Eng.
Part A Syst. 2020, 146, 4019073. [CrossRef]
20. Wang, C.; Guo, C.; Zuo, X. Solving multi-depot electric vehicle scheduling problem by column generation and genetic algorithm.
Appl. Soft Comput. 2021, 112, 107774. [CrossRef]
21. Kulkarni, S.; Krishnamoorthy, M.; Ranade, A.; Ernst, A.T.; Patil, R. A new formulation and a column generation-based heuristic
for the multiple depot vehicle scheduling problem. Transp. Res. Part B Methodol. 2018, 118, 457–487. [CrossRef]
22. Zhou, G.J.; Xie, D.F.; Zhao, X.M.; Lu, C. Collaborative optimization of vehicle and charging scheduling for a bus fleet mixed with
electric and traditional buses. IEEE Access 2020, 8, 8056–8072. [CrossRef]
23. Schwerdfeger, S.; Boysen, N.; Briskorn, D. Just-in-time logistics for far-distant suppliers, scheduling truck departures from an
intermediate cross-docking terminal. OR Spectr. 2018, 40, 1–21. [CrossRef]
24. Peng, Y.; Zeng, T.; Han, Y.; Xia, B. Scheduling just-in-time transport vehicles to feed parts for mixed model assembly lines. Discret.
Dyn. Nat. Soc. 2020, 2020, 2939272. [CrossRef]
25. Zhou, B.; Peng, T. Scheduling the in-house logistics distribution for automotive assembly lines with just-in-time principles. Assem.
Autom. 2017, 37. [CrossRef]
26. Benavides, A.J.; Ritt, M. Two simple and effective heuristics for minimizing the makespan in non-permutation flow shops.
Comput. Oper. Res. 2016, 66, 160–169. [CrossRef]
27. Arroyo, J.E.C.; Leung, J.Y.T.; Tavares, R.G. An iterated greedy algorithm for total flow time minimization in unrelated parallel
batch machines with unequal job release times. Eng. Appl. Artif. Intell. 2019, 77, 239–254. [CrossRef]
28. Kong, X.; Gao, Y.; Wang, T.; Liu, J.; Xu, W. Multi-robot task allocation strategy based on particle swarm optimization and greedy
algorithm. In Proceedings of the IEEE 8th Joint International Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence Conference
(ITAIC), Chongqing, China, 24–26 May 2019; pp. 1643–1646. [CrossRef]
29. Katoch, S.; Chauhan, S.S.; Kumar, V. A review on genetic algorithm, past, present, and future. Multimed. Tools Appl. 2021, 80,
8091–8126. [CrossRef]
30. Yuce, B.; Fruggiero, F.; Packianather, M.S.; Pham, D.T.; Mastrocinque, E.; Lambiase, A.; Fera, M. Hybrid Genetic Bees Algorithm
applied to single machine scheduling with earliness and tardiness penalties. Comput. Ind. Eng. 2017, 113, 842–858. [CrossRef]
31. Arakaki, R.K.; Usberti, F.L. Hybrid genetic algorithm for the open capacitated arc routing problem. Comput. Oper. Res. 2018, 90,
221–231. [CrossRef]
32. Karakatič, S. Optimizing nonlinear charging times of electric vehicle routing with genetic algorithm. Expert Syst. Appl. 2021,
164, 114039. [CrossRef]
33. Lee, C.K.H. A review of applications of genetic algorithms in operations management. Eng. Appl. Artif. Intell. 2018, 76, 1–12.
[CrossRef]
34. Lin, N.; Shi, Y.; Zhang, T.; Wang, X. An effective order-aware hybrid genetic algorithm for capacitated vehicle routing problems in
internet of things. IEEE Access 2019, 7, 86102–86114. [CrossRef]
35. Zhao, H.; Zhang, C. An online-learning-based evolutionary many-objective algorithm. Inf. Sci. 2020, 509, 1–21. [CrossRef]
36. Pasha, J.; Dulebenets, M.A.; Fathollahi-Fard, A.M.; Ian, G.; Lau, Y.Y.; Singh, P.; Liang, B. An integrated optimization method for
tactical-level planning in liner shipping with heterogeneous ship fleet and environmental considerations. Adv. Eng. Inform. 2021,
48, 101299. [CrossRef]
37. Wang, C.; Shi, H.; Zuo, X. A multi-objective genetic algorithm based approach for dynamical bus vehicles scheduling under
traffic congestion. Swarm Evol. Comput. 2020, 54, 100667. [CrossRef]
38. Ricke, K.; Drouet, L.; Caldeira, K.; Tavoni, M. Country-level social cost of carbon. Nat. Clim. Change 2018, 8, 895–900. [CrossRef]
39. Rabbani, M.; Oladzad-Abbasabady, N.; Akbarian-Saravi, N. Ambulance routing in disaster response considering variable patient
condition, NSGA-II and MOPSO algorithms. J. Ind. Manag. Optim. 2022, 18, 1035. [CrossRef]