I am pleased to announce that two research studentships (a 3-year funded PhD and a 4-year funded EngD) are now available at the University of Southampton in the area of sustainable logistics.
3-year PhD: Sustainable 'take-back' logistics for the charity sector
(part sponsored by Oxfam)
Oxfam operates a complex 'take-back' logistics operation across 3 separate vehicle fleets, servicing its UK stores and bring-banks. This enables the charity to i) transport goods (primarily second hand clothing) between its stores for re-sale ii) feed recyclate generated in stores back into recognised commercial recycling streams iii) take-back low-grade clothing to its sortation facility in Huddersfield for separation and onward processing. The annual transport cost of these operations is considerable, and significant savings (financial and environmental) could be gained through i) optimising the use of the current regional and local transport fleets ii) utilising local markets and treatment facilities for recyclate and waste management iii) looking at the potential for joint working with other charities and major retailers in reverse logistics. This project would quantify and qualify the potential benefits from these proposed approaches in this particular sector.
This project would involve working closely with Oxfam and potentially other charities to fully understand their daily operations, managing substantial logistics databases and using routing and scheduling optimisation techniques to quantify the benefits of various alternative operating models. The successful candidate would require good numeracy and literacy skills and be an excellent communicator.
4-year EngD: Developing 'delivery and service plans' for the NHS in London to identify and promote collaborative logistics.
(Sponsored by Transport for London)
Studies have shown that businesses and organisations are serviced by complex layers of freight transport, often operating in complete isolation. Little collaboration currently exists and hence there is considerable inefficiency in terms of vehicle utilisation. Working with TfL's freight unit, this project would develop detailed 'delivery and service' plans for the UCL Partnership in London (consisting of 7 hospitals) to better understand the freight activity associated with their supply chains and develop collaborative supply chain strategies to reduce vehicle impacts. The project would use optimisation techniques to quantify the potential benefits of collaborative forward and reverse logistics strategies to the NHS organisations involved, and assess the potential benefits of such strategies to the wider transport network in London.
The detailed project scope is to be defined but could address:
1. Procurement strategies across the 7 partners and the potential logistics benefits of collaborative management and logistics supply
2. Residual, recyclate and hazardous waste management strategies across the partner hospitals, the associated logistics and scope for joint working
3. The use of centralised and decentralised supply chains and the potential role for back-loading strategies to reduce logistics costs
4. Patient management strategies across the 7 partners in terms of both patient movement and the logistics associated with servicing patients in the community.
This project would involve working closely with the NHS hospitals in London and TfL, to fully understand their in-bound and out-bound logistics, infrastructure needs, procurement and returns strategies. The work would involve mapping business processes and the use of optimisation techniques to quantify the potential impacts of new operating scenarios. During the 4 year lifetime of the project, we would envisage trialing and evaluating some of these new operating scenarios on-site. The successful candidate would require good numeracy and literacy skills and be an excellent communicator.
Should you wish to discuss either of the above projects informally, please contact Dr Tom Cherrett ([log in to unmask]).
Eligibility:
Applicants for both projects should have a First or Upper Second Class degree (or equivalent) in engineering, applied mathematics, computer science, logistics or physical sciences. A good background and/or previous work in logistics modelling and management would be considered an advantage. To receive the full award the student must have a relevant connection with UK (see http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/students/Pages/eligibility.aspx).
Applications:
To be considered for either of these studentships, please send your CV and a one page outline describing your interests in the area, why you consider yourself a suitable candidate and what you think would be the key challenges in undertaking the project to : Jacqui Holmes, PGR Programmes Coordinator (email: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>)
Applications Deadline: 16th August 2010
Dr T.J. Cherrett
Senior Lecturer
Transportation Research Group
School of Civil Engineering and the Environment
University of Southampton
Highfield
Southampton
SO17 1BJ
Tel: +44(0)23 8059 4657
Fax: +44(0)23 8059 3152
Email: [log in to unmask]
www.trg.soton.ac.uk
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