United States Department of Transportation
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Edition:Final Report October 2017 to December 2019
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Abstract:Snowplow trucks serve a crucial role in winter maintenance activities by removing, loading and disposing of snow. However, with the increase of service year, maintenance costs mount up and operational efficiency decreases due to more frequent repairs. As a result, managing the snowplow truck fleet effectively to minimize the total expense while guaranteeing high operational efficiency is necessary. In this study, we present a methodological framework using data-driven approaches to estimate the optimal life cycle for the Class 8 snowplow truck and its operational performance across the entire service span. Specifically, cost-benefit analysis is utilized to determine the optimal life cycle at macro-level, and a random forest (RF) model is implemented to analyze the fleet’s micro-level performance. Leveraging the snowplow truck utilization data from 2000 to 2017 provided by the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT), the analysis determined the optimal life cycle for class 8 snowplow trucks at 5 years. This result suggests a more frequent replacement cycle considering that most current snowplow trucks were replaced after 13 years of utilization. Meanwhile, the proposed RF model can be used to predict the performance at the micro-level, and it is able to identify the contributable factors to performance deterioration. The analysis indicates that annual working mileage, fuel consumption and service span are the main factors that lead to more maintenance and repairs of Class 8 snowplow trucks.
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