I originally posted this in the mathematics StackExchange, but I was told that this is more of an operations research question. I would like to know if anyone has any thoughts on how to go about finding an answer.
I have the following scenario that I want to find an algorithm for in order to put into a c# program: Transportation Inc is contracted to ship 2 ton crates from site A to site B and they want to find the most efficient way to do so with the following constraints:
All 4 trucks are initially at site B.
Only 2 trucks can be on the road at a time, regardless of the direction of travel.
Each truck can carry no more than 6 crates
Going from one site to another takes 30 minutes
Putting a crate on a truck takes 5 minutes, and removing a crate from a truck takes 5 minutes
An algorithm needs to be provided in order to transport the most crates for a 6 hour period.
I thought I might have to write up a simulation in c#, but I would like to know other people's thoughts on how to write a more efficient algorithm for this problem.
Knowing the algorithm, then different variables could be made flexible so that they could test to see what adding more trucks or more efficient loading and unloading would have on the result.
Thanks