HKIE Professional Assessment - Logistics & Transportation Discipline flashcards

38 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Bullwhip effect

Amplification of demand variability as orders move upstream in a supply chain, caused by forecast updating, order batching, price fluctuation, and rationing/shortage gaming.

Newsvendor critical fractile

Optimal stocking quantity for a single-period product satisfies P(D ≤ Q*) = Cu/(Cu+Co), where Cu is underage cost and Co is overage cost.

Square-root law of pooling

Combining n identical independent inventory locations reduces total safety stock by a factor of the square root of n, assuming independent demand and equal service levels.

Little's Law

The average number of items in a system equals throughput multiplied by average flow time; applies to warehouses, yards, and transport pipelines.

Postponement decoupling point

The point in the supply chain where production shifts from forecast-driven push to order-driven pull, usually placed where delayed differentiation is economically optimal.

Highway level of service

A qualitative grade A to F describing traffic operating conditions, determined on freeways mainly by density in passenger cars per kilometre per lane.

Fundamental traffic flow identity

Flow equals density multiplied by space-mean speed (q = k·v); capacity occurs at critical density, below free-flow speed.

Webster optimal cycle length

Signal cycle minimising delay: C = (1.5L + 5)/(1 − Y), where L is total lost time and Y is the sum of critical flow ratios.

Stopping sight distance

Distance for a driver to perceive, react, and stop: SSD = 0.278Vt + V²/(254(f ± g)), with V in km/h and t in seconds.

Saturation flow rate

Maximum discharge rate at a signalised approach under continuous green, typically 1,800–1,900 passenger cars per hour per lane.

Incoterms risk transfer

Under FOB and FCA risk passes when goods are loaded or handed to the carrier; under CIF and CIP risk passes at shipment though cost extends further.

TEU and FEU

Twenty-foot equivalent unit (about 33 m³, 21.7 t payload) and forty-foot equivalent unit (about 67 m³), the standard container capacity measures.

Bill of lading functions

A document serving as receipt for goods, evidence of the contract of carriage, and document of title; a sea waybill is not negotiable.

Intermodal break-even distance

The distance above which rail-based intermodal transport beats road haulage, typically 500–800 km, set mainly by transhipment cost.

Load factor

Payload carried divided by payload capacity; low load factors and empty running are the dominant cost drivers in road and rail freight.

C-V2X and ITS-G5

Two competing connected-vehicle radio technologies: cellular PC5 sidelink and 5.9 GHz IEEE 802.11p, both targeting 10–100 ms safety-message latency.

SCOOT and SCATS

Adaptive urban traffic control systems that adjust signal cycle, splits, and offsets in real time from detector data, unlike fixed-time plans.

EPCIS

GS1 standard for sharing supply-chain event data (what, where, when, why) across organisations, supporting traceability and chain-of-custody records.

Warehouse management system

Software controlling receiving, put-away, slotting, wave planning, pick-path optimisation, and cycle counting within a distribution facility.

Berth productivity

Container moves per hour per quay crane, typically 25–35; berth occupancy is ship time at berth divided by total available time.

Declared runway capacity

Maximum aircraft movements per hour achievable under given runway configuration, aircraft mix, and separation rules, typically 30–55 for a single runway.

IATA terminal level of service

Passenger space standard graded A to E, measured in square metres per passenger at check-in, security, and holdroom areas.

Truck turn time

Elapsed time from gate-in to gate-out at a container terminal; appointment systems and yard planning target values under about 30 minutes.

Four-step transport model

Sequential forecasting of trip generation, trip distribution, mode choice, and network assignment, producing link flows and mode shares.

Logit mode choice

Probability of choosing mode i equals exp(Vi) divided by the sum of exp(Vj), where V is a linear-in-parameters utility function.

Wardrop's principles

User equilibrium: no traveller can reduce individual cost; system optimum: total travel cost is minimised, typically requiring congestion pricing.

Value of time

Monetary value placed on travel time savings, commonly 40–60% of the wage rate for commuting, used in cost–benefit appraisal.

ALARP principle

Risk must be reduced as low as reasonably practicable; further control is required unless its cost is grossly disproportionate to the risk reduction.

Haddon matrix

Road safety framework crossing host, agent, and environment factors with pre-crash, crash, and post-crash phases to identify interventions.

EU drivers' hours

Rules limiting driving to 9 hours daily (10 twice weekly), requiring a 45-minute break after 4.5 hours and 45 hours weekly rest.

GLEC Framework

Methodology, aligned with ISO 14083, for calculating and reporting logistics greenhouse gas emissions in grams of CO2 equivalent per tonne-kilometre.

Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions

GHG Protocol categories: direct fuel combustion, purchased electricity and heat, and value-chain emissions, which dominate most logistics footprints.

Earned value management

CPI = EV/AC and SPI = EV/PV compare cost and schedule performance; EAC = BAC/CPI forecasts final cost at completion.

Critical path method

Network scheduling technique identifying the longest path through dependent activities, whose zero-float activities determine project duration.

Autonomous mobile robot

Warehouse robot navigating by simultaneous localisation and mapping with obstacle avoidance, unlike automated guided vehicles that follow fixed guide paths.

Digital twin

A virtual replica of a physical asset or network kept synchronised through IoT data, used for simulation, monitoring, and predictive maintenance.

Last-mile delivery cost

The final leg from depot to customer typically accounts for 40–50% of total delivery cost, driven by failed deliveries and low drop density.

Goods-to-person picking

Automated storage and retrieval or shuttle systems that bring totes to a stationary picker, cutting travel time and raising pick rates.