Multi-Objective Sustainable Supply Chain Optimization of the Petroleum Industry in Kuwait

Multi-objective Sustainable Supply Chain Optimization of the Petroleum Industry in Kuwait

Aya. M. H. Elghool^a, Ghanima Al-Sharrah^b, Haitham M. S. Lababidi^c

Chemical Engineering Department, College of Engineering & Petroleum, P.O. Box 5969, Safat – 13060 KUWAIT

^aEmail: aya.elghool@grad.ku.edu.kw

^bEmail: g.sharrah@ku.edu.kw

^cEmail: haitham.lababidi@ku.edu.kw

Most of the supply chain models, especially for an industry like petroleum, are based mainly on economic considerations, where cost and profit are the direct focus of the study, however, both environmental and social considerations have been drawing the attention of researchers and different organizations around the world as well. The main objective of this work is to develop a multi-objective model that considers all three aspects of sustainability (Economics, Environment, and Social) and implement it for the supply chain network of a petroleum organization in Kuwait. The model uses cost, IRCHS (Indiana Relative Chemicals Hazard Score), and the total number of accidents together with training hours per employee as economic, environmental, and social indicators respectively. GAMS software is used to optimize the model by jointly minimizing total production, logistics, lost demand and backlog penalties cost, as well as the organization’s emissions and major accidents, while maximizing the number of training hours per employee. Preliminary results showed that the contribution of the three objective functions of the model (i.e; economics, environmental, and social) is crucial for smooth operation and continuous production in the facilities of the supply chain.