A general framework for scheduling equipment and manpower at container terminals

In this paper, we propose a general model for various scheduling problems that occur in container terminal logistics. The scheduling model consists of the assignment of jobs to resources and the temporal arrangement of the jobs subject to precedence constraints and sequence-dependent setup times. We demonstrate how the model can be applied to solve several different real-world problems from container terminals in the port of Hamburg (Germany).We consider scheduling problems for straddle carriers, automated guided vehicles (AGVs), stacking cranes, and workers who handle reefer containers. Subsequently, we discuss priority rule based heuristics as well as a genetic algorithm for the general model. Based on a tailored generator for experimental data, we examine the performance of the heuristics in a computational study. We obtain promising results that suggest that the genetic algorithm is well suited for application in practice.

[1]  Carlos F. Daganzo,et al.  THE CRANE SCHEDULING PROBLEM , 1989 .

[2]  Sönke Hartmann.  Generating scenarios for simulation and optimization of container terminal logistics , 2004 .

[3]  Yongpei Guan,et al.  The berth allocation problem: models and solution methods , 2004 .

[4]  Proceedings of the 19th international conference on Computers and industrial engineering , 1995 .

[5]  Salah E. Elmaghraby,et al.  Activity networks: Project planning and control by network models , 1977 .

[6]  Philip M. Wolfe,et al.  Multiproject Scheduling with Limited Resources: A Zero-One Programming Approach , 1969 .

[7]  Torsten Reiners,et al.  Vehicle dispatching at seaport container terminals using evolutionary algorithms , 2000, Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

[8]  Sönke Hartmann,et al.  A competitive genetic algorithm for resource-constrained project scheduling , 1998 .

[9]  Carlos F. Daganzo,et al.  Handling Strategies for Import Containers at Marine Terminals , 1993 .

[10]  Carsten Jordan.  Batching and Scheduling: Models and Methods for Several Problem Classes , 1996 .

[11]  Carlos F. Daganzo,et al.  Storage space vs handling work in container terminals , 1993 .

[12]  R. Kolisch,et al.  Heuristic algorithms for the resource-constrained project scheduling problem: classification and computational analysis , 1999 .

[13]  Rommert Dekker,et al.  Operations research supports container handling , 2001 .

[14]  Iris F. A. Vis,et al.  Comparison of vehicle types at an automated container terminal , 2004 .

[15]  Albert P. M. Wagelmans,et al.  Effective algorithms for integrated scheduling of handling equipment at automated container terminals , 2001 .

[16]  Jan Węglarz,et al.  Project scheduling : recent models, algorithms, and applications , 1999 .

[17]  Kap Hwan Kim,et al.  Deriving decision rules to locate export containers in container yards , 2000, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[18]  Luca Maria Gambardella,et al.  Simulation and Planning of an Intermodal Container Terminal , 1998, Simul..

[19]  Hans-Otto Günther,et al.  Dispatching multi-load AGVs in highly automated seaport container terminals , 2004, OR Spectr..

[20]  Won Young Yun,et al.  A simulation model for container-terminal operation analysis using an object-oriented approach , 1999 .

[21]  Carlos F. Daganzo,et al.  A branch and bound solution method for the crane scheduling problem , 1990 .

[22]  Iris F. A. Vis,et al.  Transshipment of containers at a container terminal: An overview , 2003, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[23]  David E. Goldberg,et al.  Genetic Algorithms in Search Optimization and Machine Learning , 1988 .

[24]  Kap Hwan Kim,et al.  A routing algorithm for a single straddle carrier to load export containers onto a containership , 1999 .

[25]  Kap Hwan Kim,et al.  A Pooled Dispatching Strategy for Automated Guided Vehicles in Port Container Terminals , 2000 .

[26]  Zbigniew Michalewicz,et al.  Heuristic methods for evolutionary computation techniques , 1996, J. Heuristics.

[27]  Rolf H. Möhring,et al.  Scheduling project networks with resource constraints and time windows , 1988 .

[28]  Richard J. Linn,et al.  Storage space allocation in container terminals , 2003 .

[29]  John H. Holland,et al.  Adaptation in Natural and Artificial Systems: An Introductory Analysis with Applications to Biology, Control, and Artificial Intelligence , 1992 .

[30]  Kap Hwan Kim,et al.  A scheduling method for Berth and Quay cranes , 2003 .

[31]  Pasquale Legato,et al.  Berth planning and resources optimisation at a container terminal via discrete event simulation , 2001, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[32]  Akio Imai,et al.  Efficient planning of berth allocation for container terminals in Asia , 1997 .

[33]  Sönke Hartmann,et al.  Project Scheduling with Multiple Modes: A Genetic Algorithm , 2001, Ann. Oper. Res..

[34]  Rainer Kolisch,et al.  Experimental evaluation of state-of-the-art heuristics for the resource-constrained project scheduling problem , 2000, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[35]  Akio Imai,et al.  The Dynamic Berth Allocation Problem for a Container Port , 2001 .

[36]  Stefan Voß,et al.  Routing of straddle carriers at a container terminal with the special aspect of internal moves , 1993 .

[37]  H. Kunzi,et al.  Lectu re Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems , 1975 .

[38]  F. Brian Talbot,et al.  Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling with Time-Resource Tradeoffs: The Nonpreemptive Case , 1982 .

[39]  Kap Hwan Kim,et al.  Segregating space allocation models for container inventories in port container terminals , 1999 .

[40]  Andrew Lim,et al.  The berth planning problem , 1998, Oper. Res. Lett..

[41]  Richard J. Linn,et al.  Dynamic crane deployment in container storage yards , 2002 .

[42]  A. E. Eiben,et al.  Global Convergence of Genetic Algorithms: A Markov Chain Analysis , 1990, PPSN.

[43]  Kap Hwan Kim,et al.  A beam search algorithm for the load sequencing of outbound containers in port container terminals , 2004 .