This book presents new insights and successful solutions to the operational problems of automated container terminals and cargo systems. It comprises reports on the state of the art, applications of quantitative methods, as well as case studies and simulation results. Its contributions are written by leading experts from academia and business and address practitioners and researchers in logisti…
This article addresses the problem of scheduling container transfer operations in rail terminals. The overall problem can be divided into three smaller problems: constructing a dual-cycle delivery task by matching inbound and outbound containers; determining parking positions for trucks; and sequencing the delivery tasks for transfer by the rail crane. This article provides a mathematical model…
A methodology is proposed to determine the storage location of an arriving export container considering its weight. We consider the con®guration of the container stack and the weight distribution of containers in the yard-bay. A dynamic programming model is formulated to determine the storage location to minimize the number of relocation movements expected for the loading operation. We also de…
This paper examines the use of single and dual cycle operations for three types of resources, namely, quay cranes, vehicles, and yard cranes to improve the operating efficiency and reduce the energy consumption in a container terminal. Various cycle strategies are proposed and their corresponding estimation models, describing the stowage distributions of outbound and inbound containers on a shi…
It is discussed how to route transfer crane during loading operation of export containers in port container terminal. We determine the number of containers which transfer crane picks up at each yard-bay as well as the sequence of yard-bays which transfer crane visits during the tour. The objective is to minimize the total container handling time of the transfor crane including the set-up time a…
Storage space is a critical resource in port container terminals. This paper discusses how to allocate storage space for outbound containers that will arrive at a storage yard. The main objectives of space allocation are to utilize space efficiently and make loading operations more efficient. Objective functions and constraints of both the direct and the indirect transfer systems are described …
To reduce delay in ship operations in automated container terminals, it is important to make different types of container handling equipment to operate harmoniously during this operation. Delivery operations by automated guided vehicles (AGVs) play an important role for synchronizing operations of container cranes with yard cranes. This study discusses how to dispatch AGVs by utilizing inform…
One of the most important objectives of the storage and pickup operations in block stacking systems is to minimize the number of relocations during the pickup operation. This study suggests two methods for determining the locations of relocated blocks. First, a branch-and-bound (B&B) algorithm is suggested. Next, a decision rule is proposed by using an estimator for an expected number of additi…