Crane allocation with stability considerations
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Crane allocation with stability considerations Evrim Ursavas University of Groningen, Nettelbosje 2, Groningen 9747 AE, The Netherlands. E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Crane planning in a container terminal is a major concern for terminal operators. Crane scheduling has an enormous impact on port efficiency and profitability, and these activities have, therefore, received high priority from terminal managers and researchers. Owing to the complex structure of the problem with numerous constraints and practical issues, terminal managers have been calling for a decision support tool which provides efficient and functional solutions. However, no main solution has yet emerged for the problem. This article proposes a decision support system (DSS) for solving complex crane scheduling problems in a container terminal, offering solutions that consider contextual issues such as crane crossing restrictions and dynamic crane assignment policy, and further addresses an additional consideration during vessel unloading: vessel stability. To show the practical application of the DSS, we conducted a case study using real ship data at the Izmir container terminal in Turkey. The effect of stability on the outcomes has been shown through additional experiments. Our findings reveal that the theoretical makespan can be reduced by 20 per cent during real life operations because of stability limitations.
Maritime Economics & Logistics advance online publication, 11 February 2016; doi:10.1057/mel.2015.35
Keywords: quayside operations; crane scheduling; container terminal operations; decision support systems; stability
Introduction Container terminals play a vital role as essential hubs in the overall transportation network. Developing solutions that respond to the most crucial port management problems will enable this network to benefit from faster vessel service times and increased container handling capacity, thereby stimulating international trade. The time a ship spends at a terminal is the main factor in port © 2016 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1479-2931 Maritime Economics & Logistics www.palgrave-journals.com/mel/
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competitiveness. Within terminal operations, crane scheduling is a key process for maritime shipping companies, as it is related to the amount of time their ships spend at port. Including fixed costs, variable costs and product value losses, a 4-hour delay could cost as much as €40 000 and in Italy, for instance, the labour cost of one gang shift alone is approximately €850 (Dunya, 2007; Vernimmen et al, 2007; Trunfio and Legato, 2010; Daily Maersk, 2011). This economic impact further underlines the importance of using effective decision support tools for container terminals. We further note that within the container terminals quay cranes are the most expensive single unit of handling equipment. Empirical results show that vessel turnaround time is highly correlated with crane allocation (Kasypi and Muhammad, 2006, Loke et al, 2014). Thus, it is important to fully utilize the quay cranes and maximize the numb
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