A container yard storage strategy for improving land utilization and operation efficiency in a transshipment hub port

作者：Jiang Xinjia; Lee Loo Hay^*; Chew Ek Peng; Han Yongbin; Tan Kok Choon

来源：European Journal of Operational Research, 2012, 221(1): 64-73.

DOI：10.1016/j.ejor.2012.03.011

• Consignment strategy
• Container ports
• Container traffic
• Container yard
• High-low
• Land utilization
• Loading and unloading
• Operation efficiencies
• Port operations
• Space-sharing
• Storage spaces
• Storage yards
• Workload assignment
• Workload balancing
• Yard cranes

This paper studies the storage yard management problem in a busy transshipment hub, where intense loading and unloading activities have to be considered at the same time. The need to handle huge volumes of container traffic and the scarcity of land in the container port area pose serious challenges for the port operator to provide efficient services. A consignment strategy with a static yard template has been used to reduce the level of reshuffles in the yard, but it sacrifices on land utilization because of exclusive storage space reservation. Two space-sharing approaches are proposed to improve on the land utilization through dynamic reservation of storage space for different vessels during different shifts. Meanwhile, workload assignment among reserved spaces will also satisfy the high-low workload balancing protocol to reduce traffic congestion in the yard. A framework which integrates space reservation and workload assignment is proposed. Experimental results show that the framework is able to provide solutions for containers handling within much less storage space, while guarantee the least yard crane deployment.

• 出版日期2012