EURO 2024 Copenhagen
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2915. Column generation algorithm for smart-split stacking strategy at automated container terminals

Invited abstract in session TB-62: Energy Management in Ports and Shipping I, stream OR in Port Operations.

Tuesday, 10:30-12:00
Room: S12 (building: 101)

Authors (first author is the speaker)

1. Yuanjun Feng
Operations & Supply Chain Management, University of Liverpool
2. Dongping Song
School of Management, University of Liverpool

Abstract

Container stacking strategy determines the positions of incoming containers in the storage yard, which plays a vital role in improving the efficiency and productivity of container terminals and reducing the energy consumption of equipment and vehicles. The smart stacking strategy for import containers aims to create relocation-free stacks – named smart stacks, by utilizing customer information, thus reducing the retrieval time of import containers. There are two variants of stacking policies under the smart stacking strategy: split policy and non-split policy. The split policy, where containers from the same customer are allowed to be split between smart stacks and non-smart stacks, is superior to the non-split policy. This paper investigates the import container stacking problem under the split policy. The problem is first formulated as a mixed-integer programming (MIP) model to minimize the total working time of the yard crane. By enhancing the representation of certain variables, we then develop an improved MIP model, which is computationally more efficient than the original model when using CPLEX as a solution tool. We also propose a column generation algorithm to solve the improved model. Extensive computational experiments are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed models and the efficiency of the proposed algorithm.

Keywords

Status: accepted

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