Integrated Scheduling Optimization For Container Terminals’Different Operation Modes

In order to expand the ports’development space, strengthen container terminals’ competitiveness and adapt to the requirements of the rapid development of the world transportation of container goods, except for expanding facilities and equipment configuration scale, container terminals’ production operation level and production scheduling ability should be improved at the same time, so as to improve production efficiency, reduce operating costs and shorten ships’ time on ports.In the view of system engineering theory, container terminals can be seen as an integrated operation system made up of multiple links and factors. In this system, the three links which affects the system efficiency and production operating costs most are: the quay cranes’ loading and unloading operation, the trucks’ handling operation and the yard cranes’ stacking operation. The three links undertake to each other, interrelated to each other and influence each other. Based on the differences between the connection and configuration way of equipments including quay cranes, trucks and yard cranes in the three links, the container terminals’ production-operation mode can be divided into three modes:loading and unloading separate operation mode, loading and unloading mixed operation mode and mixed-cross operation process in different ships. In the different operation modes, production efficiency and equipment cost are not the same. Compare the three operation modes, which can be found that the highest mode is loading and unloading mixed operation mode and the lowest mode is loading and unloading separate operation mode in terms of production efficiency. On the other hand, the highest mode is loading and unloading separate operation mode and the lowest mode is loading and unloading mixed operation mode in the terms of equipment cost.Based on the characteristics of connection and configuration ways of the three modes; according to the proportional relationship in production efficiency and equipment cost, an optimization research terminal production operation process in different modes has been made. In the study three problems are settled:the distribution ofterminal handling tasks in the three different modes, the choice of travel route of trucks and the configuration of terminal equipments. The results of numerical experiments on the developed model indicate that, compared to the loading and unloading separate operation mode, the integrated scheduling optimization for different operation modes can reduce the terminal production total cost by36.4%, the total distance of truck moving by20.2%and the distance of unloading truck moving by41.7%. Therefore the validity of the model and method can be proved by the experimental data. The theory of this article indeed has practical significance.