Optimization Of Container Loading And Unloading Operations In Intermodal Sea-Rail Terminal In Ghana

Transportation of goods has been around for centuries since the introduction of the industrial revolution,As global economic increases with the growing of intercontinental trade,new modes of goods' transportation were introduced.In order to optimize on cargo transportation,an intermodal transportation mode was introduced to bridge the gap in the transportation of goods from source to customer.Competitively,it proved effective and economically productive.It,however,came with its challenges as the demand increased exponentially.This research identifies the container transfer at the terminal as a bottleneck in terminal operations,as one of the challenges which need to be addressed for intermodal transportation to achieve optimal efficiency.It specifically projects that the optimization of the time for such operations even with the limited available resources will drastically improve the time a container spends at such terminals and thereby improving its services.It further builds the argument that such decision should be empirical and follow the Operations Management philosophies of developing scientific and smart policies.This study,therefore,develops a mathematical model that optimizes time for the loading and unloading operations of containers by gantry cranes at the port terminal to freight trains and vice versa.It takes into consideration the truck transfer also since the container port terminal under consideration has characteristically such connection.The main theme of this thesis is scheduling of loading and unloading operations,which though complex,is imperative for the efficacy of container transportation business.The thesis builds the station logistics information platform construction of railway container center using the "Internet Plus" technology,at a given time and the number of trucks under the reservation station,on the condition that the transfer machinery operates optimally for the loading and unloading of cargo.In order to achieve the shortest time for the operation,train and truck arrives in the shortest possible time as the goal.In order to solve the scheduling problem of loading and unloading of railway container central section,the research uses two requirements,which is the balanced operation and flexible scheduling,to achieve the optimal efficiency of the joint transport system.A multi-layer coding genetic algorithm with chromosome feasibility is designed to solve the model,to obtain the optimal time for the reservation of the station,and the optimal loading order of the synchronous loading and unloading of the flexible scheduling of the Central Station rail gantry crane.This thesis uses the assumption that,based on the large volume of railway container and the more concentrated arrival time,the container of Railway Container Center station is a loaded container which is transported by railway but makes mention of the truck also,which as stated earlier,is a characteristic of the port terminal being studied.Data from Takoradi Harbor in Ghana is simulated and used as the case study.The discovery of oil in commercial quantities offshore this port has contributed to increased commercial activities at the port terminal.This has caused the harbor to undergo rehabilitation which will soon see it upgraded to the characteristic as one of the major intennodal port terminals in the entire West African sub-region receiving large numbers of containers either for export overseas or import to hinterland countries.The results shows that the model conforms to the computational requirements of the seamless link of loading and unloading operation scheme for the railway container central station and the actual operation and verifies the accuracy and effectiveness of the model and algorithm.This research,therefore,can be used to inform policymaking at the Terminal for carrying out such operations after the terminal resumes full operations after completion.