Paper Info
Title
A queuing network model for the management of berth crane operations
Abstract
This paper focuses on the optimal management of container discharge/loading at any given berthing point, within a real maritime terminal. Productivity maximization of expensive resources, as rail-mounted berth cranes, should be matched with the vessel requirement of minimizing waiting times with an adequate rate of service completion. To this practical problem, a queuing network model is proposed. Due to its complexity, discrete-event simulation appears as the most appropriate approach to model solution. To get a systematic representation of real constraints and policies of resource allocation and activity scheduling, an event graph (EG)-based methodology has been exploited in simulator design. Alternative policies issued by the operation manager can be inserted in a suitable panel-like view of the queuing network model and then compared by means of simulation, to evaluate the average measures for all berth cranes, such as throughput and completion time. Numerical experiments for simulator validation against real data are encouraging. Some decisions on both straddle carrier assignment to berth cranes and hold assignment and sequencing upon the same crane could be improved by the proposed manager-friendly simulation tool.
Year
DOI
Venue
2008
10.1016/j.cor.2006.12.001
Computers & OR
Keywords
DocType
Volume
real maritime terminal,berth crane,network model,real constraint,discrete-event simulation,rail-mounted berth crane,proposed manager-friendly simulation tool,model solution,completion time,real data,berth crane operation
Journal
35
Issue
ISSN
Citations 
8
Computers and Operations Research
27
PageRank 
References 
Authors
1.38
17
4
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Pietro Canonaco1271.38
Pasquale Legato228220.44
Rina M. Mazza3271.38
R. Musmanno434024.77