Paper Info
Title
A decision support system for integrated container handling in a transshipment hub.
Abstract
The productivity of a maritime container terminal can be improved through a model-driven decision support system (DSS) focused on a better integration among container handling operations occurring across the quay, transfer and yard areas. Integration is pursued to minimize the blocking, locking and other queuing phenomena which are unavoidable, especially when human-operated equipment is shared in a real environment subjected to several random events and activities. An integrated queuing network is proposed in this paper as the natural modeling paradigm for a DSS aimed to highlight and quantify the blocking, locking and other queuing phenomena experienced in real practice. After an in-depth discussion of the limitations of solving the queuing network model analytically, discrete-event simulation is adopted as solution method. Numerical examples referred to a case study for a real transshipment hub return reliable estimates for the above queuing phenomena. They illustrate how the queuing-based DSS may effectively support the operations manager in determining the proper operational policies and equipment management with respect to a proficient integration of container handling operations.
Year
DOI
Venue
2018
10.1016/j.dss.2018.02.004
Decision Support Systems
Keywords
Field
DocType
Model-driven decision support systems,Port operations,Integration,Blocking and locking,Queuing model,Simulation
Transshipment,Data mining,Computer science,Decision support system,Queuing network,Operations research,Queueing theory,Queuing network model
Journal
Volume
ISSN
Citations 
108
0167-9236
0
PageRank 
References 
Authors
0.34
16
2
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Pasquale Legato128220.44
Rina Mary Mazza2939.72