Optimization of Handling Equipment in the Container Terminal of the Port of Barcelona,Spain

Abstract

Most studies concerning port operations focus on the operation between ship and wharf. However, other port activities may also lead to congestion. In general, the capacity of the handling equipment used to transfer the container between the wharf and the storage yard is critical. This paper analyzes the internal transport subsystem in a marine container terminal and investigates the effect of the type of handling equipment used. The aim is to analyze the behavior of the handling equipment and to model its optimization. Determining a better equipment type to use is not the main concern of this paper. Queuing theory is applied, and simulation is conducted to analyze the system. To perform the analyses, measurements of parameters related to the terminal are required. These parameters were obtained from the container terminal at Barcelona, Spain, one of the best-positioned logistic platforms on the Mediterranean Sea. The results indicate that assignment of the handling equipment resources to an individual wharf crane in a particular berth is not advisable, since any decentralized decision system involves more resources. The handling equipment resources must be assigned to the berth as a whole to obtain greater efficiency, but then a focus on operation planning and reliability is required. The availability of two or three wharf cranes in a berth is not crucial in terms of efficiency; however, it could increase productivity in the berth significantly.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Vis

I. F. A.

and Koster

. Transshipment of Containers at a Container Terminal: An Overview. European Journal of Operational Research, Vol. 147, 2003, pp. 1–16.

Sauri

Operations and Queues of Ships in Ports (in Spanish). Master's thesis. Civil Engineering School, Technical University of Catalonia, Spain, 2002.

Daganzo

The Crane Scheduling Problem. Transportation Research B, Vol. 23, No. 3 1989, pp. 159–175.

Chen

Yard Operations in the Container Terminal—A Study in the “Unproductive Moves.”

Maritime Policy and Management, Vol. 26, No. 1 1999, pp. 27–38.

Frankel

E. G.

Port Planning and Development. John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1987.

Baker

High Time for Straddles. Cargo Systems, Oct. 1998, pp. 23–26.

Steenken

Fahrwegoptimierung am Containerterminal under Echtzeitbedingungen (in German). OR Spektrum, Vol. 14, No. 3 1992, pp. 161–168.

Steenken

Henning

Freigang

and Voss

. Routing of Straddle Carriers at a Container Terminal with the Special Aspect of Internal Moves. OR Spektrum, Vol. 15, No. 3 1993, pp. 167–172.

Vis

I. F. A.

Koster

De Roodbergen

K. J.

and Peeters

L. W. P.

. Determination of the Number of Automated Guided Vehicles Required at a Semi-Automated Container Terminal. Journal of the Operational Research Society, Vol. 52, 2001, pp. 409–417.

10.

Bodin

L. D.

Golden

B. L.

Assad

A. A.

and Ball

M. O.

. Routing and Scheduling of Vehicles and Crews. Computers and Operations Research, Vol. 10, No. 2 1983, pp. 63–211.

11.

Kiesling

M. K.

and Walton

C. M.

. Time-Motion Analysis of Wharf Crane Operations. In Transportation Research Record 1383, TRB, National Research Council, Washington, D.C., 1993, pp. 24–30.

12.

Perez-Fiaño

J. E.

Optimization of Port Labor in Marine Container Terminals (in Spanish). PhD thesis. Civil Engineering School, Technical University of Catalonia, Spain, 1997.

13.

Saaty

T. L.

Elements of Queuing Theory. McGraw-Hill, 1961.

14.

Soriguera

Optimization of the Interconnection Subsystem in a Marine Container Terminal Using Queuing Theory (in Catalan). Master's thesis. Civil Engineering School, Technical University of Catalonia, Spain, 2003.