A decision support system for operations in a container terminal

• Published in: Decision Support Systems Vol. 39; no. 3; pp. 309 - 332
• Main Authors: Murty, Katta G., Liu, Jiyin, Wan, Yat-wah, Linn, Richard
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.05.2005; Elsevier Science; Elsevier Sequoia S.A
• Subjects: Algorithms; Applied sciences; Approaches for handling uncertainty in decision making; Congestion; Container terminals; Crane deployment; Decision making; Decision support systems; Decision theory. Utility theory; Exact sciences and technology; Models and algorithms; Operational research and scientific management; Operational research. Management science; Port time (turnaround time) of vessels; Quay crane rate; Reshuffling; Routing; Storage space allocation; Studies; Transportation terminals; Truck allocation to cranes; Truck hiring plans; Decision support systems; Truck allocation to cranes; Crane deployment; Routing; Reshuffling; Truck hiring plans; Congestion; Approaches for handling uncertainty in decision making; Container terminals; Quay crane rate; Port time (turnaround time) of vessels; Storage space allocation; Models and algorithms; Decision support system; Decision making; Hiring; Crane; Lorry; Space allocation; Container transportation
• ISSN: 0167-9236; 1873-5797
• DOI: 10.1016/j.dss.2003.11.002

We describe a variety of inter-related decisions made during daily operations at a container terminal. The ultimate goal of these decisions is to minimize the berthing time of vessels, the resources needed for handling the workload, the waiting time of customer trucks, and the congestion on the roads and at the storage blocks and docks inside the terminal; and to make the best use of the storage space. Given the scale and complexity of these decisions, it is essential to use decision support tools to make them. This paper reports on work to develop such a decision support system (DSS). We discuss the mathematical models and algorithms used in designing the DSS, the reasons for using these approaches, and some experimental results.