01025619

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/1963-06

http://scholar.google.com...Pita&publication_year=2006

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.

01035650

English

pp 44-51

2006

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board

0309099722

Print

Figures (4) ; References (14) ; Tables (4)

Cargo handling equipment; Container terminals; Cranes; Mathematical models; Optimization; Port operations; Productivity; Queuing theory; Simulation

Port of Barcelona (Spain)

Efficiency

Barcelona (Spain)

Data and Information Technology; Freight Transportation; Marine Transportation

TRIS, TRB

Mar 3 2006 10:36AM

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