oalogo2  

AUTHOR(S):

M. Mosca, L. Mattera, S. Saccaro

 

TITLE

Optimization of container operations at inland intermodal terminals

pdf PDF

ABSTRACT

The paper presents an optimization study for an inland freight-terminal located in the North-East of Italy. The objective of the research is to identify the best configuration in terms of means of transport among a set of possible handling systems to meet a preassigned daily demand. Due to the high level of uncertainty of some variables (inter-arrival time of trucks, breakdowns of handling equipment, availability of operators, etc.) the study has been carried out using a stochastic discrete event simulation model. The Authors used a powerful simulation software, Flexsim CT, that allowed to model and compared different scenarios. After finding the more efficient means configuration, taking into account the purchase costs of the vehicles and the operating costs (operators, maintenance, fuel), the authors carried out a robustness analysis to find the maximum theoretical number of trucks that could be managed with the identified solutions, analyzing the impact on waiting times as demand increased.

KEYWORDS

MSpe; Top Loader; Crane; Discrete Event Simulation; Flexsim CT

REFERENCES

[1] T.G. Crainic, G. Perboli, M. Rosano, Simulation of intermodal freight transportation systems: A taxonomy, 2017

[2] D Steenken, S Voß, R Stahlbock, Container terminal operation and operations research-a classification and literature review, OR spectrum, 2004

[3] S. Hanssen, A. Mathisen, F. Jorgensen, Generalized Transport Costs in Intermodal Freight Transport, 2012

[4] S. Ricci, L. Capodilupo, B. Mueller, J. Karl, J. Schneberger, Assessment Methods for Innovative Operational Measures and Technologies for Intermodal Freight Terminals, 2016

[5] B. Kordnejad, Intermodal Transport Cost Model and Intermodal Distribution in Urban Freight, 2014

[6] I. Harris, Y. Wang, H. Wang, ICT in multimodal transport and technological trends: Unleashing potential for the future¸ 2014

[7] B. Dragovic, E. Tzannatos, N.K. Park, Simulation modelling in ports and container terminals: literature 28 overview and analysis by research field, application area and tool, 2017

[8] M. Dotoli, N. Epicoco, M. Falagario, G. Cavone, A Timed Petri Nets Model for Intermodal Freight Transport Terminals, 2014

[9] B. Dalla Chiara, D. Marigo, G. Benzo, Interporti e terminali intermodali, 2002

[10] H. Chen, W. Hu, T. Xu, Highway Freight Terminal Facilities Allocation based on Flexsim, 2013

[11]C. Colombaroni, G. Fusco, N. Isaenko, L. Quadrifoglio, Optimization of container operations at inland intermodal terminals, 2017

[12]F.M. Mnale, M.S. Gheith, A.B. Eltawil A simulation-based optimization approach for stochastic yard crane scheduling problem with crane mobility constraints, 2017

[13] S. Ricci, L. Capodilupo, E. Tombesi, Discrete events simulation of intermodal terminals operation: Modelling techniques and achievable results, 2016

[14]L. Cassettari, I. Bendato, M. Mosca, R. Mosca, Energy Resources Intelligent Management using on line real-time simulation:A decision support tool for sustainable manufacturing, 2017

[15]L. Cassettari, F. Rolando, M. Mosca, R. Mosca, The yearly production of a manufacturing plant studied by DES combined with RSM high level designs and neural networks, 2013

[16]R. Mosca, L. Cassettari, R. Revetria, F. Rolando, Sizing of a 3,000,000t bulk cargo port through discrete and stochastic simulation integrated with response surface methodology techniques, 2011

[17]R. Mosca, L. Cassettari, R. Revetria, M. Mosca, F. Rolando An healthcare process reengineering using discrete event simulation, 2013

[18]P. Legato, R.M. Mazza, Berth planning and resources optimisation at a container terminal via discrete event simulation, European Journal of Operational Research, 2001 - Elsevier

[19]P. Angeloudis, M.G.H. Bell , A review of container terminal simulation models, Maritime Policy & Management, 2011

[20]A.E. Rizzoli, N. Fornara, L.M. Gambardella, A simulation tool for combined rail/road transport in intermodal terminals, Mathematics and Computers in Simulation, Volume 59, Issues 1–3, 10 May 2002, Pages 57-71

[21] J.Klaws, R.Stahlbock, S.Voß, Container Terminal Yard Operations- Simulation of a Side-Loaded Container Block Served by Triple Rail Mounted Gantry Cranes, International Conference on Computational Logistics, ICCL, 2011

[22]A.E. Azab, A.B. Eltawil, A Simulation Based Study Of The Effect Of Truck Arrival Patterns On Truck Turn Time In Container Terminals, Proceedings 30th European Conference on Modelling and Simulation ECMS, 2016

[23]P. Zhou, H. Kang, Study on berth and quay-crane allocation under stochastic environments in container terminal, Systems Engineering-Theory & Practice, Elsevier, 2008

[24]L. Cassettari, R. Mosca, R. Revetria, Monte Carlo Simulation Models Evolving in Replicated Runs: A Methodology to Choose the Optimal Experimental Sample Size, Mathematical Problems In Engineering, Article Number: 463873 DOI: 10.1155/2012/463873, 2012

Cite this paper

M. Mosca, L. Mattera, S. Saccaro. (2018) Optimization of container operations at inland intermodal terminals. International Journal of Transportation Systems, 3, 21-29

 

cc.png
Copyright © 2018 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article.
This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0