Integrated scheduling optimization of Yard Crane and Yard Truck in ship-loading operation

To further decrease berthing time of container vessels, synchronous operation of Yard Cranes (YCs) and Yard Trucks (YTs) is mainly considered in multiple work lines condition. On this basis, an integrated scheduling optimization model of YC and YT, aiming at minimize the makespan of loading operation, is provided based on YT pool strategy with the consideration of practical constrains, such as the safe distance between YCs, task precedence and so on. Considering the complexity of mathematical model, the Genetic Algorithm (GA) is introduced to allocate workload for YCs, a routing method is used to find the shortest travelling paths for YCs and the First Come First Serve (FCFS) rule is adopted to schedule YTs among different work lines dynamically. In the end, the effectiveness of optimization model and algorithm is certified by making numerical experiments. The results show that using pool strategy is beneficial to short makespan of loading operation when YTs are relatively less.