Model for selecting container yard equipment and stacking formation strategies in container terminals

摘要

Container terminals are fundamental for the efficiency of the logistic chain and more and more needs to attain high productivity levels, seeking to minimize the time for servicing vessels operated there; it is therefore vital that the whole system and resources, from the quay to the land access routes, are adequately dimensioned and specified so as to avoid bottleneck situations and operational restrictions that may reduce its handling capacity. This work approaches the yard occupation problem systemically, clearly identifying the functionality of the subsystems that form the port terminal and its main operational activities, focusing on what concerns containers storage planning. The model proposed provides a comparative evaluation among different handling systems and types of container yard equipment, by the application of occupation indexes and rates, as well as container yard occupation, not only for slots in the yard but considering a certain demand without taking account the possibility of areas for expansion, non-existent in the present Brazilian scenario at the most of the developed ports, also considering the application of strategies for forming stacks that allow a reduction in yard occupation.