Using Truck Appointment System to Improve the Yard Efficiency of the Container Terminal

摘要

This paper considers the effectiveness of a truck appointment system in improving the yardefficiency of the container terminal. This research uses truck appointment information toimprove the import container retrieval operation and reduce container rehandles by adopting anadvanced container location assignment algorithm. By reducing the container rehandles, theterminal could improve yard crane productivity and reduce truck transaction time. A hybridapproach of simulation and queuing model was developed to model the container retrievaloperation and estimate the crane productivity and truck turn time. Various configurations of thetruck appointment system are modeled to investigate how those factors affect the effectiveness ofthe truck information. The research results illustrate a clear benefit for terminals utilizing truckappointment system to manage their yard operation if the appointment information is used toreduce rehandling. Reducing the duration of the appointment time window or increasing theappointment lead time could further enhance the system performance. The truck information isstill effective for improving system efficiency even if a good portion of trucks miss theirappointments.