Storage yard operations in container terminals: Literature overview,trends, and research directions

Inbound and outbound containers are temporarily stored in the storage yard at container terminals. A combination of container demand increase and storage yard capacity scarcity create complex operational challenges for storage yard managers. This paper presents an in-depth overview of storage yard operations, including the material handling equipment used, and highlights current industry trends and developments. A classification scheme for storage yard operations is proposed and used to classify scientific journal papers published between 2004 and 2012. The paper also discusses and challenges the current operational paradigms on storage yard operations. Lastly, the paper identifies new avenues for academic research based on current trends and developments in the container terminal industry.     

A branch and bound algorithm for class based storage location assignment

Class-based storage implementation decisions have significant impact on the required storage space and the material handling cost in a warehouse. In this paper, a nonlinear integer programming model is proposed to capture the above. Effects of storage area reduction on order picking and storage space cost are incorporated. A branch and bound algorithm is developed to solve the model. Computational experience with randomly generated data sets and an industrial case shows that branch and bound algorithm is computationally more efficient than a baseline dynamic programming algorithm. It is further observed that the class based policy results in lower total cost of order picking and storage space than the dedicated policy.     

基于商品关联度的智能仓库储位分配问题研究

储位分配方案是直接影响智能仓库工作效率和拣选成本的关键因素.根据历史订单信息定义了商品之间的关联度,以同一货架上的商品之间的关联度之和极大化为目标建立了智能仓库储位分配问题的数学模型,并设计了求解模型的算法.首先根据历史订单信息计算商品之间的关联度,然后结合商品的周转率、商品之间的关联度等信息,设计了启发式算法求解智能仓库储位分配问题,并且分析了启发式算法的时间复杂度.通过大量的模拟计算验证了本文建立的数学模型和设计的启发式算法的有效性,证明了以同一货架上商品之间关联度极大化为目标和以订单拣选过程中搬运货架总次数极小化为目标的一致性.通过对比分析本文算法得到的储位分配结果与随机储位分配结果可以看出,利用基于商品关联度的启发式算法得到的储位分配方案比随机储位分配方案对应的货架搬运次数平均减少了30.08%.     

A storage allocation scheme for ALGOL 60

A storage allocation scheme for a machine with a 2048-instruction core store and a magnetic drum is described. The use of the drum for storing program blocks and/or data must be directed by the programmer through auxiliary information in the ALGOL program. The administrative routines controlling the storage at run time are described in full. A detailed example is given.     

Analysis of repeated hashing

A performance analysis of an overflow handling method for hash files, here called repeated hashing, is reported. The basic idea of repeated hashing is to rehash the overflow records into a smaller separate storage area; the overflow records from this area are in turn hashed into a still smaller separate storage area, etc. The expected retrieval performance and the storage requirements are analysed, both for initial loading and steady state. The problem of optimally partitioning the total storage area is considered and the optimal solution is given. It is concluded, however, that the usefulness of repeated hashing is in doubt because there are methods having the same performance but requiring less maintenance.     

空军消耗性航材储备优化模型研究

针对我军装备改型多以及部分消耗性航材长期储存容易变质失效的实际借鉴EOQ模型的思想,构建了消耗性航材储备模型.模型以总储备经费最小为目标,综合考虑了航材使用优先级以及航材储备中产生的各项费用,并从理论上证明了模型具有全局最优解.最后通过算例说明方法可行.     

仓库容量有限条件下的随机存贮管理模型

以商场的商品销售与存贮为研究对象,建立了一类在仓库容量有限条件下的存贮管理决策模型,并给出了最优存贮策略.针对某个大型超市的三种商品的真实销售数据,我们运用该模型分析求解得出了三种商品的最优订货点L*分别为35、39和40.结合销售存贮管理中的实际情况,我们针对商场同时订购多种商品时的情况对模型进行了初步推广,并依据此推广模型得出了在同时订购三种商品时的最优订货点L*为7.2.最后我们进一步讨论了在商品销售率随存贮时间发生变化及存贮变质性商品时的存贮管理决策模型,以便满足不同商家的订货和存贮策略.     

The Design of Storage Calorifiers: A Case Study

To date, no scientific method for the sizing of storage calorifiers has existed. This short paper outlines the analytical methods which were established to provide design criteria for the storage calorifiers serving hospital ward units. A full report of the survey which was carried out is contained in a paper entitled “A study of water consumption in ward units”.     

Marine inventory routing: shipments planning

This paper addresses a shipments-planning problem faced by producers of large volume liquid bulk products. Producing origins with limited tank storage capacity supply multiple products by ships (or barges) to consuming destinations that also have limited storage capacity. Timing, origin, destination, and product quantities of shipments have to be determined in a manner that minimizes costs and does not violate storage capacity constraints at both ends (neither stopping production at the origins, nor running out of stock at the destinations). A mixed integer-programming model is used to derive cost effective solutions within a few minutes. A cost-based heuristic algorithm is used to assure that acceptable solutions are obtained quickly.     

A container yard storage strategy for improving land utilization and operation efficiency in a transshipment hub port

This paper studies the storage yard management problem in a busy transshipment hub, where intense loading and unloading activities have to be considered at the same time. The need to handle huge volumes of container traffic and the scarcity of land in the container port area pose serious challenges for the port operator to provide efficient services. A consignment strategy with a static yard template has been used to reduce the level of reshuffles in the yard, but it sacrifices on land utilization because of exclusive storage space reservation. Two space-sharing approaches are proposed to improve on the land utilization through dynamic reservation of storage space for different vessels during different shifts. Meanwhile, workload assignment among reserved spaces will also satisfy the high-low workload balancing protocol to reduce traffic congestion in the yard. A framework which integrates space reservation and workload assignment is proposed. Experimental results show that the framework is able to provide solutions for containers handling within much less storage space, while guarantee the least yard crane deployment.     

基于改进PSO-BP神经网络的贮存可靠性预测

贮存可靠性是军事储备质量监测的重要环节,科学准确地预测贮存可靠度是现代化军事评估的必然要求。针对历史贮存数据,建立可靠度与年限的贮存可靠性预测模型,采用进化策略改进粒子群算法(PSO)优化BP神经网络进行贮存可靠性预测。通过数据扩充提高样本质量和数量,应用改进后的PSO算法优化BP神经网络的初始权值和阈值,提高网络的泛化能力。PSO算法较好的全局搜索能力与BP网络很强的局部搜索能力相结合,能够避免早熟现象,提高算法的收敛速度及预测精度。实验结果表明,改进的PSO-BP网络模型比PSO-BP和BP神经网络获得更好的预测性能。     

云计算技术在输电线路状态监测系统中的应用

在分析输电线路状态监测系统特点的基础上,提出了在系统中引入云计算存储与并行处理技术的设计方案,将关系型数据库与开源的Hadoop云计算平台结合使用,解决了关系型数据库在系统使用中存储和访问效率等方面的问题.介绍了所开发的原型系统提供的服务及其主要功能,并针对系统中的典型应用进行了性能测试.测试结果表明所提方案可以满足输电线路状态监测系统对数据存储与读取、分析的性能要求.     

Fixed-bucket binary storage trees

A binary storage tree has a set or bucket of possible items associated with each node. The buckets at deeper levels are refinements of the partitionings at earlier levels. When these buckets are established a priori, rather than determined by the particular items stored, we obtain a storage data structure which is a generalized binary digital tree as well as a binary storage tree. Thus the binary key-values of the items along a path in a fixed-bucket binary storage tree have successively longer common prefixes. This synthesis of two schemes inherits all the desirable properties of both methods. The method is analyzed for uniformly-distributed input and shown to have the same cost statistics as binary digital trees.     

导弹贮存可靠性评估

本文针对导弹上不同部件在长期贮存中、所受影响不同及可修性不同等特点 ,将弹上部件分为五类 .在此基础上、研究给出了该类导弹的贮存可靠性物理模型和相应的数学模型 ,可称作配套系统模型 ,并通过一个简单实例介绍了具体计算方法     

Tightly controlled linear hashing without separate overflow storage

A hashing method is presented where the amount of storage required for a file can expand and shrink by very large factors. The performance of this method as measured by lookup time, insertion time and deletion time is very good even when the total storage utilization is as high as 90 percent. The user can completely control the storage utilization between two chosen bounds so that the storage requirement varies linearly with the number of records currently in the file.Unlike previous methods, no separate overflow storage pool is involved and one need not be concerned with expected and worst case requirements for overflow space. Indeed, the absence of requirements for such a separate overflow pool could allow the use of this method with primitive microprocessor operating systems.The choice of hashing functions is discussed and simulation results show great danger in blindly using the popular remainder method.Both an elementary analysis and simulation results are given.This research was supported by the National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada.     

避难场所生活物资政府—企业联合储备优化问题研究

应急避难场所是地震等大型自然灾害发生后人员安置的重要场所。用于救灾的生活物资如食品、饮用水等既是应急资源,同时也是日用消费品,在一定保质期内需要定期更新,因此这种特殊应急资源储备需同时兼顾应急供应保障度和日常管理成本。文章以应急避难场所的一个存储周期为研究对象,将避难所及其周围的超市作为可选存储地点,避难所自行储备的供应保障度高,但日常管理成本较大,周边超市则相反,建立混合整数规划模型,选择周边超市和避难所一同存储一定数量的生活物资,在满足政府预算的条件下,使得应急状态下物资保障程度最大化。文章设计了启发式算法,最后给出算例说明算法的有效性。     

基于多候选储位的存取路径优化问题研究

针对单储位储存方式可能导致仓库存取通道拥挤和作业效率低的情形,提出了一种基于多候选储位的存取路径优化方法。首先分配了货物的存取储位,然后建立了多候选储位的车辆路径问题(MLVRP)模型,并基于储位优先解码原则设计了遗传算法,最后通过算例证明该方法的有效性和算法的高效性。多候选储位的方法可以为取货任务至少节约18.4%(两个候选储位)和21.8%(三个候选储位)的路程,算法迭代10000次只需要434s。     

Inventory Control with a Randomly Available Discount Purchase Price

A mathematical model is developed for a basic single-commodity storage system in which the stock controller is faced with a randomly fluctuating purchase price. High- and low-price periods are defined and a purchasing policy is specified which depends upon both the number of units in storage and the price period in which the system is operating. For the case of random demand the limiting stochastic behaviour of the system is obtained and the cost of operating the system is derived.     

Operational research and material handling

A number of material handling research areas are reviewed and opportunities for further research are identified. Included in the review is a consideration of the following areas: robotics, conveyor theory, transfer lines, flexible manufacturing systems, equipment selection, storage alternatives, automated storage and retrieval systems, warehouse layout, palletizing, and order picking and accumulation.     

Dynamic hashing

A new file organisation called dynamic hashing is presented. The organisation is based on normal hashing, but the allocated storage space can easily be increased and decreased without reorganising the file, according to the number of records actually stored in the file. The expected storage utilisation is analysed and is shown to be approximately 69% all the time. Algorithms for inserting and deleting a record are presented and analysed. Retrieval of a record is fast, requiring only one access to secondary storage. There are no overflow records. The proposed scheme necessitates maintenance of a relatively small index structured as a forest of binary trees or slightly modified binary tries. The expected size of the index is analysed and a compact representation of the index is suggested.