A novel multi-RTGC scheduling problem based on genetic algorithm

In the storage yard, the scheduling of gantry cranes plays an important role in improving the efficiency of container terminal. This paper mainly addresses the scheduling problem of multiple RTGCs when containers in the terminal yard need to be intensively transported to hinterland. In order that all container tasks can be completed in the shortest time, our objective is to find the optimal RTGC scheduling, which means that it must be decided how to allocate the tasks to be handled to each RTGC and how to arrange for any RTGC the servicing sequence of the tasks so that all the tasks could be handled as soon as possible. Firstly a mixed integer programming model is proposed to formulate the problem which is an NP-hard problem. In the model, the precedence relations between tasks are taken into account. Then according to complexity of the problem, the genetic algorithm is utilized to solve it. Computational experiments show that the proposed approaches are applicable to solve this difficult but essential terminal operation problem.