The aim of the DFG research project is to develop logistic operating curves for ship-to-shore cranes (STS cranes) and the terminal trucks used in horizontal transport. For this purpose, the project will model the interdependencies between the target variables of the container terminal and their main influencing variables on the one hand. On the other hand, based on these interdependencies, suitable procedures for designing the number of terminal trucks and for the important task of allocating transport orders to terminal trucks will be developed and varied.

The project will be implemented in an interdisciplinary way in cooperation with the Institute of Production Management and Technology (IPMT) and the Institute of Maritime Logistics (MLS).

Container terminals are important hubs in international transportation, linking land and water transport. To remain competitive, the operations in a container terminal must be carefully coordinated and controlled. In particular, the STS cranes used for loading and unloading container ships must operate efficiently to ensure high productivity.

The operational planning of the STS crane affects the handling times of a container ship and the number of crane and container movements achieved per hour. If the STS crane gets bogged down, it also has consequences for the processes in the storage area. Terminal trucks are needed to transport containers between the quay and the block storage area. If the deployment of the terminal trucks is insufficiently coordinated, it leads to longer idle times at the STS crane and extended ship berthing times. To optimize the seaside productivity of the container terminal, all these interrelationships need to be considered comprehensively.

The DFG research project focuses on developing logistic operating curves for STS cranes and validating them in a simulation environment to achieve high productivity and short turnaround times for container ships.

The work plan provides for the following:

1. Recording reference processes at container terminals and deriving basic definitions of time components, influencing factors, control variables, and target variables,

2. Modeling logistic operating curves and basic interdependencies for container terminals,

3. Deriving a procedure for the design of transport capacity and order allocation,

4. Evaluating derived logistic operating curve models and procedures for order assignment by extending the simulation model.

The modeling to be developed in the DFG research project is to illustrate the conflicting goals in a simple and clear manner. Based on this, a procedure for a model-based design and order assignment for container terminals will be developed.

This research project "Logistic Operating Curves for Gantry Cranes" is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) - project no. 508626914.