Conclusions

The thesis deals with seaside operations planning in seaport container terminals. The investigated planning problems are the Berth Allocation Problem (BAP), the Quay Crane Assignment Problem(QCAP), and theQuay Crane Scheduling Problem (QCSP). From solving these problems, berthing times, berthing positions, and crane capacity are assigned to vessels, and quay crane schedules are determined. The decisions are closely interrelated due to the strong dependence of vessel handling times on the assignment and scheduling of cranes. Nevertheless, the planning problems are predominantly considered isolated in scientific research. In practice they are solved in a sequential solution process, which is hardly able to respect the interrelations and thus, threatens a good utilization of terminal resources and a corresponding service quality. The aim of this research is to overcome these weaknesses by providing an integrated solution approach for seaside operations planning.

The first scientific contribution of the thesis to container terminal operations management is the provision of classification schemes for the various BAP, QCAP, and QCSP formulations presented in the literature. Using these schemes, all approaches can be classified and the essential differences are uncovered.