Twin-crane scheduling during seaside workload peaks with a dedicated handshake area

Abstract To enable the efficient division of labor in container yards, many large ports apply twin cranes, two identical automated stacking cranes each dedicated to one transfer zones on seaside and landside. The use a handshake area, bay containers that separates areas is simple means avoid crane interference. Inbound arriving zone position other crane’s area are placed intermediately by first then taken over second crane, vice versa for outbound containers. Existing research only evaluates heuristics rule-based approaches coordination interconnected area. For this setting, accounting precedence constraints due we derive exact solution procedures under makespan minimization objective. In way, comprehensive computational evaluation enabled, which benchmarks with optimal solutions additionally compares alternative settings (i.e., without workload sharing cooperation flexible handover). We further provide insights into where Our results reveal when planning too approach), optimality gaps become large, but sophisticated optimization, price simplified via low.