Optimization and Operation Scheduling for a Steel Plate yard Based on Greedy Algorithm

The inbound and outbound operation of plate yards in shipyards lacks effective scheduling with high operation costs. Based on the analysis of steel-in and steel-out operation process, an optimization model aiming to minimize the operation cost was established. The model was formulated as a multi-level combinatorial optimization model, which is finding proper storage locations during the steel-in stage to minimize the cost during the steel-out stage. Furthermore, greedy algorithm was implemented to solve this problem. Finally, application data obtained from a shipyard was used to validate the model, and the result shows that the proposed algorithm is effective to solve the steel stockyards scheduling problem.