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Robust spotter scheduling in trailer yards

Author

Listed:
  • Giorgi Tadumadze

    (Technische Universität Darmstadt)

  • Nils Boysen

    (Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena)

  • Simon Emde

    (Aarhus University)

Abstract

Spotters (also denoted as switchers) are specialized terminal tractors, which are dedicated to the rapid maneuvering of semitrailers between parking lot and dock doors in large trailer yards. This paper is dedicated to spotter scheduling, i.e., the assignment of predefined trailer movements to a given fleet of spotters. The limited number of dock doors for loading and unloading is often the scarce resource during trailer processing, so that idle time of the bottleneck, e.g., caused by unforeseen delay in the yard, is to be avoided. In this setting, we aim to insert time buffers between any pair of subsequent jobs assigned to the same spotter, so that small delays are not propagated and subsequent jobs can still be executed in a timely manner. We formalize two versions of the resulting robust spotter scheduling problem and provide efficient algorithms for finding optimal solutions in polynomial time. Furthermore, we simulate delays during the execution of spotter schedules and show that the right robustness objective can greatly improve yard performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Giorgi Tadumadze & Nils Boysen & Simon Emde, 2020. "Robust spotter scheduling in trailer yards," OR Spectrum: Quantitative Approaches in Management, Springer;Gesellschaft für Operations Research e.V., vol. 42(4), pages 995-1021, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:orspec:v:42:y:2020:i:4:d:10.1007_s00291-020-00599-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s00291-020-00599-5
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    10. Tadumadze, Giorgi & Boysen, Nils & Emde, Simon & Weidinger, Felix, 2019. "Integrated truck and workforce scheduling to accelerate the unloading of trucks," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 112842, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
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    13. Battini, Daria & Boysen, Nils & Emde, Simon, 2013. "Just-in-Time supermarkets for part supply in the automobile industry," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 79438, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
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