Application of DEA to the analysis of AGV fleet operations in a port container terminal

Abstract

This paper presents a decision making approach based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) for determining an efficient container handling strategy at an automated port container terminal. Containers are unloaded from the ship by quay cranes and transported to the storage area by Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs). The objective of this paper is to show how dispatching rules and a number of employed AGVs affect measures of effectiveness of container handling process and to compare their efficiencies using DEA. It was shown that simulation modeling and efficiency evaluation of AGV fleet operations can be useful for the planning purpose.