Policy evaluation for storage and retrieval of loose cargos in air cargo terminals

Abstract

This paper addresses storage assignment policies for loose cargos that need to be stored temporarily in an automated storage system and retrieved later for buildup in an actual export air cargo terminal. Standard sized bins are used to store loose cargos in various sizes as they are lodged in. The storage assignment is concerned with how cargos of different flights are assigned to the bins. A quantitative model is developed to evaluate the effectiveness of a current policy and some proposed policies in which flights are grouped according to a few time zones and cargos are assigned to bins associated with the respective groups. It is shown that the proposed policies significantly reduce the expected number of handlings as well as the duration of the average cycle time of the bins. The result is further complemented by a simulation study in which parameters are set according to an actual flight schedule.