Solving Cargo Loading Problem Using Simulated Annealing Technique

Abstract

Based on the statistical report for logistics and transportation field in port and airport Malaysia, there shows a significant increment in the total cargo handling for last few years. The prevalence of online shopping and e – commerce also contribute to the development of the logistics and transportation field. This study aims to contribute mathematical model for maximizing the utilization of space in the container and handling the cargoes systematically in column by using simulated annealing in order to fulfill the demand of public in logistics and transportation field. The study is conducted by using the benchmark dataset published in journal article which was written by Bischoff & Ratcliff in 1995. This weakly homogenous cargo dataset is used for examining the column cargo arrangement by using simulated annealing method. The difference parameters of simulated annealing are used to obtain the near optimal solution that maximizing the utilization of space in the container. The near optimal solution is 126,928 cm2 in area that indicates the coverage of cargoes in the container. This near optimal solution is obtained by applying the parameters for number of iterations, temperature and constant factor as 1500, 500 and 0.99. In conclusion, the objectives of this study are achieved by applying the mathematical model, column layout design for cargo arrangement and simulated annealing method. The systematic column cargo arrangement achieves a high efficiency cargo loading in maximizing utilization in the container space and stability of cargo.