Scheduling trucks on factory premises. (December 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wirth, Martin; Emde, Simon
• Is Part Of: Computers & industrial engineering. Volume 126(2018)
• Page Start: 175
• Page End: 186
• Publication Date: 2018-12
• Subjects: Just-in-time logistics -- Factory premises -- Open shop scheduling -- Weighted tardiness -- GRASP; Engineering -- Data processing -- Periodicals; Industrial engineering -- Periodicals; 620.00285
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cie.2018.09.023
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0360-8352

Abstract

Highlights: We model the novel problem of scheduling trucks on factory premises. We develop fast bounding procedures. We propose heuristic solution procedures. The bounding and heuristic procedures outperform a default solver. Schedules, door assignment, and time windows strongly affect on-premises congestion. Abstract: Trucks carrying just-in-time parts for assembly plants need to be processed on the factory premises in a speedy manner to guarantee smooth operations, improve supply chain performance, and avoid demurrages. Traditionally, plant managers and logistics providers have long been dissatisfied with extensive waiting times and severe on-site congestion. In this context, we tackle the problem of scheduling a set of trucks arriving at an assembly plant to deliver parts to specific dock doors on the factory premises. Trucks must visit a given set of doors, and they have individual arrival and due dates. They should be scheduled such that the total weighted tardiness is minimal. We propose a mixed-integer programming model and develop bounding procedures and heuristics, which are shown to perform well in a computational study, yielding small optimality gaps in under a minute of runtime. Our tests also reveal that door assignment and time window management have a substantial impact on on-premise congestion.