A column generation approach for the quay crane allocation problem considering uncertain operation efficiency

This study constructs a mixed integer programming model for the integrated quay crane allocation problem to minimize vessels' waiting time and delay time cost. Taking the uncertainty of quay crane operation efficiency into consideration, this study constructs a stochastic programming model and a distributional robust chance constraint (DRCC) model. In addition, column generation is applied to solve the three proposed models. Moreover, this paper uses real-world data from Shanghai Yangshan Port to verify the effectiveness of proposed model and algorithm. To prove the robustness of the DRCC model, this study conducts an uncertain parameters sensitivity analysis, and analyzes the performance of the models proposed above. The results show that the proposed DRCC model has better anti-interference ability. The conclusion drawn from this study has potential implications for resource allocation within port operations.