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             Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management
                     The Chinese University of Hong Kong

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Date: Friday, February 19, 2021, 16:30 to 17:30

Title: Solving Sudokus on a Container Terminal and Beyond – Live can be so easy and often it is so difficult

Speaker: Professor Stefan Voß, University of Hamburg

Abstract:

One of the problems on a container terminal refers to pre-marshalling of containers. The goal is to minimize the number of relocations so that containers can be shipped without conflicts. We present the problem and provide hands-on methods for its resolution. Moreover, we show how related results can be used in real container-terminals.
Time permitting, we extend as follows. The Berth Allocation Problem (BAP) aims at assigning and scheduling incoming vessels to berthing positions along the quay of a container terminal. This problem relates to well-known optimization problems within maritime shipping. During the last decades many terminal operators and many academics have developed algorithms and decision support systems for optimizing berth planning including the BAP at container terminals. Moreover, we have seen quite a few extensions of the problem settings to incorporate, e.g., integrated problems or time-dependent limitations (tidal changes) and many more. Despite a wealth of existing systems as well as various recent surveys from literature there are still quite a few realistic issues that seem to be neglected including the consideration of berth error as well as disturbances in the daily operation. That is, in this presentation we set up a research agenda pointing out that we need to consider and model disturbances and stochastic influences to make the problem settings more realistic.

Biography:

Stefan Voß is professor and director of the Institute of Information Systems at the University of Hamburg. Moreover, he serves as dean of the Hamburg Business School (School of Business Administration). Previous positions include full professor and head of the division of Business Administration, Information Systems and Information Management at the University of Technology Braunschweig (Germany) from 1995 up to 2002. He holds degrees in Mathematics (diploma) and Economics from the University of Hamburg and a Ph.D. and the habilitation from the University of Technology Darmstadt. His current research interests are in quantitative / information systems approaches to supply chain management and logistics including public mass transit and telecommunications. He is author and co-author of several books and several hundred papers in various journals. In the German Handelsblatt ranking he is continuously within the top 20 professors in business administration within the German speaking countries. The most recent German Wirtschaftswoche rankings list him among the top 10. Stefan Voß serves on the editorial board of some journals including being Editor of Netnomics and Editor of Public Transport. He is frequently organizing workshops and conferences. Furthermore, he is consulting with several companies.