Title: Closed form models for dwell point locations for overhead bridge cranes

Authors: Trevor S. Hale, Faizul Huq, Jennifer V. Blackhurst, Ken Cutright

Addresses: Department of Management, Marketing, and Business Administration, University of Houston – Downtown, Houston, Texas 77002, USA. ' Department of Management Systems, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio 45701, USA; Groupe ESC Pau, 3 rue Saint-john Perse, 64000 Pau Cedex, France. ' Department of Logistics, Operations, and MIS, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA. ' Department of Management Systems, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio 45701, USA

Abstract: This research presents a methodology for determining the optimal dwell point location for an overhead bridge crane to minimise the expected response times. The problem is modelled as a planar minisum location problem with both zero dimensional (point) and two-dimensional (planar) existing demands. These demands come in three forms: from the Input/Output (I/O) location into the service area (storage move), from the service area to the I/O (retrieval move); and, across the service area (intra-service area move). The result is a non-trivial solution to where the crane should dwell when it is idle. Results of an implementation are also presented.

Keywords: dwell point locations; continuous approximation; overhead bridge cranes; closed form models; planar minisum location; idle time.

DOI: 10.1504/IJOR.2009.023536

International Journal of Operational Research, 2009 Vol.4 No.4, pp.412 - 421

Published online: 27 Feb 2009 *

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