Optimizing Time Slot Allocation in Complex Multi-Dock Truck Loading and Unloading Operations Using Evolutionary Algorithms

This study focuses on an industrial facility’s time-slot allotment (TSA) problem, where loading and unloading docks are assigned to the incoming lorries, reducing the number of them waiting for service. Several constraints apply to the different dock stations, including disparate timetables and task duration, various capacities of simultaneous services, etc. Evolutionary algorithms cope with the enormous variability of the combinatorial problem, maximizing the number of accepted lorries while decreasing the queue at the entrance. Interestingly, the problem’s structure led to unconventional operator probabilities, which also analyzes the evolutionary techniques and operators included in this study. Comparative analysis with state-of-the-art methods highlights the algorithm’s effectiveness, though computational demands rise with population size.