By default, yard moves do not have an associated service or move time. In practice, these moves can occur at any point. Typically, RTG or RMG operators manually choose yard moves.
In the context of ASCs, yard moves take on a low priority, unlike productive moves with service times, such as gate handling or vessel moves. In special situations that involve reefer containers or containers that require a change of door direction, XPS sets the service time for yard moves to the current system time.
Where traffic is mixed with gate moves, operators primarily focus on moves going into and out of a stack. When the number of available parking spots for yard and gate traffic is limited, you must avoid congestion by assuring that no individual job is left around. To achieve this and increase yard move performance, you can tune how XPS prioritizes yard moves against other container moves. For example, a terminal can serve trucks at a first in, first out order but allow exceptions where the ASC can cycle containers.
This option requires XPS to calculate wait times for yard moves:
For moves going into a stack, based on the time the container is parked in the ASC stack lane
For moves going out of a stack, based on whether:
The chassis or truck is located in the ASC stack lane.
XPS has assigned the job to the chassis or truck.
Tuning service times for yard moves involves the following parameters, listed in the order of their priority over one another, with the lowest-priority parameter at the top. When tuning, make sure to assign a higher value to the parameter with the higher priority. A one-point difference is usually enough to achieve this. For example:
OPTELS = 100
OPTLST = 101
OPTILS = 102
OPTLSI = 103
OPTDOR = 104
OPTRFR = 105
Then, review the ASC optimizer log files and fine-tune the logic accordingly.