Enhancing coastal industrial efficiency: a scheduling optimization framework for irregular assembly blocks in cruise ship manufacturing

IntroductionWith the rapid growth of the global cruise tourism industry, the demand for cruise ships has surged worldwide. As one of the leading countries with a significant number of cruise passengers, China faces an urgent need to independently construct cruise ships.MethodsThis paper presents an optimization model aimed at minimizing the total number of obstructive blocks while simultaneously maximizing space utilization within the stockyard. To solve this problem efficiently, an improved genetic algorithm is proposed.ResultsNumerical experiments demonstrate that the in-plant scheduling of blocks can be effectively derived based on the shipyard's work plan. Moreover, the study reveals that both the layout of the stockyard and its access configuration directly influence the percentage of obstructive blocks.DiscussionSpecifically, stockyards with a long, flat layout and four-sided access are found to result in a lower number of obstructive blocks, providing practical implications for stockyard design and block logistics management in cruise ship construction.