The TOPS Project at HIT

During 1989 and 1990 Joachim acted as a technical consultant during the implementation of the artificial intelligence based Terminal Operators Planning System (TOPS) for Hong Kong International Terminals (HIT). This project was implemented on-site in Hong Kong at the offices of one of the world's largest privately owned Container Terminals. It provided Joachim with an ideal opportunity to apply the research work on constraint handling to a real-world problem.

The TOPS system is used to plan the berths for container ships, and to decide where best to store incoming containers that may arrive weeks before their scheduled departure date. The main objective of TOPS was to minimise the average distance between the ship's berth and its containers, and to prevent situations where containers needed for loading are stacked underneith other containers. Given Hong Kong's chronic shortage of space, the efficient utilisation of container storage space was an important goal.