Simulation At A Maritime Container Terminal: Models And Computational Frameworks

Abstract

NEC-Italy high-performance computing division recognises that computer simulation aided organisation and management is the true challenge for a new generation of advanced decision tools for supporting operations in modern logistic platforms. Collecting academic expertises, research skills, computing machinery and dynamic realities with a significant growth into the field of container terminal logistics is a new R&D project at the CESIC-NEC center at the University of Calabria. The starting idea of this project is that discrete-event simulation is the best modelling approach to manage the complexity of logistic processes at container terminals. For these time-based systems, operating in a stochastic environment, becomes crucial to highlight both congestion and starvation phenomena embedded into logistic processes, in order to achieve reasonable targets of a good management of resources and, therefore, stay on the market. Here we present some queuing network based representations that are at the basis of an integrated simulation model under development. Since large and complex models are affected by a high burden on execution, we also remark the benefits of parallel and/or distributed computational frameworks. Numerical results on parallel analysis of simulation output data are given.

HUs Fleet Management in an Automated Container Port: Assessment by a Simulation Approach

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Container Terminal Land-Utilisation Efficiency in Ghana

“…Therefore, container terminal operations can be said to involve all activities associated with a container box until the box is "gated-out" from the terminal either loaded or empty. Physically, a container terminal may compose of a harbour entrance, one or more quays, a large yard surface suitably organized Journal of Transportation Technologies in sectors by a regular layout, and road network for movement [12]. Reference [13] noted that container terminals play an important role in logistics networks and have to be efficient intermodal nodes.…”

A Discrete Event Simulation Model For The Analysis Of Critical Factors In The Expansion Plan Of A Marine Container Terminal

“…berth allocation problem (Imai et al 2002, Cordeau et al 2005, quay crane assignment problem (Zhang et al 2002), ground crew planning problem (Legato and Monaco 2004), optimal sizing of storage space and handling facilities (Kim and Kim 2002), stacking strategies (Kang et al 2006), etc. Other authors propose decision support system, simulation model and queuing models, to study the terminal as a complex system consisting of several integrated and correlated sub-systems (Gambardella et al 1998;Bingham et al 2003;Legato et al 2008;Canonaco et al 2008). Recently, simulation approaches have been quite often used for testing design and structural parameters affecting the performance and productivity of real marine terminals.…”