Simulation models for the planning and analysing of container terminals

Simulation models for the planning and analysing of container terminals • CAPS - Capacity Planning System • CRASY - CRAne simulation SYstem • SCUSY - Simulation of Container Unit handling SYstems Institut für Seeverkehrswirtschaft und Logistik Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics t.i.m.e.Port II Barkhausenstrasse 2 D-27568 Bremerhaven Tel.: +49-471-30 98 38-0 Fax: +49-471-30 98 38-55 e-mail: Simulation@isl.org Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics, Bremerhaven 1 General As a partner of public bodies and private business organisations, ISL has accumulated over a long time rich experience, enabling the institute to develop and guide the realisation of innovative strategy concepts, to carry out analyses and surveys in shipping and ports, combined land/sea traffic, intra- and intercompany logistics, as well as developing special information and communication systems. For nearly 15 years ISL has been active on the field of simulation and has developed several simulation tools especially for the maritime container economy. Therefore, ISL is in the position to offer three software tools concerning the simulation of container terminal operation. These simulation tools have been designed in such a way that the user, even without availing themselves on the specialised expertise of a software engineer, is able - with input parameter chosen by themselves - to ‘play through’ several scenarios. All these software products are standalone systems, i. e. there is no other software required to run them. It is possible to export evaluation data to EXCEL-format resp. to import several ASCII files for the input section. Of course, the user can also use the software to its full extent without using these functions. CAPS • Simulation system for the determination of the capacity of a container terminal The aim of CAPS system is to find out where the bottleneck of a terminal currently is, the quay resp. the number or performance of ship-to-shore cranes used, or the stacking capacity. With this, the user is able to determine how much throughput a terminal handles with the existing facilities as well as the capacity of a planned terminal. CRASY • Simulation system for the evaluation of vessel operation with ship-to-shore cranes The aim of the CRASY system is to find out which crane type is most suitable to serve a vessel, and in which way several ship-to-shore cranes interact during the loading and unloading process. Interferences between cranes are reflected in the performance of the individual cranes on the one hand and, consequently, in the vessel’s service time on the other hand. SCUSY • Simulation of container unit handling systems SCUSY has been created as a tool to reproduce and then analyse the numerous parameters and interactions between the technical, operational and traffic-related components of a container terminal. Systematic variation of the input data (e. g. different layout, employment of novel types of equipment, alternative time graphs etc.) provides the user for each scenario with an economical and technical analysis. The comparison of the results enables him to determine in a comprehensible way the optimum handling system. page 2 Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics, Bremerhaven The above-mentioned simulation tools are independent of each other, but it is possible to use results of one tool as input parameter for another tool. The graphic below shows these possibilities: cycle time for different CAPS types of quay cranes CRASY Determination of the Analysis of quay maximum throughput crane operation and capacity of a terminal vessel services quantities and times of the container flow through the turnaround time of entry and exit points (vessel transport equipment cycle time for different services, road/rail handling) types of quay cranes stack utilization no. of quay cranes used for different types of vessels SCUSY Analysis of terminal operation Fig. 1: Interaction of the different simulation tools page 3 Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics, Bremerhaven 2 CAPS • Simulation system for the determination of the capacity of a container terminal Fig. 2: Animation interface of the simulation tool CAPS 2.1 Description The capacity of a container terminal is limited by the capacity of the container stacking area and by the capacity of the quay. The latter is limited by its length and the capacity of the ship- to-shore cranes available. The aim of the CAPS system is to find out where the bottleneck of the terminal actually is. Is it the quay resp. the number or type of ship-to-shore cranes? Or is it the stacking area? And how much throughput does a terminal handle with the existing capacity? After the simulation, the system evaluates the quay as well as the stacking area. CAPS provides information about the utilisation of the quay and crane performance. The user will be informed if the quay length fits to handle a definite container volume and how many ship- to-shore cranes are necessary to serve the arriving vessels. For the area evaluation CAPS investigates the utilisation of the stacking area separated into various area types (areas to stack standard, reefer, dangerous, and empty containers) and it provides an indication of the sufficient number of stacking slots. page 4 Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics, Bremerhaven CAPS consists of three modules: Input for scenario definition Simulation/Animation for calculation, investigation and visualisation Output for result evaluation Fig. 3: Modules and sequence of CAPS In the input module, CAPS asks for general information, land side and quay side information. For the simulation, the system needs information on the yearly throughput which has to be investigated, and its distribution over the year in order to simulate peak times. The number of container slots available has to be entered as well as the dwell time of the individual container types. Among other features, CAPS provides the possibility to develop several vessel types for the quay side definition, to design the quay in any desired configuration and to distribute the ship-to-shore cranes along the quay. For the simulation, CAPS calculates one year. There is a possibility to run a single simulation run to check the configuration, or multiple runs for evaluation. The last simulation run is recorded to show a 3D animation of the quay and the area utilisation. Thus, the user can watch the vessel arrivals and departures as well as the operation of the ship-to-shore cranes. For a fault analysis it is possible to turn the animation backward and forward. In the output module, CAPS provides the quay evaluation with information about the cranes allocated and vessels operated as well as the area evaluation in tabular and graphic matter. page 5 Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics, Bremerhaven dwell time vessel schedule definition of ... share of 40‘ ct used quay cranes and 20‘ ct yearly throughput share of transhipment ... storage capacity container mix for different definition of quay definition container types vessel types (length, shape, draught) CAPS Determination of the maximum throughput capacity of a terminal utilisation of ... maximum stacking blocks no.