A simulation model of port operations

Alwi, Abdul Latiff (1991) A simulation model of port operations. University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.

Abstract

Port planners often have difficulty in making decisions regarding either the operating costs or the appraisal of new expensive investments, such as the provision of (berthing) quay space, the purchase of new cargo handling equipment, the provision of extra storage space for discharged cargo and the maximum utilisation of pilots, tugs and dock labour. Defining rules for selecting ships from a queue for berths can be significant in busy ports. There is also a need to be able to increase the capacity of one or more parts of'the port without creating bottlenecks elsewhere in the system. Formulating analytical solutions to all the problems is difficult and involves many simplifying assumptions. This thesis presents one possible method of solution by analyzing the behaviour of port operations using computer simulation techniques. The simulation model has been designed to have a broad application and be a useful practical tool for port operators.

The port model has been formulated and successfully implemented on a microcomputer using the three-phase discrete-event simulation method. This model is described in the thesis and its validation discussed. Possible further developments of the model are described.

The computer program for the model, written using Turbo Pascal, was designed to be interactive and user-friendly. Users need to input the ships and port characteristics into data file which can later be retrieved and edited as necessary. The program continuously monitors and displays various port statistics such as number of ships queuing for service and in service, and berth throughput. Measures of port performance such as ships queuing and service times can also be displayed as histogram. Other port performance indicators such as berth utilization, arc included in the output produced by the program.

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