.....

Moffatt & Nichol

Planning and Simulation
Master Sales Presentation
.....
 Container Terminal Planning
.....
• What is “Container Terminal Planning?”
– Development of a collection of decisions documented in calculations, drawings,
operating procedures, specifications, cost estimates and reports

– In other words, a “decision set” that embodies the list of things necessary and critical
for a successful project

• Why perform planning at all?

– To be assured of the desired result before investment of capital

• What is the role of the Terminal Planner?

– To assist a group of people representing the investors in reaching a coherent decision
set that will meet their goals

– To document that decision set

– To set in course a series of events that will culminate in a successful project

Conventional “Bottom-Up” Planning
.....

Business Case
Operations
Logistics
Equipment
Infrastructure

Traditional
 Container Terminal Planning
.....
• MN “top-down” approach starts with the
client’s Business Plan
Business Goals
– Business case goals – “what is the client trying to
do?”
Cost Constraints
– Cost constraints

• Capital
Performance
• Operating
Operating
– Terminal performance criteria
Procedures
• Capacity
Systems &
• Productivity Equipment
– Operating procedures
Infrastructure
– Systems & Equipment

– Supporting Infrastructure
Bottom Line
 Container Terminal Planning
.....
• As Planners and Engineers we have many tools in our toolbox:
– Operations analysis experience in all types of container terminals
– Container terminal planning, analysis and layout expertise
– Facilities design expertise
– Cost and financial models
– Facilities and equipment cost databases
– Scheduling software
– Spreadsheet analysis
– Simulation
• Vessel traffic
• Rail switching and congestion
• Highway traffic
• FlexTerm, a container terminal specific modeling tool
• Animations
 Role of Simulation in
Container Terminal
..... Planning

• A Clients Proposed Project

Simulation used to prove that the
– Site site can accommodate the target
capacity
• Size, shape
– Budget Simulation used to prove that
• Capital cost capital assets are sufficient

– Facilities
Simulation used to prove that the
– Equipment system can meet performance
– Systems and integration goals
– Performance Goals
Simulation used to prove
• Capacity operating cost
• Productivity
• Operating Cost Simulation used to prove test
reliability and recovery strategies
• Reliability
 Role of Simulation in
Container Terminal
..... Planning

• Berth / Vessel productivity

– Individual quay crane configuration
– Group of quay cranes interfacing with transport
– Total berth system of QC’s, transporters and time/space for sequenced movement
• Stacking / retrieval system performance
– Meet peak demand
– Throughput capacity
• Gate performance
– Process analysis
– Truck turn time, queuing
– Gate capacity / sizing
• Rail system performance
– Process analysis
– Car turn time and discharge / loading productivity
– Capacity
 Role of Simulation in
Container Terminal
..... Planning

• System disturbance and disaster recovery strategy testing

• True capacity is that level of activity that will allow recovery from
credible disturbances
– Testing of recovery strategies and advanced planning for disturbances
– Recovery time / expense
• Examples
– Vessel / train schedule discrepancies
– Power failure
– Recurring natural events
• Storm, landslide, avalanche
• Scenarios
– What will be the effect of the disturbance?
– How can the system recover when the (expected) unexpected occurs?
 What is Simulation
.....
• The imitation of a real world system

• based on knowledge or assumptions about

the behavior of the parts of that
system

• with the purpose of obtaining insight in

the behavior of the whole system.
 How Simulation Works?
.....

Modeling Inputs
Real World • Arrival Rates Simulation
• Number of equipment
System • Process Times Model
•…

High Cost, Modeling Low Cost,

Long Cycle, Short Cycle,
Impacting Existing No Impact of Existing
Operation
Guiding Operation

Modeling Outputs
Implemented • Throughput Proposed
• Utilizations
Improvement Plan • States Improvement Plan
•…
 Our Simulation Tool: FlexTerm?
.....
• FlexTerm is mainly used for the logistic system simulation
modeling in ports and terminals.

• These models can be operated and observed as in the real

word system or the conceptual system.

• Through the drag and drop 3D objects, FlexTerm can create

any dynamic process simulation model in ports and terminals
such as container terminal berth, container yard, terminal
gate, rail yard etc.
.....
 FlexTerm Main Features
.....
• A specialized library for container terminal simulation
• Many embedded objects for quickly building models
• Excellent customization functionality
– Programmable
– Many API functions and triggers provided
• Fast simulation speeds
• Realistic animations
• KPIs and Statistics
FlexTerm Modeling Features
.....

Easy
Operate

Highly Flexible
Expandable Modeling

Excellent Lively 3D
Analytical Animation
Statistics
 Main Benefits of FlexTerm
for Terminal
..... Planning

• Better analysis of dynamic processes taking place in time and

space
– Process analysis, conflict, traffic, congestion, exceptions, etc.
• Experiments involving individual process or complex
combinations of processes to verify productivities or compare
alternatives
• Confidence in investment to stakeholders / investors
• Visualization of processes through animations
– Congestion, queuing, bottlenecks
– Presentation to non-technical stakeholders
 Middle Harbor
Terminal (MHT)
.....
• Customer: POLB/LBCT
• Description: Performed a
series simulation tasks such
as CY, QC, TA, IY, Road, Rail
simulation for the 3.3M TEU
fully automated container
terminal.
• Objectives: To answer varies
questions raised for master
planning and BOD, such as
optimal layout, optimal crane
configuration, right size of TA
and holding area, verify road
design, switching availability
etc.
 Southern California
International. .Gateway
... (SCIG)

• Customer: BNSF
• Description: Simulated
the near-dock rail
facility that uses dual-
cantilever RMG to
unload and load
containers from trains
to trucks or buffer area,
and vice versa.
• Objectives: To verify
layout, evaluate
capacity, and determine
equipment needs.
 McDuffie Coal Terminal
.....
• Customer: ASPA
• Description: Simulated the rail
traffic flow and the dumping
activities in the coal terminal that
has rail loop system serving two rail
operators with rapid growing coal
volumes.
• Objectives: Verify proposed
operation and layout will meet the
target throughput, determine the
throughput capacity, and identify
bottlenecks.
• Time: Aug. 2012 to Nov. 2012

20
 Burnside Coal Terminal
.....
• Customer: Impala Warehousing
• Description: Simulated the bulk
terminal facility that transfer coals from
barges and trains to vessels.
• Objectives: Verify terminal
configuration and equipment sizing
such as stockyard capacity, train
unloader and ship loader productivities,
conveyor rate, etc., determine terminal
capacity and identify operation
bottlenecks.
• Time: Two Phases
– Phase I: July 2012 to Oct. 2012

– Phase II: Sep 2012 to Feb 2013

21
 What is Emulation
.....
• Emulation is not simulation.
• Emulation will involve real-world control
software such as TOS and (emulated)
equipment control system
– TOS is making decisions
• Create a virtual world to test real world
computer systems
• Interface needs to be
developed
 Why Emulation?
.....
• TOS is important and expensive and risky
• Functional Testing
– Debugging TOS during the development stage of TOS
– Facilitating the development and proving interfaces works or between
TOS and Equipment Control System (ECS) before go live

• Performance Testing
– Prove TOS can reliably handle the designed workload before go live
– Fine tuning TOS and ECS performance after go live
– Testing alternative strategies before actually apply it to real terminal
operation

• Training terminal operators before go live

 Benefits of Emulation
.....
• Save TOS development and test time and cost
– TOS debugging and testing

• Give terminal operator higher confidence on the TOS product before

and after purchase
– Stress test, upgrading TOS, evaluating TOS products

• Allow operators to study various scenarios without impacting real

world operation
– Fine tuning parameters, historical scenario replay and analysis

• Allow operators to train planners and staff in a controlled

environment and evaluate their performances
– It’s a virtual world!
.....