Logistics Information Management

Simulation and analysis for the Kelang Container Terminal operations

Razman Mat TaharKhalid Hussain
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Razman Mat TaharKhalid Hussain, (2000),"Simulation and analysis for the Kelang Container Terminal operations", Logistics
Information Management, Vol. 13 Iss 1 pp. 14 - 20
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Simulation and analysis
for the Kelang
Container Terminal
operations
Razman Mat Tahar and
Khalid Hussain
The authors
Razman Mat Tahar and Khalid Hussain are both
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Lecturers in the Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Bradford, Bradford, UK.
Keywords
Marine transport, Ports, Logistics, Modelling, Simulation
Abstract
Key issues of the application of modelling and simulation
for the management of the Malaysian Kelang Container
Terminal are discussed. The aim of the investigation is to
improve the logistics processes at the port. The model
simulates all processes required to operate the seaport
efficiently and provides detailed statistics on the seaport
through-put and utilisation characteristics with a high
level of accuracy. The quay cranes allocation, the
resources allocations and the scheduling of the different
operations are modelled to maximise the performance of
the port. The assignment of prime movers to transport
containers to a yard area is also considered.
Electronic access
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is
available at
http://www.emerald-library.com
Logistics Information Management
Volume 13 . Number 1 . 2000 . pp. 14±20
# MCB University Press . ISSN 0957-6053
14
Introduction
Sea transportation plays a major role in the
majority of national and international trade
and economic growth. More than 90 per cent
of international cargo moves through
seaports, which have an approximately 99 per
cent contribution to the economy of the world
(Branch, 1986). Seaports around the world
have been described as the nuclei of
commercial activities from which cities,
national capitals and thriving hinterlands have
emerged (Ramani, 1996).
Port efficiency is an important requirement
in order to survive in the competitive world of
shipping business. Different facilities within
the ports are expensive to run and purchase.
Hence under-utilisation will result in capital
loss and higher cost in running the port.
However, insufficient facilities result in delays
which could cause capital and customer loss.
Seaports are complex dynamic logistics
systems consisting of numerous interacting
elements, influenced by random factors. Hence,
full utilisation of resources and proper
management of operations are two major goals
of port planning. Under these two goals,
objectives such as increasing terminal through-
put and utilisation ratio of facilities, reducing re-
handling time, and minimising terminal traffic
congestion and operating cost can be achieved
(Tu-Cheng, 1992). Seaport operations are
labour-intensive in use of personnel and
machinery. The ability to conduct seaport
operations efficiently can be improved
significantly through proper utilisation of
seaport assets (Nevins et al., 1998).
Complexity of the different seaport
operations often results in difficulties in using
analytical tools as a method of investigation.
In such a situation, computer simulation
provides a powerful tool to use, analyse and
design seaports. Simulation has been widely
used and applied for the planning and
management of the port system (Borovits and
Ein-Dor, 1990; Hassan, 1993; Collier, l980;
Merkuryev et al., 1998; Geert and Janssens,
1998; Gambardella et al., 1998). Nilsen and
Abdus-Samad (1977) provide a thorough
justification for modelling port operations
through discrete-event simulation rather than
through analytical queuing models. A port
simulation model can be used for determining
the effects of changes in through-put, and
various operational, technological, and
investment options (Hassan, 1993).
This paper discusses the key issues of the
application of modelling and simulation for the
management of the Malaysian Kelang port.
The simulation described has been carried out
 Simulation and analysis for the Kelang Container Terminal operations
Razman Mat Tahar and Khalid Hussain
using the ARENA software (Kelton et al.,
1998), and addresses seaport operations in the
context of commercial activities. The paper
aims at improving logistics processes at the
Kelang Container Terminal.
Kelang Port layout plan and operations
The Kelang Container Terminal (KCT) is the
biggest container terminal in Malaysia, playing
an important role in the transit transport chain
between the Far East and the rest of the world.
The main part of the terminal is presented in
Figure 1. The port consists of four berths, with
a total length of 1,079 metres, and total
stacking area of 27.5 hectares. The berths are
13.2 metres in depth, with the exception of
Berth 1, which is only 10.8 metres in depth. A
new interchange area proposed in this paper is
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also shown in Figure 1.
There are four types of ships berthing at the
port, namely: mainline, feeder, coastal and ro-
ro. Mainline ships are the ``direct call'' ships,
which are usually bigger in size, expensive to
operate, and carry more containers. They
usually stop at the main port in order to save
cost. The concept is that the high-cost mainline
should serve only those ports which generate a
high proportion of containers. The feeder ship
is the secondary ship used to transport the
containers unloaded by the mainline ship at the
main port to the port of destination of the
containers. The coastal ships deal with the local
trade within the country or region. The ro-ro is
the special cargo ship, which occupies only 2
per cent of the total number of ships served at
the port; this type of ship can use only Berth 1.
Bigger mainline ships may not be able to berth
at Berth 1 because of the limited length and
depth of the berth.
Figure 1 Kelang Container Terminal (KCT) layout
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Logistics Information Management
Volume 13 . Number 1 . 2000 . 14±20
Berth planning is considered to be the very first
level of terminal planning, and the activities
undertaken during this phase are very important
to other subsequent operations. Ships arrive at
the port, receive the service at the berths, and
then de-berth after completing the activities of
unloading and loading the containers.
The distances travelled by the prime mover
between the berth and the interchange areas
are given in Table I. All prime movers using
Berth 1 and Berth 2 will be directed to the
proposed new interchange area.
The flow of containers is composed of import
and export flows. For the import flow, containers
are unloaded by the cranes from ships, then
transported by the prime movers to the
interchange area before they are stacked in the
yard. At the interchange area, the prime movers
queue for the straddle carriers to stack the
containers in the yard. For the export containers,
the reverse process applies. The operational
system of the port is depicted in Figure 2.
The process begins when a ship arrives at the
port and joins a queue. The first-come-first-
served strategy is usually employed. If a berth is
free, then the ship will be granted permission to
enter the berth. A delay occurs for the ship
until a berth is available. After the ship enters
the berth, it experiences an average delay of one
hour before the unloading operation takes
place. A crane is then assigned to start the
unloading and loading the containers. When
these activities are complete, the ship may have
to wait before it can leave the port. Figure 3
shows all the equipment used to transport the
import and export containers.
The prime movers transport the containers
to the interchange area where the straddle
carriers are used to stack them in the yard.
When the consignee claims the containers, a
truck will then be used to transport them
Table I Distances between berths and interchange areas
Distance (metres) from Berth 1 Berth 2 Berth 3 Berth 4
Present interchange 640 540 840 1,040
New interchange ± ± 580 830
Figure 2 Operational process for the container unloading at the port
 Simulation and analysis for the Kelang Container Terminal operations
Razman Mat Tahar and Khalid Hussain
Figure 3 Inter-arrival distribution of ships at port
outside the port area. The process for export
containers is in the reverse order.
Methodology
The basic tasks in the management of a
container terminal are of berth allocation, yard
planning, storage planning, and logistics
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planning of container operations (Ramani,
1996). These operations can be best analysed
using computer simulation. Recent advances
in simulation technology have created a greater
awareness and use of simulation in a number
of industries. Simulation can be a powerful
tool for evaluating the performance of a
proposed system and choosing an appropriate
design before actually implementing the
solutions. There are a number of software
packages available for discrete-event
simulation. In this study, the ARENA
simulation package (Kelton et al., 1998) was
selected because of its flexibility in modelling
many scheduling and planning problems and
its user-friendly modelling environment.
The developed simulation models can be used
to analyse the different port operations. The
models provide estimates for port performance
indicators, such as ship turnaround time, berth
occupancy, ship outputs, crane utilisation, etc.
The modelling process starts by statistically
analysing the different input data to provide
appropriate probability distributions for arrival,
service time, etc. A simulation model is then
developed using the input data distribution.
Results from the simulation model are then
analysed using the ARENA output analyser.
Using simulation together with the output
analysis will enable the port officers in
identifying a good operating strategy for the
logistic planning of port operations.
Berth operation
Two simulation models have been developed.
The first is for berth allocation and the second
is for crane assignment. The berth allocation
model simulates the movement of the ship to
16
Logistics Information Management
Volume 13 . Number 1 . 2000 . 14±20
the berth and the assignment of the ship to
the berth with certain rules. Berth allocation
is considered to be the very first level of
terminal planning and the activities
undertaken during this phase are very
important to other subsequent operations.
Input data for berth model
The model built is based on the data collected
on the daily activities at the port for a one-
year period. The ARENA input analyser was
used to fit the appropriate distributions for
each of the inter-arrival times of ships at
berth.
In Figure 3 the inter-arrival distribution of
ships at the port was plotted. When plotted
with the ARENA input analyser, the Weibull
distribution is found to be the best fit.
The results collected from the simulation
model include ship through-put, ship
turnaround time, service utilisation of berth,
waiting time before berthing, length of queue,
and time spent in the queue. The simulation
model was run for ten replications and the
average was recorded to reduce the variation.
The average of this simulation output is
compared with the historical data to validate the
model. Berth assignment is based on a first-
come-first-served rule.
Priority assignment for the four different
types of ships is included in the analysis to
establish the best strategy for implementation
by the port management. The first strategy
used in the model is to give priority to mainline
ships, since they are bigger in size and carry
more containers. However, sometimes feeder
ships carry more containers than mainline
ships. Hence, the priority is changed in favour
of the ship carrying more containers.
Priority based on ship type
The priority assignment, based on the type of
ship, was implemented in order to improve
the operations within the port. Priority
assigned to the mainline and feeder ships
results in ship turnaround time as shown in
Figure 4a. This policy is desirable since
port management would like to increase
international trade by attracting more ``direct-
call'' ships from abroad.
This policy is desirable since port
management would like to increase
international trade by attracting more ``direct-
call'' ships from abroad. The turnaround time
for the mainline ship has reduced from 16.8
hours to 16.1 hours. The ro-ro ship, which is
also given a priority, has reduced its
turnaround time by 0.6 hour.
The result for the berth utilisation is shown
in Figure 4b.
 Simulation and analysis for the Kelang Container Terminal operations
Razman Mat Tahar and Khalid Hussain
Figure 4 Histogram representing actual versus simulation results
Berth utilisation increases when priority is
assigned to mainline ships. For Berth 4,
utilisation is increased by 6.3 per cent . For
Berth 2, the utilisation has an increase of 2.9
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per cent. Both Berth 1 and Berth 3 utilisation
remain unchanged. Ship waiting time for the
mainline is reduced by 72.4 per cent. With no
priority, the waiting time for mainline is 1.4
hours on average, but with priority assigned
the waiting time is reduced to 0.8 hour.
Priority of berth assignment based on
number of containers
When priority is given to a ship which carries at
least 500 twenty equivalent units (teus)
containers, it will give an advantage to the ship
which has more service moves at the port. In
this case, even the feeder ship which has at least
500 teus also gets the benefit of this priority
assignment. The results given in Figure 5 show
a reduction in the turnaround time for a ship
which has at least 500 teus service moves. A
mainline ship usually carries at least 500 teus;
hence a reduction of its time by 2.38 hours is
possible. Similarly, the turnaround time of a
feeder ship was reduced by 11.4 minutes.
Figure 5 Berth hours for priority based on container numbers
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Logistics Information Management
Volume 13 . Number 1 . 2000 . 14±20
Crane and prime mover allocation model
Crane allocation rule
After the berth is assigned to the ship, the
next operation is to unload the containers.
The unloading operation includes lifting the
import containers from the ship and placing
them on the prime movers. The prime movers
will then transport the containers to the
interchange area. On reaching the
interchange area, the straddle carriers will
then lift the containers from the prime movers
and stack them in the yard area. The empty
prime movers then return to the berth area for
transporting the next containers.
The container terminal under study has
four berths and eight cranes. The cranes are
numbered one to eight, and are shared among
berths. The combination of the crane sharing
is illustrated in Table II.
Each berth has at most an allocation of
three cranes. Since the cranes are located in
serial order, they cannot cross or overtake
each other. Sharing of cranes is thus allowed
only between two berths adjacent to each
other. From the combination of crane
allocations, for Berth 1 and Berth 2 there are
four cranes. Similarly, for Berth 3 and Berth 4
there are also four cranes. However, for Berth
 Simulation and analysis for the Kelang Container Terminal operations
Razman Mat Tahar and Khalid Hussain
Table II Crane assignment according to berth
Cranes used 123 234 456
Berth no. Berth 1 Berth 2 Berth 3 Berth 4
2 and Berth 3, there are five cranes allocated
to these two berths.
The assignment of the cranes to the ship at
the berth is based on a number of rules. The
first rule is that crane assignment is based on
the crane currently available when the ship is
berthing. For every ship, at least one crane is
available for the loading and unloading
activities to begin. The second rule is based
on the number of moves for loading or
unloading made by the ship. If the number of
moves is  60 then it will be sufficient to use
at most two cranes. Usually, if more cranes
are assigned then the productivity of the
cranes becomes less. The third rule is that if
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the ship has > 60 moves then three cranes will
be assigned, if available. Otherwise, two
cranes will be used in the right combination.
Model input
An average of two months' duration input
data were used, which involves approximately
150 ships. Ship unloading of the import
containers takes place first; then, when
completed, loading of the export containers is
carried out.
Again, the ARENA Input Analyser was
used to fit the appropriate distributions for
each of the service times of ships at each
berth. Figure 6a-d shows the service
distribution for the ships at each of the berths.
The statistics collected from the simulation
model include ship through-put, i.e. the
number of export and import containers,
number of ships, crane utilisation, berth
hours, and turnaround time of ship.
The simulation model was run for ten
replications and the average was recorded.
The simulation output is compared with the
historical data to validate the model.
Comparison between simulation output
and historical data
The results of the simulation output and the
historical data for the port under study are
presented below to validate the model. Three
statistics are used as a comparison between
the simulation output and historical data.
They are export and import containers for
each berth, number of ships, and berth
utilisation.
Logistics Information Management
Volume 13 . Number 1 . 2000 . 14±20
Number of export and import containers
for each berth
678
The simulation output for the number of
containers for unloading and loading at each
berth is compared with the historical data to
validate the model. The result is presented in
Figure 7 and shows an accuracy of 10.6 per
cent in the extreme case.
Number of ships using port
The number of ships using the port in the
period under study is also computed and
compared with the actual data as shown in
Figure 8. Again, the simulation results are in
agreement with the actual data.
Crane utilisation
The utilisation of the eight cranes carrying out
the loading and unloading at the berth area
can be computed from the historical data.
Berth utilisation is defined as the total time
which the cranes are used for loading and
unloading the containers as a percentage of
the total time they are available. From the
historical data, the average utilisation of the
cranes is 40.6 per cent, whereas the output of
the simulation shows a value of 36 per cent.
This shows that the model is in agreement
with the actual data.
Simulation analysis of port
Analysis of cranes
It was found that the utilisation of the cranes
in the port under study is quite low, i.e. the
cranes are under-utilised.
If one of the cranes is shut down, results
show a slight increase of crane utilisation from
36 per cent to 39 per cent. The berth hours
per ship on average also increase from 10.6
hours to 12.8 hours, i.e. an increment of 12
per cent.
The port is keeping more cranes at the
berth in anticipation that the through-put will
increase in the future.
Analysis of prime movers
At present, the port has allocated three prime
movers for each working crane at the berth.
From the simulation results, the average time
prime movers are busy with this allocation is
only 25.4 per cent of total working time
available. However, if only two prime movers
are assigned to each crane, the average prime
movers' utilisation is only 27.8 per cent, an
increase of 2.4 per cent. It can be concluded
that the prime movers do not cause any delay
to the loading and unloading operations.
18
 Simulation and analysis for the Kelang Container Terminal operations
Razman Mat Tahar and Khalid Hussain
Figure 6 Service distribution at berths 1-4
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Changed port configuration
The configuration of the port is changed in
order to avoid congestion in the port and also
to minimise the prime movers' travelling time
and distance to the yard area. The changes
are made by creating a new interchange area
so that the prime movers from Berth 3 and
Berth 4 will go to the new proposed
interchange area, and the prime movers from
the other two berths will still use the old
interchange. Although, at present, the prime
mover allocation is not a limiting factor to the
port, the travelling distance to the yard can
still be reduced. It will help the port to reduce
the maintenance of the prime movers and
save cost in the long run. Therefore it is
recommended that the port introduces a new
interchange area in the yard.
Figure 7 Number of containers loaded and unloaded at each berth
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Logistics Information Management
Volume 13 . Number 1 . 2000 . 14±20
Conclusion and recommendations
A simulation model was developed to assist in
the management and operation of Kelang
Container Terminal. The simulation models
include berth assignment, crane and prime
movers assignment.
The simulation model shows that the port
has the capability to increase its through-put.
The existing port resources such as cranes,
prime movers and straddle carriers are quite
sufficient for handling the containers. The
logistics planning of container operations, like
assigning and coordinating the operations of
port resources, is important. It helps improve
the port efficiency and reduce the operational
and maintenance costs. The introduction of a
second interchange area reduces the travelling
time of the prime movers, and hence will
 Simulation and analysis for the Kelang Container Terminal operations
Razman Mat Tahar and Khalid Hussain
Figure 8 Comparison between simulation output and historical data of number of ships at each berth
minimise the operational cost. Similarly, the
port is recommended to assign fewer prime
movers to each crane, since the prime movers
are under-utilised. They can also concentrate
on increasing the handling rate of each crane.
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This can be done by avoiding delay caused by
crane breakdown, or by giving training to the
crane driver.
The developed simulation model can now
be used by the port management to improve
the different operations and to make decisions
on plant modification or expanding the
various activities. It is essential to maintain
and control the number of containers in the
yard to avoid bottlenecks within the port. For
this reason, further research and modelling
are taking place to include a yard simulation
model and its different activities. Finally an
inventory model will be developed to access
the feasibility cost and overall port impact on
the Malaysian economy.
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