After studying the real system and building an overall understanding of the on-going operations, a conceptual model can be inferred and constructed. Entities moving within the simulation model include ships, trucks, trains and containers. The resources in the model include quay cranes for loading and unloading, RTGs for stacking and unloading, ship berths, and storage areas or container yard. The processes in the model are constructed based on the operations that take place at the port including loading/unloading containers from sea or land and moving containers to the container yard or around the port to another transportation mode. Fig 1 shows the flow chart of the port and the processes involved.
The proposed simulation studies different scenarios regarding the number of cranes, RTG, and yard trucks to understand their impact on the port progression. Furthermore, the simulation model is set up as a platform to study the impact of customs and security check points on the port.