Comparison of plant alternatives in a freight-terminal using stochastic discrete event simulation

The study presented in the paper is the result of a mandate to the Authors from the management of a freight-terminl located in a region in the North-East of Italy. The objective of the study, therefore, is to identify the most efficient configuration in term of costs and performance of internal container handling systems in among a set of possible solutions set by the designers. Given that in the freight-terminal there's a high level of stochasticity elements (hours of arrival and restarts of container vehicles, breakdowns of handling equipment, availability of operators, etc.) an effective and efficient modelling could not have disregarded this fundamental characteristic of the real system. For this reason the Authors decided to study the problem by the use of Discrete Event Simulation. The tools selected by the Authors for the construction of the model was Flexsim CT, whose graphics allow managers to exploit the prerogatives of management methodologies known as "visual management" in addition, of course, to the usual quantitative analysis that characterize the output of a correctly constructed DES model. Thanks to the study carried out, the managers were able to establish, among the solutions proposed, the scenario that involved 1 crane and 3 top loader was the one that allowed both the minimization of purchase and management costs of the yard than the reduction of expectations for handling equipment.