Resources to Minimize Disruption Caused by Increased Security Inspection of Containers at an Intermodal Terminal

Abstract

This paper presents the application of simulation to determine the inspection resources needed to minimize disruption resulting from increased security inspection of containers at an intermodal terminal. The initial simulation run intentionally started with a large number of resources. Additional simulation runs were made with a continual reduction of inspection resources until entity throughput at the terminal dropped below allowable limits. Simulation Run 9, with six tailgate inspection stations, three intensive inspection stations, and one general purpose inspector, provided the minimum resources that did not disrupt container throughput. This paper includes the description of the conceptual model framework, the simulation model, the experimental design, and simulation results.

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