Simulation modelling for capacity optimisation of terminal operations at Dar es salaam port

Cargo congestion at Dar es Salaam Port results in loss of revenue by Tanzania Port Authority (TPA). The recognised congestion is due to lack of equipment and machinery, lack of enough staff especially at documentation processing, long time documentation processing, ignorance to some agents as well as lack of skills and negative attitude among port operators. This study presents simulation models for capacity optimisation of terminal operations at Dar es Salaam port for the purpose of reducing cargo congestion. It uses the principle of imitating containers and motor vehicles handling and discharging operations at the port in order to allow the improvement of performance of the operations. Simulation models were developed using FlexSim software and can be easily adopted and implemented to reduce cargo congestion at ports. The input data used for the models were obtained from both primary and secondary sources. The results from the study show that, the cargo input at Dar es Salaam port is significant and has increased by 9.8 percent from 2003 to 2012. There is lack of equipment and machinery for discharging cargo at the port causing cargo congestion. The throughput of cargo (containers and motor vehicles) is low. Through capacity optimisation, the throughput of containers can be improved from 200 to 1407 per day and of motor vehicles from 325 to 1616 per day. The study recommends the need to incorporate the effects of weather conditions and infield distance between working areas for more accurate results.