Development of a Container Terminal Simulation Ontology

Abstract

This article introduces a simulation ontology to support terminal planers, operator and managers in the design and management of seaport container terminals. Due to the increasing requirements of shipping companies regarding efficiency, quality and price for the handling processes at container terminals, the use of integrated approaches for improving the performance has grown significantly. Simulation, which has proven highly beneficial in production and logistics, represents an adequate tool to deal with complex systems like container terminals. However, building simulation models requires much time and simulation software know-how. To counteract this effect, this article presents a simulation ontology of seaport container terminals, which supports the user in building specific simulation models.