For logistic chains that have a maritime component, the ports transition involves a set of specific operations inside maritime container terminals. This can be cargo handling operations from the terrestrial vehicle in the storage area of ports, from port storage area in the maritime ships, as well as storage operations in the port area and other container terminal activities. Taking into consideration the multi-flow interactions and the non-uniform arrival of vessels and inland vehicles, discrete event simulation stands as a feasible technique for investigating berthing capacity during the initial planning stage of the terminal or for operative planning of logistic processes at the terminal. If the storage area is analysed as a queuing system, the quality serving attributes could be evaluate. When different distributions for arrival flows of the containers in the maritime container terminal are taken into consideration, the quality serving attributes are difficult to estimate. In our paper, a discrete simulation model is developed in ARENA software for case of a maritime container terminal. The estimation of the general measures of performance for the container port terminals through simulation could provide data for the implementation in the management plans by port administrations.

Background: The habitat structure, the environmental impact, the market acceptance, the changes in consumers’ preferences, and the pandemic urged for innovative solutions in urban last-mile delivery. Parcel lockers are among the most preferred solutions by customers due to their home proximity, time availability, and cost efficiency. Methods: This paper introduces an agent-based model (ABM) and a Monte Carlo simulation program to analyze in detail the activity of parcel locker points. The ABM describes the behavior of the agents (customers, parcels, lockers, delivery agents). The simulation is realized using ARENA 12 software. Two scenarios are created based on the number of daily delivery shifts; for each scenario, 300 simulation experiments with various input data are conducted. Results: Three measures of performance (MOPs) are selected to assess the system activity: the number of daily delivered parcels, the delivery time of an order, and the daily delayed orders. The simulation outputs reveal significant predictors of MOPs and disclose moments when actions need to be taken to increase system capacity or change customer behavior. Conclusions: The versatility of the simulation model in terms of input variables makes it a useful decision support tool for planning by highlighting quantitative assessments, organizing delivery activity, along with influences due to customer behavior changes.

One of the most frustrating problems when dealing with risks it’s that they come in so many different forms. They can appear at any point in a port logistic system, they can interrupt the supply of raw materials or products, they can cause demand fluctuations (peak or collapse), inventory problems (lack or crowding), dispatch delay. Risks can range on a scale from small delay to a natural disaster, from short term to a permanent damage, with effects localized on a part of a supply chain or affecting the whole chain activity. The risk management allows port administration to take appropriate measures to reduce the consequences of a risk, to provide a good reliability of the logistic system or to design a resilient one. The paper investigates the major risks in port logistics and adequate measures to minimizing their effects. A risk management tree is set-up. Using computer simulation modelling, a case study investigates the port logistic system behaviour under different risk scenarios and evaluates the reliability of the system and its resilience. The operation capacity for different port logistics sub-system is assessed taking into consideration the required operating standards and the measures of performance (e.g. waiting time for vessels and transport vehicles, storage area and time for commodities) of the logistic system are computed.

Sea ports are important nodes in the supply chain, joining two high capacity transport modes: rail and maritime transport. The huge cargo flows transiting port requires high capacity construction and installation such as berths, large capacity cranes, respectively shunting yards. However, the port shunting yards specificity raises several problems such as: limited access since these are terminus stations for rail network, the in-output of large transit flows of cargo relatively to the scarcity of the departure/arrival of a ship, as well as limited land availability for implementing solutions to serve these flows. It is necessary to identify technological solutions that lead to an answer to these problems. The paper proposed a simulation model developed with ARENA computer simulation software suitable for shunting yards which serve sea ports with access to the rail network. Are investigates the principal aspects of shunting yards and adequate measures to increase their transit capacity. The operation capacity for shunting yards subsystem is assessed taking in consideration the required operating standards and the measure of performance (e.g. waiting time for freight wagons, number of railway line in station, storage area, etc.) of the railway station are computed. The conclusion and results, drawn from simulation, help transports and logistics specialists to test the proposals for improving the port management.

(1) Background: The reliability of port equipment is of significant interest to industry stakeholders due to the economic and logistical factors governing the operation of maritime container terminals. Failures of key equipment like quay cranes can halt operations or cause economically significant delays. (2) Methods: The impact assessment of these disruptive events is conducted through terminal activity modeling and discrete-event simulation of internal processes. The system’s steady-state or transient condition, induced by disruptive events, is statistically assessed within a set of scenarios proposed by the authors. (3) Results: The Heidelberg–Welch and Geweke tests enabled the evaluation of steady-state and transient conditions within the modeled system, which was affected by the reduced reliability of container-handling equipment. (4) Conclusions: The research findings confirmed the usefulness of modeling and simulation in assessing the impact of equipment reliability on maritime container terminal operations. If the magnitude of the disruptive event exceeds the terminal’s absorption capacity, the system may become blocked or remain in a transient state without the ability to recover. This underscores the necessity of analyzing the reliability of critical handling equipment and implementing corrective maintenance actions when required.

This paper presents part of the research on traffic risk estimation for Bucharest City area. The aim of our research is to develop complex models as tools of urban traffic risk assessment in planning phase. In this way, several urban planning alternatives could be analysed and evaluate before important transport infrastructure investment are made. The first part of the paper analyses the state of road accidents recorded in Bucharest. The second part of the paper demonstrates how the intersection conflict index can be used in traffic micro-simulation models to assess measures of traffic risk reducing.