Container Terminal Operation - trucks wait area

[Preethi Sivaramakrishnan]

Hello everyone.

I am a new user of flexsim.
I have developed a small sample model of a container terminal. As shown in the picture, it works like this. The trucks carry export and import containers from and to yard blocks and quay cranes. I have added 4 lanes (as network nodes) in qc side and 6 lanes for yard block side. There is some space in between the upper and lower lanes.
Now,
(a) I wanted the trucks to queue in the middle area of the corresponding yard block it has to pickup/deliver.
(b) Check whether there is a free transfer point on that particular yard block.
(c) If yes, it has to go tat yard block, else wait in the queuing area, and check later.

For this, the truck has to get the information dynamically of which yard block the truck has to pickup\deliver.

I have no idea of what coding I should code and where I should code into. I am new user of flexsim and also programming.

All of your guidance would be so invaluable.

Thanks and Regards
Preethi

[Phil BoBo]

You could use a TrafficControl object to limit a given area of network nodes to a certain number of trucks. Any excess trucks will then wait at the outside of the TrafficControl area until there is room in the area.

It would be easier to show you how to do this if you would attach your model.

[Preethi Sivaramakrishnan]

Thank you so much ,

I was trying the traffic controller implementation.
But in other words I could describe the problem like this.

There are 4 lanes near QC and 6 lanes near YB. These lanes are connected by many vertical lanes (through network nodes). For each yard block there are 5 transfer points. So once all the 5 transfer points are occupied by trucks, the 6 th truck should wait in the vertical lane (the middle area- which connects the 4 lanes and 6 lanes) instead of waiting near the transfer point. So that it does not block the traffic.
Same way the 7 th 8 th should also start queuing behind the waiting 6 th truck.
The 6 th truck should keep checking weather it has a free transfer point, and if yes it should start travelling to the transfer point, else wait in the same area and check later.

I am also attaching my model with this, sir.
Your guidance would be invaluable

Thanks :)

[Preethi Sivaramakrishnan]

Sorry , attaching the model here with :)

thanks :)

[Phil BoBo]

Travelers on the network take the shortest distance from where they are to where they are going.

Because of this, only a few of the many paths in your model are even being used. Instead of building the network based on how your roads are laid out, you should build the network paths based on how you want the trucks to move in the model, keeping in mind that they choose their path based on the shortest distance possible.

You may have 4 and 6 lanes of traffic in reality, but those lanes aren't being used as lanes based on how you built the model with so many intersecting network paths. The extra nodes and paths are unnecessary detail that is complicating your logic.

You should simplify your model to only account for things that make a difference to the questions you are trying to answer with the model, and you should abstract away unnecessary detail.

Also, you need to connect a TrafficControl object to every network node in the area that you want it to govern.

[Preethi Sivaramakrishnan]

Dear Sir

This helped a lot. So ill have further discussion on this point with the team and work on it, avoiding the complications by eliminating the unwanted details.
Will get back on any doubts further arises.

Thanks
Preethi

[Preethi Sivaramakrishnan]

If i wanted to make the trucks queue between the yardblock and quay crane, any idea of how could it be done.

For example, i was trying to use the gatequeue, connecting both the ends to the network nodes, but it does not work.
For detailed understanding I have attached the model. The requirement is is making the trucks queue in the area where I have added the gate queue.

All your guidance would be invaluable.
Thanks in advance
Preethi

[Preethi Sivaramakrishnan]

any guidance please?