development of a container handling port simulation for demonstrating port related careers
In a world where next day delivery is a small price to pay for tardy gift selection and names of delivery companies have become verbs, we tend to forget that the relatively slow, ship-based transportation of goods enclosed in 40 by 8 by 8.6 feet boxes accounts for 95 percent of all world cargo movement. In the Hampton Roads region ports alone, approximately 1.2 million containers were handled in 2008. The ability of the region's ports to operate efficiently and safely while managing this load depends largely on the availability of trained personnel. However, availability of a skilled workforce to satisfy current and future needs of the port industry is of concern. This concern stems from the fact that students lack awareness about port-related careers something that limits the number of students that pursue education and training that could lead to port-related employment. This need motivated the development of an interactive, multimedia software tool whose purpose is to showcase careers involved in the daily operation of a port, while simultaneously providing a detailed understanding of the breadth and complexity of modern port activities. This paper describes the simulation and various design decisions that were made in order to achieve the goals of educating students about port operations while also motivating them to pursue such careers.
stem port careers port visualization agent based modeling