Modelling and Analysing Cargo Screening Processes: A Project Outline

TL;DR

This paper outlines a project to develop a decision support system for cargo screening, aiming to optimize technology and manpower allocation to improve detection rates at ports, considering the complex, dynamic nature of the process.

Contribution

It introduces a holistic simulation-based approach to assess cargo screening processes, incorporating human factors and system variability, which is a novel contribution.

Findings

Initial case study at Calais port conducted

Identification of key research challenges in cargo screening modeling

Development of a decision support tool concept

Abstract

The efficiency of current cargo screening processes at sea and air ports is unknown as no benchmarks exists against which they could be measured. Some manufacturer benchmarks exist for individual sensors but we have not found any benchmarks that take a holistic view of the screening procedures assessing a combination of sensors and also taking operator variability into account. Just adding up resources and manpower used is not an effective way for assessing systems where human decision-making and operator compliance to rules play a vital role. For such systems more advanced assessment methods need to be used, taking into account that the cargo screening process is of a dynamic and stochastic nature. Our project aim is to develop a decision support tool (cargo-screening system simulator) that will map the right technology and manpower to the right commodity-threat combination in order to maximize detection rates. In this paper we present a project outline and highlight the research challenges we have identified so far. In addition we introduce our first case study, where we investigate the cargo screening process at the ferry port in Calais.