BMT Isis has recently completed a berth capacity study for Knauf ahead of significant planned investment for its jetty located on the Swale.

The Grovehurst Jetty near Ridham Dock is operated by Knauf to import and transport gypsum to its factory in Sittingbourne, Kent, where the mineral is used to produce plasterboard.

In a bid to assess the feasibility, identify the effects and estimate the likely costs of changes to the gypsum import process, Knauf turned to BMT for an assessment.

A range of options included bringing larger ships alongside the jetty, changing the ship chartering arrangements, increasing the cargo storage capacity and upgrading or replacing cargo discharge equipment.

By creating an analytical computer model, BMT simulated the existing cargo discharge operations and assess the effects of changes to the existing infrastructure such as cranes, hoppers and conveyors – all of which are used to transfer the gypsum from the ships to the factory stockpile.

Bob Hockham, business development manager at BMT Isis, said that, increasingly, simulation is being used as a cost effective way to make operational and investment decisions.

“By developing a well built and validated simulation model, we were able to replicate the cargo handling processes for Knauf and identify potential efficiency improvements,” he said.

The results from the analytical model showed that the greatest gains in efficiency were likely to be achieved by increasing the amount of storage space on the jetty, replacing the existing cranes with a new unloading system and increasing the conveyor speed. Knauf is considering the recommendations by BMT Isis.