Case Study: British Columbia Maritime Employers Association achieves smarter longshore labor dispatch with AnyLogic

British Columbia Maritime Employers Association - Customer Case Study

The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) faced unpredictable longshore labor shortages across British Columbia’s ports and needed a better way to plan training and dispatch. Working with AnyLogic, SimWell, and Simon Fraser University, BCMEA used AnyLogic simulation software to move beyond gut-feel estimates and understand skills matching, labor availability, and future training needs.

AnyLogic helped BCMEA build a digital twin of Vancouver’s longshore labor dispatch using an agent-based simulation connected to machine learning-based availability forecasting. The solution can simulate a full year in about six minutes and has already shown measurable impact, including identifying an optimal three-year ROI for bulk operator training and projecting a 300% increase in RTG/RMG labor needs in a terminal expansion scenario.

British Columbia Maritime Employers Association

Bart Fransen

Senior Data Scientist