British Columbia Ferry Corporation's Simulation and Analysis Model (SAM) assists in optimizing the company's ferry operations. SAM tracks the flow of foot-passengers and five classes of vehicles as they travel between ferry terminals. Flexible and understandable by non-experts, SAM reflects complex loading priorities, tracks individual vehicles, and can handle up to 20 different ferries and ferry terminals in the network.
The most complex of B.C. Ferry's systems is the southern Gulf Islands (shown here), involving eight terminals, nine ferries, 116 sailings and more than 2,000 vehicles loaded each day. SAM has become one of the company's main analytical tools, used on a daily basis.
The model earned an Award of Merit (1998) from the Association of Consulting Engineers of British Columbia.
