Analysis and assessment of an information subsystem in an inland container terminal / Analiza i ocena podsystemu informacyjnego w lądowym terminalu kontenerowym

Abstract An inland terminal is a complex system whereby properly designed elements allow for their efficient operation, by means of transport such as ship, rail or truck with semi-trailer. An information system is an inherent part of a technical system. Every employee of a company is a user of such a system. The aim of this article is to analyse and assess the information flow at the container terminal. The article consists of three parts: the first one characterizes the notion of information and also presents various approaches to the information system occurring in the literature; the second, describes the information subsystem in the terminal container. For the selected sub-process, the methodology of research at the container terminal is presented together with an analysis and assessment of the results obtained. The summary will present a conclusion from the analysis conducted and from the specification of weaknesses of the discussed information subsystem, and will propose the possibilities for further studies and research related to this subsystem. Streszczenie Terminal lądowy jest złożonym systemem, w którym poprawnie zaprojektowane elementy pozwolą na jego efektywne działanie, poprzez obsługę środków transportu takich jak statek, kolej czy ciągnik siodłowy z naczepą. System informacyjny jest nieodłącznym elementem systemu technicznego, a każdy pracownik danego przedsiębiorstwa jest użytkownikiem takiego systemu. Celem niniejszego artykułu jest analiza i ocena przepływu informacji w terminalu kontenerowym. Artykuł składa się z trzech części: w pierwszej scharakteryzowano pojęcie informacji, a także przedstawiono różne podejścia do systemu informacyjnego występujące w literaturze. Następnie opisano podsystem informacyjny w terminalu kontenerowym. Dla wybranego podprocesu, zaprezentowano metodologię badań na terminalu kontenerowym wraz z analizą i oceną otrzymanych wyników. Podsumowaniem będzie wnioskowanie z przeprowadzonej analizy wraz ze wskazaniem słabych punktów omawianego podsystemu informacyjnego, a także propozycja dalszych prac i badań związanych z tym podsystemem.

For inland terminals, integrated load units are usually transported from carriages to trucks using transshipment facilities and delivered to the end customer, or from a truck to a carriage. In the information subsystem, information is provided between all users of this system. This subsystem also includes the flow of information at each stage of the transshipment of loads. As described in [13], the flow of information influences the flow of loads. Inland terminals are transshipment points and an important element in the transport of loads along the entire transport route in the intermodal transport. Disruptions at inland terminals could disturb the further transport of cargo to the customer on intermodal transport. Therefore, an inland terminal should operate with full reliability. For example, if information sent from the dispatcher to the operator contains errors or invalid data, this may result in a delay of the delivery to the client. The terminal is obliged to provide the service to the client and, if there are deviations from the agreement, it may incur financial penalties or it may result in the agreement being terminated by the client. Therefore, a reliable operation of the information subsystem is very important. The following studies [10], [11], [15], [18], [19], [21], [22], [24], [29] and [30] describe an information subsystem. These studies mostly describe the importance of this subsystem in the aspect of reliability and operation in various technical systems. A container terminal is a part of intermodal transport and its correct operation influences the effectiveness and efficiency of the delivery of loads from the sender to the recipient. The aim of this article is to analyse and assess the information flow at the container terminal.

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the information flow: literature overview
In this chapter, the notion of information was defined and also various approaches to the flow of information in the information system were presented. Following that, characteristics and attributes of the quality of information were presented making it possible to define the quality of information. Original information is data described as simple (unprocessed) symbols in [2]. They can occur in various forms and they can be further used or not. They are usually stored in spread sheets using computer software. Information, on the other hand, is a set of data that is assigned meaning through relationships. It can be useful or not. Appropriate combinations of various information leads to knowledge intended to be useful. The aim of the sender in information transfer involves its understanding by the recipient. In study [2], the author describes understanding as a cognitive, analytical, probabilistic and interpolating process, which cannot be combined with knowledge. Wisdom is the last element in this hierarchy, and it is not a deterministic or probabilistic process [2]. In the literature overview, two approaches to the information system can be distinguished: datalogical and infological [14].
The notion of datalogical information is presented in [26]. The author defines it as a set of structured data, however, the interpretation or understanding of this information is not taken into account. The infological approach, in turn, was developed by Langefors [14]. Infological information [25] recorded as I (K, U, Q) is the process of receiving information contained in the message K, by the user U, in the context of a certain task Q.
In the study [25], the author presents factors which influence information I (K, U,Q), namely:  Information processing time,  knowledge held so far, i.e. knowledge which the recipient had before receiving information,  context, i.e. the problem Q which influences the start of the user's thought processes while receiving, interpreting and assessing information,  the user's emotional state, e.g. the involvement during the reception of information can turn out to be so high that the most important pieces of information could be omitted by mistake,  circumstances of receiving information, the message can be received, e.g. in direct form (the method of presenting information -gestures, intonation of the voice etc.) or using other technical resources. In the approach presented in the study [25], the author considers the most important factors influencing the information, i.e. the processing time, the knowledge so far, the context, the recipient's emotional status, the circumstances of reception. In this approach, the reception and collection of information largely depends on external factors which, in turn, influence the quality of this information. In the study [7], slightly different factors were characterised as compared to the studies quoted above which influence the quality of information (Table 1). These properties refer in detail to the content of information. Table 1. Characteristics of information quality (prepared by the author on the basis of [7]) Feature Description The right data Information needed by the recipient With completeness All data In the right context Meaning understood by the recipient With the right accuracy and objectivity The data must be carefully described without the recipient's evaluation

Without redundancy
The data should be presented in an appropriate amount (no excess) In the right format One that does not require improvement by the recipient At the right time When the information is needed At the right place Where the information is needed For the right purpose Satisfying one's own needs and the needs of one's clients In the study [25], the author presents factors which mainly refer to the recipient of the message, while in the study [7], these characteristics refer to the message generation process (relevant, complete data, appropriate context without the sender's evaluation, without excess), and also, most importantly, messages must be provided in the appropriate time with a possibility of satisfying the needs of the company and clients. Studies [1], [4], [7], [8], [9], [12], [17] and [31] presented attributes specifying the quality of the information provided. As a result of this review, the most important features were selected for the information subsystem at an inland terminal, presented in Table 2. Table 2. Attributes of information quality. Own preparation on the basis of [1], [4], [7], [8], [9], [12], [17] and [31] Attribute Description Validity The message should contain valid current information Accuracy The message should be prepared in a precise manner

Unambiguity
The message should be prepared in a language understandable for the recipient Timeliness This message should be delivered on time Completeness The message should contain all necessary information for the recipient Usefulness The message should allow further use of the information contained in it Honesty The message should be prepared in a careful manner Comprehensibility The message should be completely understandable for the recipient

Assimilability
The message should not require any additional transformations at the recipient's Security The message should be protected against its potential use Some of these attributes presented in Table 2 (unambiguity, accuracy, reliability, validity, comprehensibility, assimilability) concern the rules of the creation of a message; the sender's care is required for the preparation of the message (this also applies to data acquisition and to their validity). This message should not contain language which is incomprehensible for the recipient (e.g. colloquial expressions) and the recipient should not have to correct the message. Next, timeliness, completeness and usefulness concern in detail the performance of a given action. If the message from the sender is delayed, the task performance will be delayed, which may result in penalty payments. The message should contain all of the most important information regarding task performance, and the objective of this information should be defined so that it can be further processed and used by the recipient. An additional attribute is data protection, i.e. protection of the information or the data against loss caused by undesirable interruptions. In the study [6], the effectiveness of the internal communication process is conditioned by three factors. The first of them is the kind of information provided. It determines whether such information can be sent in the form in which it was created or whether it should be transformed into a more comprehensible message. Another factor is the timeliness of information flow.
It is of key importance in the process of making proper decisions as well as in the effectiveness of the performed tasks. The third factor is the intensity of communication which is determined by the frequency and the number of messages which are delivered to the recipient. In the study [8] and [25], the quantitative approach is presented allowing for an estimation of the quality of information. The set of desirable quality characteristics of a message will be marked as C.
To analyse the quality of information, this information I (K) should be checked to verify that it contains a certain characteristic c i C. It should also be verified whether an element of the message K has such a characteristic to a degree which satisfies the user. The next step is to establish the scale S i , i <0, n> and all features C must be classified according to their degree of importance. Then, for each characteristics c i C the index can be calculated which reflects to what degree the information fulfils the requirement in the form of characteristic c i can be calculated (the requirements were formulated by the user of the system) [8], [25]: where: xthe total number of messages. m ithe number of messages which do not have the characteristics c i to a degree which would be satisfactory for the user.
Information is a set of data developed by the sender which were assigned meaning through relationship and which, for the recipient, it can be useful or not. In the literature, a datalogical approach is distinguished in which the interpretation of information by the user is not taken into account and an infological approach in which the understanding of the message by the recipient is important. Qualitative analysis allows for the assessment of selected attributes. Apart from this, this analysis makes it possible to find weaknesses in the information system and their correction.

Characteristics of the information system at an inland terminal
Studies concerning container terminals mostly focus their attention on the flow of loads, scheduling the sequence of work, modelling trans-shipment processing, characteristics and analysis of the system of intermodal transport [20], [27], [32], [33] and [34]. In these studies, the flow of information and documents is mentioned, however, there are no studies focusing mostly on the interpretation of the issue of the information system. At the container terminal in the information subsystem, information can be provided in a variety of forms, including oral and written information, e-mails as well as internal communication using special tools of the in-house system (this can, for example, be the SAP system).

 
The process of information provision is the following [5]:  Information generation process: it is the moment when an employee prepares a certain piece of information, e.g. an unloading order. In this case, special attention should be paid to making the generated information accurate and understandable for the recipient, which will reduce the probability of committing an error.  The process of providing information: a process whereby the generated information is sent to the recipient. At this stage, the sender should make sure, in particular, that the information reaches the appropriate recipient directly;  The process of collecting and storing information: a stage at which information is collected and archived. This can be both received and generated information. This stage allows for the processing of subsequent information;  The process of processing and interpretation of information: the first step involves reading messages by the recipient, followed by the interpretation of the contents of the message;  The process of using information: after the stage involving the interpretation of the message, the next step involves the performance of instructions contained in the information sent. For generated messages (an unloading order), the operator of the container truck takes relevant actions to perform the task. For inland terminals, integrated load units are usually transported from carriages to trucks and delivered to the end client, or from a truck to a carriage, using transshipment facilities. In the subsystem under discussion, an example of transshipment from the railway to a truck is considered. Individual activities can be distinguished in the information subsystem presented by Fig. 1. Fig. 1. Block diagram of the information flow in the information subsystem according to [28] The first set of information is sent to the dispatcher is the notice list containing information about the number of containers which are to be sent and distributed in individual carriages. Next, the load is entered in the electronic system where transport documentation is filled in. Information is sent on whether or not the containers are damaged, and additionally, how many pieces there are and this is checked with the notice list. In the transport documentation, dispatchers receive information regarding the containers that were shipped (the customs clearance was performed) at the seaport. The containers which have not been cleared go through customs clearance at the inland terminal. Another element in the information subsystem is making the decision on which containers are to be shipped to clients and which stay at the terminal. After taking appropriate steps, information is sent to the machine operators which containers are to be placed at the storage yard. This information contains the accurate place of placing the loading unit and which containers are to be loaded or shipment to clients. In the case of shipment, the dispatcher fills in the documents and provides them to the driver. A simplified algorithm of the process has been presented by Fig. 2 . This chapter presents information flow patterns at the container terminal. Appropriate simplifications were adopted for the preparation of these patterns; however, the most important flow operations are presented by Fig. 2. During the analysis of this system, it can be noticed that the main participants of this subsystem are the dispatcher, operator and the driver. The accuracy of actions and the load flow depend on the proper generation of information, its transfer, understanding of the message by the recipient and effective fulfilment of instructions contained in this information.

Research method
This chapter shows the research conducted at a real facility to calculate the quality coefficient of information sent at the inland terminal and the measure of fulfilment a given attribute by information. The aim, method and also the summary of results which were assessed, are shown here. To analyse the assessment of the quality of information sent between participants of the information subsystem, as presented by Fig. 2, a survey was conducted at the Cargosped container terminal in Warsaw. One of the most important pieces of information sent in this subsystem is a message generated and prepared by the dispatcher, which is then sent to the operator together with a list of containers ready to be shipped or stored, as well as other information related to the movement of containers at the yard. Therefore, surveys focused on the information received by the operators of trans-shipment facilities. This aim of the research was to assess the individual attributes of information sent from dispatchers to operators. Within the literature overviews, the most important attributes influencing the quality of information were distinguished, which were presented in Table 2. The research was performed at the inland terminal; it was supposed to allow the assessment of the information subsystem. Therefore, the operators completed 2 surveys. Survey I contained a table (table 2), which included all attributes (all attributes were defined below). The operators were asked two questions: 1) "On a scale from 1 to 5, please assess how important a given attribute is for you which describes the quality of information", and 2) "On a scale from 1 to 5, please assess to what degree the message received had the attributes provided". All messages received from dispatchers were taken into account (oral messages, messages sent by post, etc.). To calculate the index of the measure of meeting the requirement by information in the form of a characteristic, survey II was conducted. In these surveys, the operators answered whether or not the message received from the operator contained individual attributes.

Description of the research subject
The inland terminal works 5 days a week in a three-shift system and one day fay from 8: 00 A.M. -2: 00 P.M., while the last day is free. The survey included operators -O i , i <1, 6>. 2 measurement sheets were prepared which contained additional instructions with provided definitions of notions of attributes presented in Table 2. Messages I i -were analysed -the i-th information, i <1, 73> received by operators which were sent by the dispatcher. On the basis of expertise and information provided by experienced employees at the terminal, acceptability conditions (Table 3) were adopted for the quality coefficient of given attributes. An attribute adopting the knowledge of Q between 1 and 5 is unacceptable, it requires complete improvement. It also means that messages prepared by the dispatcher do not have a given attribute. Features for which the value of the quality of data of Q attributes found themselves within the low acceptability rage should be improved. Attributes within the medium acceptability range require small corrections in the preparation of information; while the values of attributes between 15 and 20 mean that such attributes occur in the information provided and they can still be improved. Characteristics belonging to the last range are at a high level and this level should be kept.

Information quality coefficient
On the basis of chapter two, to assess the quality of information, the value of the scale is S i , i <1, 5>, where 1 is the least important value and 5 is the most important value. To calculate the quality coefficient Q, survey I conducted consisted of two parts. In the first part, operators answered question 1 (chapter 4).
On the basis of these results (Table 4), the weight coefficient w can be defined for each of the attributes, using the formula with the arithmetic mean.
   Analysis of table 4 makes it possible to choose the most important indices, according to the assessment of operators (they were given a 5); those were completeness and reliability. Operators expect dispatchers to prepare a message in a reliable manner and to make the data contained in the information complete, thus allowing the performance of the task. Timeliness and validity ranked next, i.e., they also ranked high. Employees are required to perform their tasks in a timely manner which is connected with sending information right on time together with sending valid information. The attribute of usefulness and accuracy was assessed slightly above 4, both these attributes are related to a precise and clear message which will allow the operator to use information in the contained message. Further attributes include comprehensibility of information by the operator and unambiguity which, with this assessment, allows for the use of colloquial words by dispatchers. The least important arguments for operators include assimilability, i.e. operators are prepared for a possible change of the form of the message and also protection, however, in this case, this attribute was rated so low, as in the case of received information, that it must only be protected in exceptional situations. The attribute of protection in this case concerns generated information and its sender. The second part of survey I concerned the assessment of individual attributes of information specified by operators, also in scale S i , i <1,5>. Operators answered question 2 (chapter 4). The recipient was asked to specify, on a scale from 1 to 5, the value of individual attributes for messages received. The q index is the degree of completion of a given attribute also counted by means of the formula for the arithmetic mean.
 Table 5 contains a list of coefficient of weight w of individual attributes, the index of the degree of completion of a given attribute q and the coefficient of quality Q for attributes which was also assigned to the category using Table 3. The quality coefficient Q is the product of the value w and q.  Table 5 shows that none of the attributes was positioned in the highest or the lowest category. The majority of these features are in the category of good acceptability, which means that these attributes require minor corrections in the preparation of messages. Messages are sent on time, the data are complete, valid and reliably prepared, they are used in further actions (i.e. few redundant messages are provided), and they are also prepared in a precise manner. In the majority of cases, the messages are comprehensible for recipients. Elements requiring improvement are: unambiguity; information sent should not require improvement by the recipient. As for the weight, the protection attribute is ranked the lowest also here.
To sum up the first survey, it can be concluded that the characteristics that are most important are reliability and completeness in the searching and preparing of messages. It is necessary that messages contain all data needed for the performance of the task. In reality, messages are generated correctly; small inaccuracies occur which require improvement.

Measure of fulfilment v
Survey II was used to calculate survey v (chapter 4). Table 6 presents the results. Messages I i , which were sent by the dispatcher, were analysed, the i-th information, i <1, 73>, as received by operators. Table 7 in column 1 presents individual attributes, column 2 information received which has a given attribute I ic , in the next column, information received which does not have a given attribute I in . The results of the measure of fulfilment v were also provided in percentages. All values are above 50%, meaning that at least half of messages received would contain each attribute. Indices which were assessed at w = 4, 67 according to operators (timeliness and validity) require improvement, over ten messages were not sent in a timely manner, and 13 from all messages contained invalid contents. The reliability attribute was ranked second but last, which, according to operators has the weight coefficient of w = 5, and 25 messages out of 73 did not have this attribute.


For both surveys, it can be concluded that the data quality coefficient together with the measure of fulfilment of the requirement by the information in the form of the characteristic c i, allow for identification of strengths and weaknesses of the information subsystem at the container terminal. The quality coefficient Q, for 7 out of 10 attributes, was classified in the good acceptability category, therefore the dispatcher should slightly improve the process of generation and acquisition of messages to be sent to the operator to move it to a higher category. Moreover, the values for the measure of fulfilment index v, were above 50%, which means that more than a half of all information provided had all attributes listed in Table 2.

Summary
The information system is a very important element in each company as it initiates task performance. When disruptions occur on this subsystem, these problems may contribute to the termination of agreements with the client or financial penalties can be imposed. The inland terminal is a part of the intermodal transport chain. Disruptions at trans-shipment points can have a negative effect on the flow of loads in intermodal transport. The article presents an information subsystem at the inland terminal in the form of a BPMN graph. Main users of this subsystem were distinguished and the contents of individual information were included. On the basis of this pattern, one piece of information was selected (with a list of container numbers which are to be sent to clients or stored) which is sent from the dispatcher to the operator.
This information was analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. In this way, strengths and weaknesses of this information were distinguished. The research conducted showed that for the operators what is most important is that information should be complete and reliably prepared while, according to their assessment, the information met the attribute of protection to the lowest degree. The value of meeting the requirement by the information was the highest for the attribute of comprehensibility and the lowest for the attribute of protection. Further work will involve recognizing various methods used to measure the information subsystem. Research will be conducted at various container terminals in Poland to be able to compare their application in practice.