Container terminals, complex and challenge-led ecosystems on vast infrastructures, intricately coordinate, among a yet to be orchestrated symphony of diverse stakeholders, to provide high added-value and differentiated logistics services. Achieving optimal operational efficiency, safety, sustainability, reliability, and profitability within this dynamic environment requires a delicate balance. For that reason, global industry groups are focused on solving, simultaneously, local requirements toward continuous improvement in a worldwide network and standardized operational processes and working conditions, how else could resilience, adaptability or flexibility be achieved in the logistics chain scheme?
Following CMA CGM shipping company and its port operators subsidiaries examples of good practices, relying on comprehensive connected data systems, capable of gathering and merging real-time information from direct sources; standardization languages to provide interoperability, easing deployment and shortening go live steps; and Big Data platforms, where data can be published and exploited by insights, forecasting or decision-making support, mostly AI-powered; have proven their way to revolutionize container terminal operations. Reduced idle time, increased safety, secured high operating margins, or decarbonization are just mere examples of what standardization and digitalization can bring to the forefront, not forgetting the innovation methodology approach needed as the transformation vehicle. Even shifting an industry paradigm, where volumes, growth and equipment investment seemed the only possible path to follow to achieve those goals.
“TIC4.0 is the first process and telemetry language understandable by any type of supplier, equipment manufacturer, or computer service provider to allow seamless transmission of the information generated during terminal container handling logistics.”
The main inputs and contributions are:
- Given the cutthroat nature of the port and shipping industry, characterized by intense competition, high operational efficiency becomes paramount. But with focus as well on ensuring safety, sustainability, reliability, and profitability.
- Undoubtedly, innovation emerges as the north star to secure digitalization strategies within the port industry, mainly driven by strict operational planning and tight cost controls which undermine efficiency and productivity rates.
- Whether port terminal hurdles are optimizing operations, maximizing revenues, or achieving long-term sustainability, widespread most common challenges; digitalization is allowing great gains, closer to what growth movements and capital investment are achieving, although with a considerably less amount of time needed.
- Implementing standardized procedures accelerates the rapid evolution of operational processes, while concurrently fostering a mutual understanding with the client base.
- The entire spectrum, ranging from addressing operational issues to making enduring capital investment determinations, presently relies on data of poor quality, at its zenith, and subjective perception, at its nadir.
- To this extent, gathering real-time operational data from terminal management systems (e.g., TOS) and container handling equipment directly, including sensors, PLCs, CAN bus controllers, etc., are key factors.
- However, firstly, arises the imperative to establish consensus regarding standards, terminology, and vocabulary—an indispensable precondition for weaving a narrative enriched with contextual intricacies, serving as the foundational bedrock upon which coordination is enhanced, inefficiencies reduced, and higher degrees of resources utilization achieved.
- Diverse port operational data coming from distributed and heterogeneous sources of information pray for interoperability language, mutual understanding and data sharing between IT providers, vendors, manufacturers, etc., to ease deployment, removing errors, enhancing interconnectivity, and shortening the time to go live, even to weeks instead of months.
- CMA CGM has already deployed successfully this IoT Gateway-industry standardized-Big Data platform scheme, under the commercial product Posidonia Terminal 4.0 from its technological partner Prodevelop, from the testing ground in its Malta terminal, to other 5 more enclaves across the globe.
- This semantics and technological approach has power to transform the way container terminals work and adapt quickly to their challenges and needs, leveraging the power of data to the almost unlimited new computational capabilities through AI or ML.
- Additionally, this transformational roadmap demands a tangible real-world issue of significance, a community capable of embodying the problem, a methodical approach of trial and error, and an inclination toward learning through productive missteps, while keeping all components involved assembled. Summarizing an innovative cultural framework.
“Expansion or investment in new equipment can help towards these goals but other initiatives, such as standardization of business processes, can go a long way to achieving such objectives, and with a shorter lead time.”
Leave a Reply