ABP invests £1.5 million in mobile solution

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ABP invests £1.5 million in mobile solution

Associated British Ports (ABP), the UK’s largest ports group, has launched a programme to digitalise asset management across its network of 21 ports.

By investing £1.5 million ($1.8 million) in a mobile solution of this scale, ABP continues its efforts to drive digitalisation in the UK ports sector.

This expanded implementation, in conjunction with Mainsaver and Spidex, follows a successful pilot trial of the new technology at several ABP ports.

The trial ensured that both large and small ports were considered to fully test the practicalities of implementing and allocating work in a digital manner.

Mainsaver Connect is a mobile version of the Mainsaver Computerised Maintenance Management System (CMMS), a US product backed by Spidex, a UK-based developer.

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Mike McCartain, ABP’s Group Director of Safety, Engineering and Marine, commented: “Going digital with our asset management is an important step in building the sustainable Ports of the Future, where information is shared accurately and instantaneously”.

The mobile device rollout will include the deployment of hundreds of tablets and focused training sessions for engineers across ABP’s regions.

The deployment will be carried out in tandem across ABP’s business areas of the Humber, Southampton, and Wales, and will be led by a senior ABP person in each region, according to the company’s recent statement.

Nicole Geraghty, ABP Port Planner (Maintenance), said: “I really look forward to working with this powerful new tool.”

Geragthy noted that it will enable access to ‘real time’ information, saving ABP’s technical teams time and eventually allowing them to make educated decisions based on accurate information.

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“It is an exciting time at ABP as we see investments not only in digitalisation but also in upskilling our people and electrifying plant, cranes, vehicles as part of our ambition to make port operations more sustainable,” explained Geragthy.

This latest investment in digitalisation builds on ABP’s forward-thinking steps taken in 2021, when the Port of Southampton became the first British port to install a private 5G network. 

Dave Schlager, Mainsaver CEO, said: “With Mainsaver’s mobile enterprise asset management solution, ABP can create, assign, and process work orders seamlessly.”

Jonathan Starling, Spidex Managing Director, commented: “It is has been a pleasure for Spidex to work with the ABP Asset Management Team in assisting them with achieving their target of creating a ‘mobilised’ engineering and maintenance work force across their entire business.”

The two primary benefits of this mobile digital solution, access to enhanced information visibility in real time and instant access to stock records, will help inform business decisions and support the delivery of ABP’s net zero sustainability strategy, ‘Ready for Tomorrow’.

Launched on 28 February, the strategy sets out a plan to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions from ABP’s own operations by 2040.

In September 2022, ABP ploughed £17.5 million ($21.7 million) into a new box handling facility.

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