Automation and Optimisation

Automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) are a proven automated transport system for container terminals. Since the introduction in 1993 at ECT in the Port of Rotterdam, AGVs have been used at more than 10 sites across the world. Currently, AGVs are there with the most successful automated transport system in container terminals. AGVs are reliable and can support high Quay Crane (QC) productivity In addition, battery AGVs have been available since 2012, supporting zero-emission terminals.

Port terminal operators are using digitalisation to become more flexible and resilient so they can respond to volatile market demands, shifting transport routes, and growing vessel sizes with greater speed, agility, coordination, and collaboration. To succeed, they need digital-ready connectivity platforms that can enable and optimise advanced Port 4.0 use cases such as autonomous operations, wireless data, worker collaboration, computer vision, and environmental monitoring.

In today's fast-evolving container shipping industry, the challenge is not a lack of available data but the huge amount of unstructured data sources. In the past, the container shipping industry might have faced challenges due to low digitisation and limited data availability. However, in today's modern supply chain, each stakeholder is both dependent on multiple data sources and generating crucial information for others in the ecosystem.

Container terminals are living ecosystems built over complex and large infrastructures with several parties interacting in a coordinated way to offer highly complex logistic services under strict operational planning and tight cost controls. Due to the port and shipping industry’s competitiveness, challenging requirements, and demanding needs, operations within a container terminal must be accurately carried out to achieve high operational efficiency, while also ensuring safety, sustainability, reliability, and profitability.

Increasingly, participants in supply chains are digitising their operations and looking to new technologies for the future of continuous optimisation. With so many different components in motion within the supply chain, real-time data sharing is integral for ports to maintain big-picture vision while keeping an eye on day-to-day movements to identify where problems are occurring.

In 2020, INFORM’s Dr. Eva Savelsberg sat down for an interview with Matthew Wittemeier to share her perspective on global trends, technology, society, and environmental issues that were pushing and pulling the global supply chain. At the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the trends discussed were accurate. In INFORM’s latest article, Eva and Matthew have once again sat down for an in-depth discussion of the state of the industry.

Industrial automation and control systems have a direct effect on the physical world, while cybersecurity incidents can lead to financial, health, safety, and environmental impacts. Potential threat scenarios range from data security breaches and ransomware attacks to the theft of goods and even shutting down the operations of the entire port.

Decarbonising our operations is a priority at APM Terminals and to succeed in that, we must overcome some of the main roadblocks for our industry, with fragmentation being one of the most challenging. In decarbonisation, speed and scale are not just the name of the game (and that of a great book by John Doerr), they're imperatives in the battle to protect our planet.

Identifying and weeding out waste in your supply chain is not only paramount for sustainability but also for bolstering your bottom line. At its core, a sustainable supply chain is centred around achieving greater results with less resource usage. With that goal in mind, optimising your operations is a necessity.

Our net-zero targets have been established and are a crucial part of our overall manifesto. These targets encompass both net-zero goals and diversity and inclusion (DNI) targets. Implementing these targets presents certain challenges, particularly in the area of fleet and fleet management. Port operators, being large fleet operators themselves, are well aware of this challenge.

As an established family business with over 90 years of experience, it is in our DNA to promote innovation internally. Our company vision gives us the goal to be technical frontrunners and market leaders in our core industries and areas.

We have been involved in port master planning for many years, including design and asset management for Ro-Ro, cruise and container terminals, as well as across the wider mixed economy of port operations. Our ports and maritime team have been working with owners and operators worldwide to accommodate larger vessels, upgrade dockside technology and enhance operational efficiency.