Container terminal robotisation
- TBA is involved in projects around the world in the fields of consultancy (simulation and emulation of container terminals) and software (control of automatic/ robotised vehicles and container cranes). In the Netherlands, TBA has worked for the APMT terminal on the 2nd Maasvlakte (2014) and Rotterdam World Gateway (2016), among others.
- What is terminal automation all about?
Processes such as truck handling, container scanning, the internal transport of containers within the terminal and the operation of quay cranes can be provided automatically or remotely. Automation of sub-processes at a container terminal is an ongoing trend. Determining factors behind this trend are cost, safety, speed, capacity and use of space.
Automation is often accompanied by electrification of hardware. Besides saving energy, this also provides the benefit of eliminating local emissions. Electric vehicles are also often quieter. This is important because terminals are often located in urban areas.
- Automation requires integration of products from different suppliers. Anything can go wrong in the process. Live operations can be tested by emulating them in simulation software. TBA uses simulation to see if the design can actually deliver what has been calculated.
Even after automation, human supervision will always remain.
-Although container terminals are still being designed for sites that now have a different function (derelict/green/coastal area; green field sites), there is also redevelopment or upgrading of existing terminal sites, also known as brown-field sites. If new sites are not needed because existing terminals can provide sufficient capacity, then it makes sense to look at whether more efficient, cheaper, cleaner and quieter operations can be carried out at existing terminals.
The main challenge when tinkering with existing terminals, which are after all in full operation, is to find enough space to automate sub-processes without disrupting this operation and thereby reducing the terminal's performance. Sometimes some extra land has to be put into use temporarily. In other cases, the terminal process is designed differently, for example by creating an extra buffer between the quay process and the hinterland process.
Each terminal is designed according to different principles, which means that customisation will always remain necessary when (re)designing the terminal.
It is also important to redefine the man-machine interaction to optimise terminal safety and performance.
This interesting lecture was well attended by members of the TRL Department.
Description
Container terminal robotization => The challenges of brown-field projects.
After the wave of automation in the last 5 years that took place through various greenfield container terminal development projects around the globe, the question arises: what's next? Automation is considered the way forward, but a new wave of greenfield projects may be less likely since many ports in the world have more than sufficient terminal capacity already. Hence, the focus shifts towards exploring opportunities of automating brownfield projects.
In this lecture, we will discuss the opportunities and challenges faced by the various stakeholders (terminal operators, shipping lines, ports, system suppliers, etc).
Speaker(s)
ir. Martijn Coeveld (TBA)
Location
TU Delft, Faculty 3ME, Lecture Hall E
(Robert Hooke), Mekelweg 2, 2628 CD Delft
Organiser
Transportation and Logistics
Name and contact details for information
Further information via the e-mail address below