Invented by Lyttelton Port of Christchurch cargo handler Roger Bain, the Target Zone entails a 3mm-thick polyurethane sheet, from which a 140mm-square shape with 120mmlong alignment “arm”is stamped.
The brightly-coloured product fits over on-deck container twistlocks and improves the alignment operation from visually-challenged straddle cockpits. Feedback from straddle operators has been very positive and LPC recently purchased 30 sets of the product,which retails for NZ$55 ($40.6) (exc GST) for a set of four.
Mr Bain is now in discussions with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise’s broker company Realize Innovation to further explore Target Zone’s marketing potential. He also has another product in the pipeline to visually-aid harbour crane operators load containers on vessel decks.
Today, demand for berth management systems is high, with port owners and operators recognising the benefits that these systems can provide.With ever increasing traffic and vessel size, safety has become of even greater concern than ever before, particularly during intricate docking operations.
An integrated vessel monitoring solution can allow ports to accommodate these larger ships without the need to undertake costly infrastructure modifications.