{"id":1791,"date":"2023-02-08T14:06:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-08T14:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/portstrategy.nfdtesting.uk\/coastlink\/2023\/02\/08\/talking-the-same-language\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T15:17:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T14:17:41","slug":"talking-the-same-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.portstrategy.com\/coastlink\/2023\/02\/08\/talking-the-same-language\/","title":{"rendered":"Talking the same language"},"content":{"rendered":"

The<\/strong> <\/strong>main<\/strong> <\/strong>objective<\/strong> <\/strong>of<\/strong> <\/strong>the<\/strong> <\/strong>iTerminals4.0<\/strong> <\/strong>project<\/strong> <\/strong>was<\/strong> <\/strong>to<\/strong> <\/strong>develop<\/strong> <\/strong>and<\/strong> <\/strong>test<\/strong> <\/strong>\u2013<\/strong> <\/strong>in<\/strong> <\/strong>real<\/strong> operations \u2013 a standard digital language that allows for two-way communication between port equipment and the operations management systems of container terminals participating in the project.<\/strong><\/p>\n

While it would be easy to get entangled in the technicalities, the message that emerged loud and clear from the project\u2019s final conference was that of tangible results in real places. Case studies were presented by Terminal Link\u2019s Malta Freeport and Thessaloniki container terminal and by PSA Antwerp, with the focus on the application of standardised equipment telemetry and digitalisation of port terminal operations.<\/p>\n

The overall project, co-funded by the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), provided the opportunity to demonstrate that the standards of TIC4.0 work and are useful as expected, said Boris Wenzel, Chairman of Terminal Industry Committee (TIC) 4.0. \u201cThe iTerminals project demonstrated that TIC4.0 is not just theory, but it actually works,\u201d he underlined.<\/p>\n

Francisco Blanquer, Senior Innovation and Development Senior Manager at Terminal Link (CMA CGM), said: \u201cThanks to iTerminals4.0, we were able to really move forward with standards with a very high speed.\u201d<\/p>\n

He noted that operational processes in the container terminal sector can be very ine\ufb03cient. \u201cCapex has to be kept low because the time the equipment is working is really low. We don\u2019t have a continuous process where we are operating 24\/7 \u2013 we only work when we have cargo. And even when the machine is working, it is also idling, so the percentage [of utilisation] is very low. How do you improve this number?\u201d<\/p>\n

The options to optimise equipment utilisation included a disruptive new process and automation, or the use of data to optimise the process, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not easy to get data \u2013 in the past we have failed, using only a small percentage of data. The reality is that it could be machine, process, person, terminal; whatever the process you want to express, it is complex, with a lot of actions happening every millisecond.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, information about what happens \u2018between events\u2019 has been missing. \u201cWe need the high-resolution data between events \u2013 now, thanks to the data, we can do this. We can have the events and the time in between.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why is this important? The main goal is to represent the reality, which means being able, via an IoT and Big Data platform, to compare TOS events and the status of every single process with CHE (Container Handling Equipment) reality, said Blanquer. \u201cYou can detect when something doesn\u2019t go as it should; you can compare \u2018What should be versus What it is\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

For example, he said, you could pinpoint when a terminal tractor should be going to the yard to collect a container, but in reality it is idling. \u201cThanks to the IoT and Big Data, we can identify non-conformities in the last week, month or year.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, he emphasised, this is dependent on a language which can represent any reality \u2013 present, past or future, performed, actual or scheduled, planned, requested, proposed or estimated.<\/p>\n

The iTerminals4.0 project showed that TIC4.0 \u2018can express any reality in a digital format\u2019, including subject, concept, observed property, point of measurement and value.<\/p>\n

MALTA<\/strong> <\/strong>FREEPORT:<\/strong> <\/strong>A<\/strong> <\/strong>CLEAR<\/strong> <\/strong>PICTURE
<\/strong>\u201cIn theory, there is no di\ufb00erence between practice and theory \u2013 but as all of us know, in reality there is,\u201d said Angel Martinez, Head of Projects, Maritime and Terminal Solutions at Prodevelop.<\/p>\n

He outlined the project in which numerous IoT devices were installed in the Malta Freeport yard to give a clear picture of what was happening in the terminal, pinpointing idling and providing a live view tool for process improvement and data analysis.<\/p>\n

Hein Chetcuti, Operations Development Manager at Malta Freeport Terminals, said: \u201cThere is quite a learning curve and learning process for us to absorb this information and these technologies and start using them at a technical level. After all the infrastructure, which was a huge challenge, we sat down and started to digest all the wealth of information that was presented to us from the Big Data platform.\u201d<\/p>\n

Data visualisation gives you the power, a di\ufb00erent perspective, he said. He described the pilot project at Malta, a system demonstrating in real time all the operations and all the assets that are working together on one screen, as a huge breakthrough that could not be done before with other technologies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen we started looking at how to add operational value to this information and we started with horizontal transport \u2013 terminal tractors manually driven. We wanted to understand where the weak points of operations are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Data can be used to detect anomalies; in this instance, human supervisors might have a feeling there were deviations but it was di\ufb03cult for them to understand the reasons for this and\/or visualise what was going on, said Chetcuti.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the strength of all this data, we can also try to understand a number of operational issues we used to have, for example, drivers driving too slow, stopping in areas where they shouldn\u2019t be stopping, taking wrong directions.\u201d<\/p>\n

He concluded: \u201cFor us, this is only the tip of the iceberg. You start deploying the technology and when you start using it in the mainstream process, there is no going back, only the way forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Terminal Link and RBS (Realtime Business Solutions) worked together to develop a pilot supporting the project, with digital twin\/3D visualisation.<\/p>\n