Alternative solutions to the power problem

The best is to attack the way the operation is run, with a view to eliminating waste. Motor manufacturer Toyota, considering its production lines, coined the term ‘walking waste’ to refer to the time spent by employees moving about without actually making anything.

The line needed to be re-arranged, argued Toyota, to stop them having to waste a few seconds every minute moving from the end of one task to the start of the next.

The same thinking can be applied to a busy container terminal by planning routes to reduce the distance travelled by tractors and trailers, and to reduce the number of journeys made with the vehicles unladen. In the largest ports even small reductions can have a significant effect on the bottom line.

But it’s not the kind of improvement that can be won with pencil and paper; 21st-century computer technology needs to be harnessed, as did the Jebel Ali Terminal 1 in the UAE.

Working with technology company Zebra, the terminal has managed to cut its fuel bills and carbon emissions by cutting the total travel distance, and increasing the proportion on laden runs.

Introduction of the Zebra technology has allowed for pooling of the terminal’s tractor fleet, which has meant that fewer tractors are getting through the same amount of work, with consequent knock-on benefits from reduced capital expenditure, maintenance and manpower.

The result, says Zebra, is that service levels have been sustained, even though the size of the tractor fleet, and the cost of its operation, has been reduced.

Meanwhile, Capacity of Texas has completed testing of the prototype of a plug-in hybrid electrical terminal tractor that more than halves emissions compared with a conventional diesel-powered vehicle.

The company has been working with Ohio-based Alternative Motive Power Systems to equip the vehicle with a plug-in ready electric power train with an on-board generator, and has been supported in the development work with a grant from the State of Texas.