Terminal operating systems (TOS) are undergoing developments ranging from more emphasis on subscription payments, new advanced modules and a split between companies that develop the solutions and those that implement them.
SECTOR ANALYSIS: TOS SECTOR BOOSTS OFFERINGS WITH AI, MACHINE LEARNING AND DIGITAL TWINS
Mark Wootton, Leading Professional Smart Ports, Water & Maritime, Royal HaskoningDHV, notes that providers are following the Microsoft model, moving from a licence fee upfront and an annual support fee to a monthly subscription fee based on throughput. Wootton highlights the pros and cons: “There is a smaller capital cost but it changes the nature of the investment from an asset to an operational cost, which will have a direct impact on the terminal’s net profitability.” Wootton says that TOS costs have increased, in some cases generally and significantly, but also because providers are demanding an additional fee for extra modules that are being developed, rather than including them as part of the core product. New modules include digital twins, AI and machine learning, with Wootton explaining that vendors are capitalising on these fast-growing buzz words and developments. While traditionally companies developed the TOS product and implemented it, there is now a shift towards product companies which develop the TOS and third-party professional services companies that implement them. Wootton further comments that TOS projects are large and time consuming and so such a split could help to mitigate risks for the companies developing the systems. It could also be advantageous for terminal operators as if there are enough implementation providers in the market, it could drive competition and thus improve pricing.
ADVANCED FEATURES, NEW MODULES, ENHANCEMENTS AND CONFIGURATIONS
ContPark: ContPark has launched a management system for container yards that enables the tracking of all movements across terminal sites. The container fleet management solution, released in March 2023, allows the prompt entry of data on changes in movement across container yards that are available to employees and customers in real time. ContPark says: “We took into account all the wishes and made a truly convenient product that has an intuitive interface for an ordinary employee who knows WORD/Excel.” The company states that its container terminal management system is a specialised real-time solution for the terminal or depot yard. The cloud-based system has AI capabilities and as well as yard tracking and planning, includes performance improving KPIs, accounting for storage and handling operations and customs control.
Grieg Connect: Grieg Connect has launched a dedicated restow module for its TOS, providing a digitised process to enable agile rehandling during port calls. The Norway-based company – born out of a merger in 2018 - explains that a restow occurs when a container is relocated from one bay to another, with reasons including an inefficiently placed container, misplacement or late arrivals causing hasty positioning. The need to execute restows are often delivered to container terminals using email. Grieg Connect says that terminals therefore need a visual module to easily add the required restow container information into their TOS. This module, launched in August this year, ensures that restows are visually marked with both the previous and the new stowage position to make the job easier for the recipient.
Kaleris: US headquartered Kaleris has unveiled recent innovations related to Navis TOS, including a focus on AI and boosting the efficiency of the product. AI has the potential to significantly enhance decision making within the TOS, but Carlos Lopez Barbera, VP of Product Management, Kaleris, points out that these algorithms typically require substantial datasets and time to reach optimal performance levels. “This learning curve can pose a significant challenge in mission-critical solutions, as our customers cannot afford the time necessary for these solutions to mature,” he says. To overcome this challenge, Kaleris is integrating AI algorithms with its traditional solutions. “This fusion enables our system to learn and evolve while maintaining the accuracy and reliability that our customers have come to expect from us,” he says. Elsewhere, a recent enhancement to its Navis TOS makes it possible to roll out major new features while minimising downtime. Barbera says: “Instead of stopping the system, performing a big upgrade, and hoping operations return as planned, our TOS supports the current version of the software and the new upgrade at the same time.” The upgrade is tested in a portion of the terminal and rolled out in a stepped approach, allowing customers to work at their pace, without impacting operations or productivity. Navis deploys a subscription-based model, which is calculated based on the volumes the customer moves, factoring in management and hardware costs. Highlighting a growing trend for Kaleris, Barbera also notes: “Some terminals may choose to host their TOS on-premises, but this requires a data centre, servers, and people to maintain all of it. Increasingly,” he suggests, “terminals prefer to pay Kaleris a hosting fee in their subscription, achieving cost savings by using a shared service for hardware, server, and IT support.” Navis TOS, connected to the Kaleris platform, is said to be used in 80 per cent of the world’s terminals.
RBS: Australia-headquartered Realtime Business Solutions (RBS) has launched a new component for its TOS that spans 3D Digital twin reality, IoT, Cloud, Automation, AI and Integration. The company explains that TOPX Intelligent 3D takes in problems including traffic, bottlenecks and planning delays and re-plans, re-routes and re-assigns until it produces an optimised execution plan. The system has predictive and preventative capabilities that will ensure that problems will be solved before they occur. This can be visualised in the digital twin display that will show how the yard looks in real time. The display can also show how execution is expected to look in the future, allowing operators to optimise planning. Data is outputted to charts that outline the performance of the terminal and highlight what areas can be improved. TOPX Intelligent 3D can reportedly be integrated with any existing TOS by linking to the existing database to take care of all operational tasks. Recent RBS features include an Intelligent Equipment Control system and enhanced yard management features.
TBA Group: A growing focus of UK headquartered TBA Group, part of Konecranes, is to configure its TOS to meet terminals’ bespoke demands. Two recent examples of this can be seen in projects for longstanding clients EimSkip and Port of Lyon. EimSkip’s Sundahöfn terminal in Reykavik, Iceland sees approximately 6,000 containers move through the gate annually. TBA Group says: “At peak times, it was becoming very busy, resulting in unacceptable waiting times for the trucks. Furthermore, the processes in place were manual and paper based.” To resolve the issue, EimSkip wanted to relocate the gate to a more strategic location, add more lanes, and redesign the in/out gating process, better utilising technology and implementing OCR to capture container numbers. TBA’s development team worked with both EimSkip and Cetus (the partner developing the new gate) to ensure that the Gate Operating System was fully integrated into its Autostore TOS V5. Elsewhere Lyon Terminal in France has been using Autostore at its two multimodal inland terminals since 2005. After receiving delivery of a new widespan quay crane, it implemented TBA’s Driver Assist module. The module combines a Driver UI with Position Determination System integration, providing simplification and minimisation of human interaction with the TOS UI. This enables the driver to focus on driving the equipment safely and efficiently, with a positive tracking of container movements utilising feedback from the PDS. Autostore TOS V5 has been implemented at over 30 maritime and inland terminals.
Tideworks Technology: Tideworks Technology has launched new features in order to optimise a terminal’s value chain and ensure that data is available to make better decisions in real time. The US headquartered company’s marine terminal TOS Mainsail is a flexible platform that is constantly evolving and frequently updated, usually every quarter. In June this year, it launched simulation-based training module DriverSIM. Using either a monitor or headset, trainees can complete a series of lessons in virtual reality that can be customised to include different weather or driving conditions, completed in a digital reenactment of the yard. This is coupled with the ability to include more than one driver in the environment at the same time. Chad Van Derrick, VP, Software Product Management, Tideworks Technology, says: “We have seen a dramatic decrease in the time it takes to train drivers, along with substantial improvements with costs and safety, as terminals do not have to block off sections of the yard for training and put wear and tear on vehicles. When the driver is in the yard for the first time, they are much more effective at completing tasks.” The company has also developed a platform that brings together data from various TOS applications and which also gives terminals the ability to marry data with third party feeds. Launched this summer, and in use in two terminals, the platform enables analytics, machine learning and AI. Van Derrick explains: “We are providing real time streaming with operations data, and creating a set of tools that are purpose built for whatever challenges the terminal is facing.”
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