On Tuesday, Unikie launched, in cooperation with Edzcom, a SMART PORT 2.0 – JUST IN TIME webinar series, introducing the prospects of smart ports in the increasingly digitalised and automated operating environment. The systems of ships and harbours currently produce more data than ever before. However, basic harbour processes continue to include a large number of slow manual phases that are sensitive to errors and make it very difficult to acquire correct and uniform data in a timely manner. The efficiency of harbours and harbour logistics can, however, be enhanced in many ways, when the opportunities offered by digitalisation and automation are utilized effectively.
Enhancing the efficiency of harbours through a shared situational picture
The integration of systems enhances the operations and the transparency of harbours, whilst also optimising the time management of all operators through a shared situational picture. The first part of the webinar series focused on how the current systems can be made to work together efficiently. One of the main areas of development at harbours is to form a uniform situational picture of harbour functions and to convey this data quickly to all operators.
The webinar introduced the Port Flow Optimization (POLO), an application created by Unikie, which is currently in use at the Rauma and Gävle harbours. This open source code -based solution is available as a mobile and web application and works as a “situation room” between the various harbour functions and operators, allocating time stamps for each event automatically.
– When all harbour operators have the same situational picture, functions can be predicted and planned, enabling a zipper-like series of uninterrupted functions. This aids in getting rid of the “rushing to wait” mentality that is common at harbours, says Unikie’s Head of R&D Petri Kalske about the principle of the solution.
The Port Flow Optimization application was created in close cooperation with the operators of the Rauma and Gävle harbours. The application was completed in late spring and has since then been in test and final development use. At the webinar, the Project Manager of the Rauma Harbour Heikki Koivisto and Anders Berg from the Swedish Maritime Administration talked about the phases of the development project and the actual need for the application in a harbour environment. The starting point was that the mobile application is the principal method of use and will be made available for download to all operators in late autumn.
Koivisto introduced the preliminary results gained from the use of the application.
– This kind of a system, where information reaches everyone simultaneously especially in change situations and also enables submitting confirmations, is long overdue. Multiple call rounds and confirmation requests will no longer be needed. This is certainly going to be one of the main merits of the application, says Koivisto.
In projects, innovation financiers are key. At the webinar, Business Finland’s Head of Smart Mobility Ulla Lainio talked about the Smart Mobility programme and its goals in developing smart harbours and maritime digitalisation. Business Finland’s aim in the Smart Mobility programme is to build smart harbours and seamless logistics chains especially through digitalization.
The second part of the Smart Port webinar in August
VP Industry Business Jouko Tuppurainen from Edzcom, the organiser of the webinar, closed the first part of the webinar by briefly introducing the solutions offered by his own company, namely customised private mobile networks that enable extensive digitalization solutions at harbours from remotely controlled cranes to autonomous vehicles.
We will learn more about Edzcom’s services in the second part of the webinar in August, when e.g. the following questions will be addressed: What kind of additional investments are needed the existing infrastructure considered, and what can be achieved through them?
The second part of the webinar, DIGITALIZATION, AUTOMATION, AND INFRASTRUCTURE – WHAT AND IN WHICH ORDER?, will be organised on 25 August 2020.
The confirmed speakers include:
- Kokkola Harbour, Jyrki Roukala, Development Manager
- Konecranes, Timo Harjunen, Director, Digital Platform Development
- Unikie, Petri Kalske, Head of R&D
- Edzcom, Jouko Tuppurainen, VP Industry Business
