How to design a container terminal?

Terminal Operator – state of the industry

The container terminal industry is continuously being challenged with change, and resulting pressure. Larger vessels resulting in higher performance demands and more peaky operational patterns, increased environmental demands requiring electrified operations, new alliances causing commercial uncertainty about volume and competition, and changing cargo patterns due to changes in manufacturing and consumption patterns require container terminals to deal with changing modal splits, dwell times and operating patterns. The volume of containers handled through container terminals world-wide is about to exceed 900 million TEU, and shipsizes are exceed 24,000 TEU, with exchange sizes exceeding 12,000 containers in some instances.

At the same time, there is an increasing emphasis on cost, environmental control and safety, which forces terminal operators to search for innovative solutions. Solutions that require less space and cost less per handled container. Here robotization and automation come into play, as they allow reducing labour by a significant amount, and allow decreasing the space usage of a container terminal by percentages up to 50%.

The challenges when realizing automated container terminals

However, this comes at a cost: realizing an automated container terminal results in extended implementation trajectories (often with delays), budget overruns, and low initial performance up to years after go-lives. Some of the identified reasons for this are:

  • The occurrence rate of system failures had been underestimated, which led to inefficient recovery procedures.
  • The time pressure in the project led to a focus on getting the system to run, instead of realising the functional specifications. This caused much of the specified functionality not to be implemented.
  • The interfaces between various control system components were a result of a negotiation process between various design groups, instead of a rational architecture design.
  • The container terminal was used in a different way than planned by the terminal operator.
  • The container terminal was not designed from a holistic point of view, which led to sub-optimisation and components that did not work properly together.
  • Too little attention is paid to the interaction between the operator of the automated system and the system.
  • A large gap exists between functional design of automated container terminals and the technical design and software realisation.
  • There is a lack of interaction between the design of robotized equipment and its control software, leading to sub-optimisation of each component. Even the equipment design is fragmented, which leads to different solutions for similar problems.
  • Too little attention is paid to the interaction between the operator of the automated system and the system.
  • A gap exists between aggregate, strategic targets, like throughput volumes and vessel service times, and operational, day-to-day, hour-to-hour operational targets, such as quay crane productivity and truck service times.
  • There are no tools available to provide insight into the operation of automated equipment and/or automated container terminals, including solutions for process control systems.
  • A common-off-the-shelve, integrated process control system for automated container terminals does not exist (yet), which increases the risk of realising an automated terminal.
  • There is a lack of integration between cost analysis tools and performance analysis tools.
  • Current design approaches do not address the activities after commissioning, apart from monitoring and post-evaluation.

Given this context, the question is how risks associated with the realization of automated container terminals can be mitigated, and how the development and implementation process should be approached to maximize the chance of success within the shortest amount of time.

Developing a robust container terminal design and implementation approach

In order to address the concerns in the best possible way, we adhere to a design and implementation approach for automated container terminals where the following four main activities can be identified:

  • Functional design
  • Technical design
  • Implementation
  • Commissioning and operations.

In each activity we propose applying a simulation approach, relying heavily on the use of (dynamic) models. The models would be used throughout the entire process to support decisions on. For this purpose we developed a model suite that may support the entire design-engineering process until the terminal has been commissioned. Even during operations, the model suite may be used for fine-tuning, or problem solving when the operational conditions change.

Guidelines as basis for design approach

The basis of the approach consists of a framework of guidelines, which are the following:

  • Using an object-oriented world-view.
  • Applying a holistic, layered view on the terminal processes.
  • Mirroring the real system’s architecture into the model’s architecture.
  • Taking uncertainty and process variability into account.
  • Using the operational processes as a leitmotiv for the design.
  • Integrating the design of manual operations and automated operations.
  • Integrating hardware and software design.
  • Defining comprehensive and measurable objectives to assess the design.
  • Basing the decisions within the design process on performance measurements.
  • Continuing monitoring and measuring after commissioning.

These guidelines have been elaborated into a detailed approach, including a stepwise, iterative approach to design a container terminal, supported by a model suite that can be applied during the various activities, providing a way to manage the process.

Main steps container terminal design process

The container terminal design process consists of the following main steps:

  1. Defining the function of the container terminal, the throughput capacity, and the services the terminal should provide.
  2. Designing the container terminal’s key components, i.e. quay wall length, terminal geometry, layout of the stack, handling system, and logistical control concept.
  3. Designing the equipment and the process control system, including all the controls for the equipment.

How to design a container terminal - Portwise

After the functional design of the terminal’s components, they can be further detailed into the technical design (and specification). Subsequently, they are built (hardware) and implemented (software).

After the implementation, commissioning takes place to verify whether every component works as it should. If this is successful, operations may start, during which a period of fine-tuning will take place.

The entire process, here described in a nutshell, is completely performed following an simulation approach. This means that in all activities the use of models to evaluate and assess the quality in terms of the objectives of the container terminal – at various levels of detail.

Talk to one of our terminal experts and let’s see if we can help you design your autmated container terminal, including the expected outcome. At Portwise, we’ve helped leading container terminals in over 80 countries become more efficient, and our container terminal designs resulted in better optimized, more sustainable and smarter working container terminals. Let Portwise help you, too.

Written by: Dr. Yvo Saanen, MD at Portwise

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