{"id":1038,"date":"2016-09-21T16:54:42","date_gmt":"2016-09-21T21:54:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aapaseaports.naymicrosite2.wpengine.com\/?p=1038"},"modified":"2020-04-23T08:03:35","modified_gmt":"2020-04-23T13:03:35","slug":"the-future-of-automation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aapaseaports.com\/index.php\/2016\/09\/21\/the-future-of-automation\/","title":{"rendered":"The Future of Automation"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Future of Automation<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

By Sandy Smith<\/em><\/p>\n

Everywhere one turns, industries are facing automation. Robots, artificial intelligence, driverless vehicles. Ports will be changing as well.<\/p>\n

But as the next wave of technological revolution looms, ports are slowly looking at ways to automate \u2014 without getting too far ahead of the technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe look at some of the technology evolutions to say, \u2018What can we implement in a prudent way that improves safety, operational tempo and utilization of our acreage in an optimal way?\u2019\u201d said John Reinhart, CEO and executive director of the Port of Virginia. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to go off and reinvent the world, to put in technology that hasn\u2019t been proven. We\u2019re going to be second adopters. We\u2019re not going to be rushing to be cutting edge. We don\u2019t want to want to make a mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baby Steps<\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say that the Port of Virginia hasn\u2019t dipped its toe into automation. The Port of Virginia has upgraded its terminal systems in the past year to accommodate rubber-tired gantry (RTG) cranes. That has allowed \u201cbetter density in our stacking.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Port of Virginia also has updated its rail-mounted gantry (RMG) stacks, which \u201cuse advanced terminal software to improve ship side and truck side delivery,\u201d Reinhart said. Both steps are part of the Port of Virginia\u2019s goals of improving production by 1 million containers over the next three years. The Virginia International Gateway, a semi-automatic terminal that the Port of Virginia leased in 2010, includes RMGs and uses optical character readers (OCRs) on truck gates and rail gates. At the Port of Virginia\u2019s Norfolk International Terminal, plans are to add RMG cranes and stacks instead of the current straddle stacks. \u201cWhat that would allow us to do is add 400,000-capacity to that facility,\u201d Reinhart said.<\/p>\n

While RMG is an established technology, Reinhart notes that in the last decade, it has seen improvements in lasers and speed on lifting. The Port of Virginia currently is testing hybrid shuttle trucks and cars to improve on sustainability. It also has modernized gates so that workers can be in air-conditioned environments.<\/p>\n

The Need for Speed<\/strong><\/p>\n

While capacity certainly is a consideration for automation, speed is another. The Port of Long Beach (Calif.) opened up the now fully automated Middle Harbor terminal earlier this year with a goal of improving the truck turn times.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe truck can move into position, offload its container and stay in the exact position,\u201d said Jon Slangerup, the port\u2019s CEO. \u201cIt will receive its outbound container all in one single visit. It certainly is the most trucker-friendly facility we\u2019ve built to date.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s the speed that is most impressive. Just a few months after going live, Middle Harbor is \u201ccurrently operating around 35 percent of the full build-out footprint,\u201d said Anthony Otto, president of the Long Beach Container Terminal, the facility operator. \u201cOur new technologies, including our cutting-edge trucker interface, have been fully integrated into our operations and are running smoothly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Slangerup said that the system currently outpaces other automated terminals, \u201cbut of course, it\u2019s a newer generation of technology, so it has the benefits of all the lessons learned. I\u2019m sure in some future place, there will be even more improvements.\u201d<\/p>\n

Otto points to \u201creal-world testing prior to our \u2018go live\u2019 date. Operational experience suggests that exhaustive testing is the best predictor of potential problems. Because of our commitment to testing and training on every system \u2014 from our cranes to our AGVs \u2014 we positioned the company for a more problem-free start, avoiding any major operational challenges after our launch.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Need for Training <\/strong><\/p>\n

As Middle Harbor transitioned to fully automated, it required a partnership with key stakeholders. \u201cWe\u2019ve been extremely proactive in our outreach with the trucking community and the feedback we have received has been positive,\u201d Otto said. \u201cWe will continue to foster this relationship with the drayage community in order to maintain the high levels of success we are currently experiencing.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it has taken a concerted effort between the terminal operator and its parent company, Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL). Together, the two have \u201ccommitted nearly $8 million in assisting the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) membership with re-training and development of the niche skillsets required for the modernized systems at the new facility,\u201d Otto said. \u201cWe will continue to work with the ILWU and other stakeholders on these advanced training programs.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that is a vital component of any automation project: ensuring that workers are trained on the new technology and made aware of the benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a pretty good workforce and are working well with our labor partners,\u201d Reinhart said. \u201cYou have to use technology to augment a good workforce so that you can handle more. We also have to be forward-thinking; what skills and training do we need to put in our workforce today to handle the technology of the future? You have to train as you go along.\u201d<\/p>\n

Slangerup notes that automation does not automatically mean job cuts. In the case of Middle Harbor, automation is being used to expand from 1 million TEUs to 3 million. \u201cWhile there may be productivity gains as we fully deploy this terminal, there will be substantial net job growth,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is in jobs that are higher tech and higher paid than conventional minimally trained or skilled labor. It\u2019s the best of all worlds. The longshoremen that I\u2019ve spoken to up in the cabs or control rooms love their jobs. The first thing that comes out of their mouths is, \u2018I\u2019m not going to hurt anybody.\u2019 In the traditional manually operated terminals, there\u2019s a high degree of risk to life and limb. In this environment, the risk is mitigated for the human factor. It\u2019s still moving boxes around by automated means, so there is always some risk, but if something unfortunate happens, there\u2019s not going to be a human involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

And then there are the improvements to the job itself. \u201cTheir physical environment is air conditioned, and it is intellectually stimulating work,\u201d Slangerup said. \u201cIt is a whole new world and it is the future. They love that opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

He points to the way that labor was involved in the project a decade ago, when it was just a concept, \u201cto seven years ago when the designing was beginning to happen.\u201d Labor leaders were taken to Hong Kong to understand the plans, the commitment to labor and training. \u201cWhile there is still a natural fear about what automation looks like, this is the poster child for how things can happen in a favorable way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Onsite Incubators<\/strong><\/p>\n

As today\u2019s ports explore automation, terminal projects and ports themselves can serve as test sites for future automation.<\/p>\n

Slangerup notes that, as Middle Harbor continues to exceed expectations, other \u201cwell-funded terminal operations may say, \u2018We want to go that way.\u2019 We will accommodate that. That\u2019s our job. It\u2019s also our job to make sure that we invest wisely.\u201d\u2029He does not anticipate that future ports will all look the same \u2014 and even individual terminals may look different from another. \u201cIn our own port complex here, we have 22 marine terminals, six of which are large-scale container terminals. They\u2019re all looking at Middle Harbor with concern because if it does what it is capable of doing, it could represent a competitive advantage. But in really talking it through and looking at the future, the reality is that much of what Middle Harbor is accomplishing or can accomplish can be replicated in a semi-automated or manual environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of what drove automation at Middle Harbor was strict environmental standards in California. Slangerup notes that manual operations can be electrified to meet those same goals. \u201cAll of that will find its way into these terminals in a way that allows them to achieve environmental benefits that the state of California expects ports to achieve. Longshore workers are committed to demonstrating that they can perform just as well as a machine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Across the country in Virginia, the port authority has an advantage of having six ports. \u201cWe have live incubators where we can test some of the technology,\u201d Reinhart said. He points to Craney Island, a port expansion due online in a couple of decades. While Craney Island is expected to be a state-of-the-art container terminal handling at least half of its total container volume by rail, even Reinhart doesn\u2019t know exactly how the port will look when it opens.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe shelf life of a lot of today\u2019s technology won\u2019t last that 20 years,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat we know is that we\u2019ll be evaluating the technology to say, \u2018What is the next right thing to do?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Europe is, in some ways, a few years ahead of North America in automated ports. In 2015, the Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands, opened its fully automated terminal, featuring automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and automated ship-to-shore cranes. A year later, though, the automated port wasn\u2019t quite living up to its potential. It had faced a labor issue over lost jobs and was blunted by global economic challenges, leaving behind its ambitious productivity goals, Marine Vessel Times<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n

With Craney Island, the focus now is on getting the footprint right \u2014 and the way the port interfaces with road, rail and water. \u201cYou take the footprint and can simulate some of the technology as it evolves,\u201d Reinhart said. \u201cYou really have the ability to test different approaches before you start to go to construction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Craney Island will be built out in cells, probably handling about 1 million TEUs at a time. \u201cYou don\u2019t want to overspend,\u201d Reinhart said.<\/p>\n

And the same goes for technological revolutions. \u201cYou have to have a business case that you can justify and get a return on that capital investment,\u201d Reinhart said. \u201cYou do have to not be pie-in-the-skying too much. What we try to look at is what\u2019s the business going to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, Reinhart notes, some future technology is inevitable. Just like computers revolutionized all types of businesses, he believes that some of what will impact ports will have broader business applications. \u201cI think one of the next things we will look at is where else you can use better artificial intelligence to preplan activities so that you are being proactive, not reactive. That\u2019s the next big step: getting more of the big data from the carriers and shippers on the front end and using that to plan your activity.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also believes ports can take more advantage of social media to communicate with users and the public, letting them know of gates with issues or extended hours.<\/p>\n

More specifically to ports, though, he believes eventually someone will figure out how to create collapsible containers. \u201cReliability is so key. You don\u2019t want to run away from proven technology until experimental technology has had a stress test and then you can be an adopter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Slangerup, who came to the port in 2014 from logistics, sees \u201cnothing but blue sky ahead.\u201d But he anticipates significant evolutions in technology. \u201cWhen I came, I was shocked at how little was integrated. The great opportunity to me in supply chain is to optimize it across platforms that talk to each other. The evolving alliance structures among the carriers provide the opportunity to start to look at effectively matching capacity to demand through appropriate deployment of those expensive assets. You\u2019ll see, over the coming years, the marine supply chain getting very, very competitive.\u201d<\/p>\n

And one thing remains clear: With the rapid pace of technological change, it isn\u2019t prudent to plan too far out. \u201cThere could be a disruptive technology that comes out,\u201d Reinhart said. \u201cWhat\u2019s going to happen in global trade? Now the box rules trade. The power in our phone is better than computers were just a few decades ago. We\u2019re doing things that may change the demands on shipping.\u201d<\/p>\n

He points to Moore\u2019s Law, an idea that computer productivity essentially doubles every few years. \u201cYou can turn that to the terminal business,\u201d Reinhart said. \u201cIt continues to speed up its rate of change. If we\u2019re making decisions based on what will happen 20 years from now, we\u2019re going to make the wrong decision. We just have to build the pathways.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Future of Automation By Sandy Smith Everywhere one turns, industries are facing automation. Robots, artificial intelligence, driverless vehicles. Ports will be changing as well. But as the next wave of technological revolution looms, ports are slowly looking at ways to automate \u2014 without getting too far ahead of the technology. \u201cWe look at some …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":1039,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,446],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aapaseaports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aapaseaports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aapaseaports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aapaseaports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aapaseaports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1038"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.aapaseaports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1038\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aapaseaports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aapaseaports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aapaseaports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aapaseaports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}