Desktop research into historic automation projects of brownfield container terminals

Abstract

Container traffic worldwide has shown a growing trend during the last years. Also, the number of containers handled per call has increased for many terminals. This poses challenges to existing terminals for more efficient operations and higher productivity. Automation is a way some terminals have tried to achieve this. Most existing automated container terminals were greenfield projects, but brownfield automation is gaining momentum.
Literature on brownfield automation of container terminals is limited. The PIANC MarCom WG Report n° 208 – 2021, Planning for Automation of Container Terminals is the most recent and complete guideline for automation projects, but it is mainly focused on greenfield projects. Challenges for automating brownfield terminals are different than for greenfield ones. All of this translates into little guidance being available for future brownfield automation projects. Therefore, the experiences and lessons learnt from historical brownfield automation of container terminals are a valuable source of information to guide future projects. The aim of this thesis is then to present a characterisation of historic container terminals converted, or in the process of being converted, to some degree of automated operations.
An empirical research methodology was defined to gather data on drivers for automation, challenges, observed benefits, drawbacks, and solutions adopted by brownfield automated terminals. A questionnaire was used for this purpose. Also, satellite images of the conversion process were analysed to observe implementation strategies. Additionally, terminal throughput, equipment, yard size and quay length were determined through a desk study. Data was analysed through categorization. Trends regarding the type of automation, i.e., semi-automation (automated yard equipment) or full automation (automated yard + automated transport between the stacks and the quay), and regarding the type of yard equipment adopted were determined.
For the historic conversions analysed, it was concluded that the main drivers for automation are operational cost reductions, labour shortage, productivity increase, reliability/safety, and capacity. But these drivers are case specific. No benefits can be assumed a priori from automation. Objectives for automating should be defined by each terminal and solutions to achieve them proposed. The main challenges were continuity of operations during the conversion, adaptation to new operations, labour relations, and communication systems. Most terminals adopted semi-automated solutions, due to fewer labour issues expected and improved vessel productivity compared to full automation, among other reasons. It was observed that terminals with yards smaller than 10 [ha] chose aRTGs as their stacking equipment, while terminals with larger yards chose either an aRMG or the automated version of their yard equipment before automating.
Three implementation strategies were observed: greenfield-like, phased, and big bang approaches. The first one refers to developing the automated yard in a new location, with little disruption of the operations of the old yard. A phased approach means that the implementation is divided in phases, and operations of the old yard must be disrupted from phase 1. The big bang approach was observed only for conversions from straddle carriers (SC) to auto SC. In these cases, a small site is used to test the technology. When the testing is finished, the terminal is closed for 2-3 days, and the technology is rolled out onto the entire yard or a large portion of it.