The facility, located in Kalmar’s Tampere, Finland factory, will first test the automation and control systems developed for HHLA’s conversion of Container Terminal Burchardkai (CTB) from straddle carriers to automatic stacking cranes (ASC). In phase one of the terminal conversion, Kalmar will equip the first five yard stacking blocks with 15 ASCs, along with their automation and control systems, during 2007 and 2008. The Port of Hamburg’s biggest container terminal operator plans to increase its handling capacity from 2.7m TEU in 2005 to 5.2m TEU by 2015.

To test the automation applications developed for the CTB project, a computer simulation of a block stacking area with three ASC cranes was created to represent the terminal layout as it has been designed in Hamburg. Using this simulator, Kalmar can test the operation of the machine controls and the supervisory control system, which is responsible for commanding the cranes.

The crane block simulator can also be used to train operators on the remote control systems for loading and unloading trucks at the landside operation. At CTB, the crane operators will be located at the terminal’s central control tower where they will utilize the spreader and overhead camera systems to monitor tasks.

For the first time in the container handling industry, Kalmar will use a supervisory control system, a typical solution for the process industries, to manage CTB’s crane blocks. The control system will distribute and implement the job orders from the terminal operating system safely, effectively and economically. It will also send back real-time information about the cranes, container stacks and ongoing events. Sophisticated measurement systems will feed information to the supervisory control system, which with high computing power makes decisions for job selection, routing and collision avoidance.

Although in its early phase, automation has already proven its worth when resolving a number of terminal operating dilemmas, from increasing productivity needs and addressing labour shortages to controlling costs and fulfilling environmental responsibilities.