The Port of Rotterdam Authority announced it is starting a test project with Barge Terminal Tilburg and Certus Port Automation, a manufacturer of container identification and monitoring systems. The program aims to enable cargo owners and terminal operators to monitor more precisely the time at which a container can be transferred for further transport.
Under the project, all trucks that arrive at, or depart from this inland container terminal over the coming three months, will pass through a newly developed scanning portal that scans trucks for registration numbers and containers for container numbers. The scanner also provides images so that container status on arrival and at departure from the terminal can be examined.
As explained, the scanned data are extremely accurate and less manual work is needed at the terminal, which increases the efficiency of the entire logistics chain.
Comparable identification and monitoring systems have been commonplace for some time at the deep sea container terminals in the port of Rotterdam. A low-treshold version of this is now the first to be tested at the Vossenberg site at Barge Terminal Tilburg.
As part of its overall efforts to optimise the logistics chain, the Port Authority is financing the purchase costs of this scanning portal. In exchange, it will charge a modest fee per scanned container from the inland terminal.
The trial will be evaluated at the end of the test period. If successful, a decision may be taken to extend the trial.
