The Navis N4 Expert Decking Module, the system which automates yard planning, has resulted in major efficiencies in yard and quay operations at APM Terminals’ Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT). The system is used to automate planning by distributing containers throughout the yard based on predefined rules. Typically yard planning is extremely time-consuming, costly and inaccurate.
The Navis system aims to optimise the storage of containers in the most efficient manner, leaving more time for users to manage the yard.
Specifically, at the SCCT, staff focused on dwell times for transhipment containers, examined them, assessed them and a class was then assigned. Containers with shorter dwell times were assigned a yard lane closer to the berth.
The Navis system is time-efficient and contributes to financial savings.
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This approach resulted in quay cranes being utilised more efficiently and trucks travelling shorter distances.
Moreover, the SCCT accomplished savings in equipment costs, maintenance and repair and staffing. After the system was piloted and tested, it was rolled out at the yard for a 20-week period.
N4 Expert Decking assesses yards in real-time, taking container volumes and stack configurations into account.
Yet, the system is only as effective as the terminal-specific business rules that are established to determine the most efficient stacking of import, export and empty containers.
