[hilifta]

Further to Grahams questions re the tracking of containers, I have put together the following. Hope it is not too technical and you can understand it.
I have written it from a straddle driver's perspective.

Mike


Container Tracking
From outside this appears to be a mysterious situation with hundreds of boxes moving around willy nilly, but in fact it is well orchestrated and quite easy to control. Albeit, with some very powerfull and sophisticated computers.
It all begins when we receive advice from the shipping company of the vessel’s discharge, this comes in the form of a manifest, container list and stow plan.
The planning dept go through all this paper trail which then produces two things. One is the order of work for the ship, this is the sequence in which the boxes will be discharged. The second is a plan of where the discharged containers will go in the terminal.
The terminal is laid out in blocks of rows, broadly speaking, discharge boxes for road trucks will be stacked near road grids, we have three of these, boxes for rail will go down to the rail sidings, empty boxes go to the empty yard, DG and hazardous boxes, and out of gauge boxes, will all go to specific areas. Obviously reefer boxes go to the powered areas to be plugged in.
As a straddle driver control will tell me via my computer screen in the straddle to go to a specific crane. When I get to the crane, I bring up a screen that has the ability to receive boxes. I type in the number of the box I intend to pick up. This box will be sitting on the berth, having just been discharged. This number will be recognised because planning will have previously put all this info in to the computor prior to the vessel’s arrival. The computer will tell me where to take to in the terminal, it will tell me the row, and position within that row. Once I drop the box there I simply complete the move and it’s all over.
When a truck comes in to pick a box up, the driver enters all the information from his paperwork in the road office, where it is entered into the computer system, and he is then directed to a specific grid. In the meantime all this info is now in the system, which then sends advice to a straddle. This takes the form of advice on the screen telling the me to go to a specific position and pick up a specific box. It will tell me if it is a 20ft or a 40box, if it is overheight, (in which case I have to attach an overheight frame). It then tells me to take it to, for example, Lane 5, B grid. It will also tell which way around the doors are required, ie, to the front or the rear. Some times of course I may have to move a box because the one I need has others on top. If this is the case the screen will have told me “Yard Move”. Once I pick up that box and enter the next screen it will give me a new position. Once I have completed that move, the computer will then direct me back to pick up box up the box the truck requires.
If the truck driver has called for a reefer box, control will advise a technician who will go out a physically unplug the box prior to me picking it up.
For an export container, the shipping company will give us a list of the boxes expected for a particular ship. When the truck arrives at the road office, the driver must have a Bill of Lading and Customs export clearance docs. If not, he will be turned away. No exceptions.
Assuming all is OK, the box is entered into the system. I will receive a message on my screen to go to Lane 2, B grid, to pick up a specific box. On arrival at the truck I check that the number is the same as on my screen. Assuming that it is, I will be given a position to take it to. This will be an area that has been designated as the receiving area for a specific ship. I will also be given a specific location. The rows are planned with the stow of the ship in mind. Such as, broadly speaking, heavy boxes go on the bottom of the ship, lighter ones on top. So as straddles drop newly received boxes in the row the lighter boxes go on the ground and the heavier ones on top as they will be the first boxes called when the ship starts loading. This saves us wasting time and having to dig boxes out from under when loading starts.
Now we have all the boxes in the terminal, when loading starts, I will be told to go to a specific row and position. When I get there I will be given the container prefix and the first three numbers. I have to enter in the last five numbers. If they are incorrect nothing will happen, the screen will not accept it. This is to ensure that I pick up the correct box. Once I have the correct box I will be directed to a specific crane and I will be told which hatch it is going into, I will also be told which way round the doors must be, either fore or aft. It is up to me to ensure that the crane is at the correct deck as I may have the first box for the next deck and there is no point in me dropping it at the wrong deck.

So at any time the computer knows where every box is, how long it has been there, and which straddle put it there.
The computer system we use is called “Sparcs”, it is highly efficient and hugely expensive.
The Ports of Auckland are currently installing GPS system called “Satell” in all the straddles and cranes. This system not only monitors all the technical aspects of the machine, it also tracks exactly where I drive, for how long after I get a move until I start to action it and how long I take to complete the move. It is so accurate that it can trace exactly how I turn a corner, which tells them if I have set off the stability alarm. They are currently working on an upgrade that will not allow me to unlock from a box if I am trying to drop it in an incorrect position. So we should no longer have “lost boxes”.
If we lose a box now control has to go and trace the moves of the last straddle to have moved the box, get the time and hopefully find it nearby.
It can be hit and miss, and time consuming finding “lost” boxes.
Many boxes have to be moved for many reason, quarantine, MAF inspection, repairs to boxes, transfer to other wharves. All this is noted and planned and information is passed exactly the same as for loading and discharge.
From the point of view of a straddle driver it is a very simple system and almost fool proof.
So I hope you can understand all this, I have tried to make reasonably simple, but if any one has any questions, fire away.

Mike (hilifta)