Container Tracking, how it works

[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)

[darloboy]

that sorted me out wonderful things computers tracking them things but like you described a lost box can be a head scratcher

[G-CPTN]

Thanks - I will have to reread that (because it is so complex).

How on Earth were things managed before computers (and GPS)?

I presume the box number was read and checked against a paper copy of the manifest, but how was the location registered (especially where the container was in a stack)?

This is complicated by the sheer quantity of containers carried by some ships.

I can understand that all containers destined to travel on a particular ship can be stacked in a block that will be cleared when the ship is loaded, but some will be for intermediate destinations so must be kept together (and accessible). Then, when the container is discharged (it would appear on a local manifest) it would have to be checked (manually originally, nowadays by computer).

Can you read the container number from your straddle? What about when it is dark? Do you have a 'ground operator' who can check the number for you?

Is the container number the 'key' to all movements (even though the computer keeps track of movements so will have some idea where the container will be at any moment?

You mention 'Yard moves' - are you told where to place the 'unwanted' containers - or is there sensing equipment that registers where you drop them?

You didn't mention RFID chips - are they not (yet) in use (I appreciate that there must be many millions of container boxes spread across the World) I wonder just how many?

Is there a comprehensive database of every container (so, given a number could you find any one?)? What detail would it return - ie just a port, or would it give the stack and height in that stack?

So many questions . . .

[hilifta]

Whoa!!, as you say, too many questions!
They used to be managed by a card system, very time consuming. A straddle driver would be called and given a number and he would have to write it down.

When an import manifest is recvd it is entered into the system by a data processor. A yard planner then allocatse a spot in the terminal, depending on what is to happen to it,IE; is it mty, is for road, or rail etc.
When truckie arrives to pick it up, the girls enter the number and the location comes up.

The sheer quantity, our biggest exchanges are about 4500 moves, mostly they are in the 15/1800 range.

When boxes are recvd, they are not just stowed per ship. Within that area they are stowed for port of discharge.

Numbers are easily read, the cranes and straddles have very good lighting. Some boxes are harder to read than others, depending on paint colours. The worst are boxes painted an aqua colour with pink letters (I kid you not).

Yes the container No is very much the key.

With a yard move, the info is presented as per normal, a new position is given.

RFID chip, no idea what they are.

As for the numbers of boxes worldwide, yes it must number in the millions. Just remember if a ship takes 10,000TEU (boxes), the operator must budget for 30,000 boxes, 10k on the ship, 10k at each end.

Databases or each box is kept by the owner, if it is a leased box the shipping co will only have a data bases for it whilst it is under their control. Likewise we have a database, but only while it is in our terminal.
For example, a shipping co will have a box shown as in AKL, with arrival and dep dates, and if it is full or mty, they won't interested in all the moves we may do with it in the terminal. But we will have all those moves on our database. Confused???.

Stealing containers is quite an industry. You'd be amazed if for example you went to Tonga and see how many people live in containers. Think of it, nice and dry, don't get blown over or down, in a cyclone, if it's a reefer its even insulated. What more could you want.
And if we dare try and retreive them, the local govt's put so much in our way it not worth the effort. Result is, if you hire a box for certain parts of the world the lease rates are of the wall.
Russia, west africa and Papua New Guinea are the worst.
Several years ago a guy from one of the big leasing companies went up to the highlands in PNG, to try and retreive missing boxes and had his head taken off with a machete for his troubles.

Mike

[G-CPTN]

RFID - or Radio Frequency IDentification tags are (very) small microchips that respond to radio-signal interrogation. These are now tiny and lightweight.

Many consumer goods in supermarkets carry these now and these can be used to analyse stock levels (or dates).

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com...dgets/rfid.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio-f...identification

http://www.rfidc.com/

[darloboy]

this is fantastic reading for for a guy who only uses a container for an office but for a look at where a container can go etc try the 'bbc container' via google or whichever search you use