BRAZIL's third largest container terminal, Terminal de Conteineres de Paranagua (TCP), has opted for APS Technology Group's optical character recognition (OCR) and automation technology solutions at its facility.
APS Technology said this is the first on-dock rail OCR solution to be installed in South America and TCP is implementing the APS Automated Gate System optical character recognition (OCR) solution that will automate box identification at the gate and rail entry and exit points with the collection of high-resolution images.
Brazilian ports aim to expand capacity. Terminal capacity increased 50 per cent this year to 1.2 million TEU. Terminal productivity increased from 30 moves per hour in 2010 to 56 moves per hour last month. The APS solutions will further help TCP handle larger gate volumes and streamline the current rail discharge process.
Currently, the rail process is cumbersome and time-consuming - trains come in three times a day, a reach stacker picks the container off the train and puts it on a truck. The truck drives to the main gate for weighing and then is taken to be stored in the stacks. The APS OCR container identification solution will work in tandem with a new weight-capture system with in-ground weight sensors under the track. The weight and identification will be captured while the train is in motion, eliminating multiple steps from the process, thus boosting efficiency.
"When the private equity fund Advent International acquired 50 per cent of TCP last year, we launched several initiatives to increase productivity," said Luiz Antonio Alves, TCP's CFO.
"The Brazil container shipping market has been growing every year for over a decade and is expected to continue to grow," said Allen Thomas, APS chief operations officer. "Implementing automation and technology to improve efficiency will give terminals a competitive edge. We're glad to be a part of this important project installing the first on-dock rail OCR in South America."
WORLD SHIPPING
01 May 2012 - 22:08
Brazil's TCP first in South America to install on-dock rail OCR solution
BRAZIL's third largest container terminal, Terminal de Conteineres de Paranagua (TCP), has opted for APS Technology Group's optical character recognition (OCR) and automation technology solutions at its facility.
WORLD SHIPPING
01 May 2012 - 22:08
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