New generation wireless automated monitoring and control system will allow ports and terminals to fully automate reefer container management; first customers announced
Port and container terminal process automation specialist IDENTEC SOLUTIONS has announced the release of CTAS 7.0 Reefer, its latest generation real-time wireless monitoring and control system for refrigerated containers. The new system will be officially unveiled at this year’s TOC Europe trade show in London, 24-26 June.
The first customers for CTAS 7.0 Reefer will include Long Beach Container Terminal (LBCT), which has selected IDENTEC SOLUTIONS to provide reefer monitoring at its new automated terminal on the US West Coast. Users of IDENTEC SOLUTIONS’ current reefer monitoring solution will also upgrade to the new version, including Port of Cartagena, Colombia; SSA Mexico; and Karachi International Container Terminal (KICT), Pakistan.
CTAS 7.0 Reefer includes a brand new Windows-based user interface and middleware platform, providing enhanced “dashboard style” alarms, alerts, reports and business intelligence to help container ports automate reefer management and deal with out of spec reefers only by exception. Use of the open architecture Windows.net platform also facilitates easy integration and support for other business applications. This includes real-time synchronization with terminal operating systems (TOS) such as Navis N4 to execute and complete reefer jobs.
Suitable for use in genset, stack and rack operations, the IDENTEC SOLUTIONS system allows terminal operators to remotely monitor reefer temperatures in real time, as well as to adjust set points, perform pre trip inspections (PTIs) and download data logs. Data is captured by purpose-developed “plug and play” long-range active RFID tags, which connect to the reefer machine’s serial port.
Tags can be fitted as reefers are placed in yard stacks or racks, or can be plugged in as equipment enters the terminal via land or sea gates, prior to being stored in the yard. This latter option provides near-total visibility of reefer units as they transit the terminal, says IDENTEC SOLUTIONS, helping operators to avoid problem such as reefer boxes accidentally going unplugged.
CTAS 7.0 Reefer also allows operators to proactively identify “at risk” reefer boxes even before they arrive at the terminal, using BAPLIE data to perform automated checks by commodity versus planned temperature. The system will then alert users to possible non-conforming units that can be targeted immediately on arrival, rather than being checked manually over the course of a full shift with no upfront knowledge of the reefer status
The new system will be familiar in look and feel to any Windows user, with large, simple RAG (red amber green) dashboards giving operators easy, at-a-glance information on the status of all the reefer boxes in their terminal. The client software runs both on regular desktop PCs and on other Windows-supported mobile devices such as touchscreen tablets, allowing information to be accessed in multiple ways and places. A reefer mechanic touchscreen handheld app has also been developed.
