DIGITAL NEWS INFORM has confirmed that it has been selected by Class 1 railroad operator in the US, Norfolk Southern, to deliver yard management and optimisation solutions at its Rossville and Austell terminals. Crane optimiser is also being provided. In addition to integrating its modules directly into the system operated by Norfolk Southern, INFORM is adding enhanced elements to stacked operations through what is termed as its “Optimization Plus” solution. The software is employing INFORM’s industry proven Syncrotess optimisers by leveraging state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence and optimisation techniques. Dr. Eva Savelsberg, SVP Logistic Division, INFORM explains: “Expanding our USA footprint with an innovative rail operator like Norfolk Southern shows both our commitment to strengthening and growing our USA operations but as well our commitment to enabling our customers to leverage the best experiences from around the globe to drive their innovation.” The new software solutions are being delivered to Norfolk Southern’s Rossville (TN) and Austell (GA) terminals. Both locations operate unique stacked yard configurations and different crane hardware endorsing that one size does not fit all. The Optimization Plus solution will be custom configured for both sites to enable each site to reach their unique operational and optimisation goals. INFORM’s Yard Optimiser provides the TOS with an allocation for each container to
TOS for Segrate
Navis has confirmed that its Master Terminal operating system at Inter Modal Logistic (IML) Milano Segrate Terminal (Ignazio Messina & C SpA), Italy, has gone live. IML is an intermodal container depot handling around 100,000TEU per annum. By operating on the same system as the Genoa facility it ensures that the Milan team can better track operations and improve control of yard and terminal handling moves and storage.
INFORM FOR TWO NORFOLK SOUTHERN TERMINALS
be positioned into the stacked yard in real-time. Working with AI and Operations Research (OR) based algorithms, the
configurable add-on module will assist the operational teams in decreasing unproductive container moves during peak
operations as well as recommending proactive housekeeping moves during off-peak operations.
ION SUPPORTING UK NET ZERO PLAN ION Geophysical Corporation’s Edinburgh-based Software group has received a grant to advance port decarbonisation through its climate-smart platform, Marlin SmartPort™. The grant is said to support the UK’s Ten Point Plan to address climate change and help achieve the country’s net-zero emissions target by 2050. The Data-Led Emissions Management (D-LEMA) project is part of the Clean Maritime Demonstration
Competition, funded by the UK Department for Transport and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK. The 6-month pilot study will validate whether vessel fuel usage and carbon dioxide emissions can be reliably estimated in and around ports using the International Maritime Organization (IMO) global standard. The Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition
represents a £20 million investment from government alongside a further £10 million from industry to reduce emissions from the maritime sector. The programme is supporting 55 projects across the UK, including projects in Scotland, Northern Ireland and from the South West to the North East of England.
MSC agreement
Maersk buys HUUB
Digital twin
Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC), has signed a three-year agreement with the China Waterborne Transport Research Institute to jointly promote sustainable shipping and decarbonisation. The objective is to assess different solutions to make the maritime sector more efficient with the framework establishing a collaborative process dedicated to R&D and knowledge sharing. MSC Cruises recently published its 2020 Sustainability Report.
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Maersk Line is buying HUUB, a non-asset based, e-commerce company formed in 2015. The Portuguese company supports around 100 fashion brands by receiving and storing goods from manufacturers, picking, packing, shipping orders and handling returns. HUUB’s software platform specifically allows fashion brands to manage supplier relations, inventory and ordering and is another step in the shipping company’s digital strategy.
BRIEFS Sinay and 3D CityScapes have joined forces to create hyer realistic digital twins for ports. 3D CityScapes employs advanced technology and AI to create digital twins, hyper realistic representations of the real-world. Together with Sinay, it will create interactive 3D environments for the ports sector. 3D CityScapes states it will offer the digital twin as a hyper realistic component to Sinay’s technology and sensor data information.
NOVEMBER 2021 | 13