Planning, Design and Realization of a Successful Automated Container Terminal

The container terminal industry has been undergoing a transformation to streamline and automate activities through the implementation of automated container handling equipment. The advent of this equipment and the associated automation activities and process have had a significant impact on the activities required in each of the development stages for a terminal - concept development, design, and implementation leading to realization. The concept development phase, which defines the objectives and goals for the facility and creates a detailed business case that outlines financial, productivity, and capacity goals, is followed by the design development phase. The design phase explores terminal configurations that provide a solid platform for operations that will meet business case objectives, leading to the basis of design. With the concept and design complete, the process of implementing and ultimately realizing the container terminal's go-live status commences, as the project moves into the implementation and realization phase. This paper outlines these stages and the requirements for each in order to develop and realize a successful automated container terminal.