Anti-collision systems ensure safe container-terminal operations

Container terminals operate on a 24/7 basis, so the demand on availability is extremely high. Collisions involving the boom of ship-to-shore cranes and the ships themselves pose the greatest risk in daily operations.

In order to offer its customers uninterrupted operations, DP World - one of the leading container-handling companies - has decided to equip the expansion of its Jebel Ali facility in Dubai with anti-collision systems from Sick.

Jebel Ali has been voted ‘Best Seaport in the Middle East’ for 19 consecutive years and is just one example of DP World’s high level of service. The new Terminal 3 in Jebel Ali is to become yet another benchmark for safe and efficient operation.

Collisions involving the boom of ship-to-shore cranes and the ships themselves pose the greatest risk in daily operations. Accidents of this type account for 31% of the costs of quay crane insurance claims; they are the single largest cost item in this area. Collisions of cranes with other cranes and other equipment occur almost as frequently. In addition to the immediate damage - including damage to customers’ property such as the ship or its load - collisions may also result in extended downtime of cranes and other port equipment.

Quay Cranes in Terminals 1 and 2 are today already equipped with Sick technology. All 69 cranes in the new Terminal 3 will be equipped with new Sick AOS systems for boom-collision prevention on the STS cranes and pathway-collision prevention on all the cranes. In order to maximise efficiency, the Jebel Ali facility will also use LMS511 2D laser scanners for truck/vehicle positioning and POMUX KH53 linear encoders from Sick for automated and precise positioning of the trolleys.

The AOS system uses cutting-edge LMS511 and LMS111 laser scanners. These sensors feature high-speed sampling technology and support the evaluation of multiple echoes of a single pulse. This drastically increases the accuracy and reliability of the data and allows the units to be used 24/7 in virtually any weather conditions - for example, dust in Jebel Ali or fog, rain or snow at ports elsewhere.

LMS511 and LMS111 can evaluate multiple fields, all at the same time. The AOS system comes with pre-configured fields for warning, deceleration and stop and can be adapted to customer requirements. Evaluation features include blanking of objects, reference contours, defined pixel patterns, etc. Fields can change dynamically, depending on the status of the inputs. With Flexi Soft, the AOS systems use a high-performance, modular safety controller. This allows for easy integration into the control architecture of the complete system. The controller features sophisticated, unique self-testing functions to check at any time the availability of the system regarding all configured field sets and installation position.

However, outstanding technology was not the only reason for DP World to opt for Sick. Sick was able to readily respond to DP World’s requirements for a complete solution with all applicable sensor technologies, not just for individual sensors. As a global organisation, Sick is also represented in many countries. Experts from Sick based in Dubai, Sweden, China and Germany successfully liaised with DP World, the system integrator from Sweden and the main manufacturers from China and Abu Dhabi. Nabil Qayed, Director, Technical Department, DP World UAE Region, said: “24/7 availability is paramount in container-terminal operations. The anti-collision solutions from Sick play a key role in our new Jebel Ali terminal to ensure this availability and will help us to achieve new standards in efficiency and competitiveness for our customers.”