Container ID Software for Brazil Terminal Ordered from APS Technology
Brazil container yard operator TCP chooses APS Technology to supply gate and rail OCR container terminal solutions
APS Technology Group, Inc., a leading provider of optical character recognition (OCR) and automation technology solutions for marine and intermodal container terminals, announced Terminal de Conteineres de Paranagua (TCP), the third largest container terminal in Brazil, has chosen APS Technology for gate OCR and rail OCR solutions at its terminal.
This is the first on-dock rail OCR solution to be installed in South America. TCP is implementing the APS Automated Gate System OCR solution and rail OCR solution to boost efficiency and eliminate congestion. The solution will automate the container identification process at the gate and rail entry and exit points with the collection of high-resolution images.
TCP is implementing one of the largest investment programs in the Brazilian port industry aimed at expanding capacity and increasing efficiency. In fact, terminal capacity increased 50% this year to 1.2million TEUs per year. 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 by automating the identification of rail-laden containers and their associated weights into the company's terminal operating system.
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 and dramatically boosting efficiency.
