PTP’s Smartrail project ends on a high note

The Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) and Kalmar celebrated the completion of the innovative Smartrail system at the port’s container terminals in Malaysia with a party in April 2005. Guest of honour at the event was Malaysian Minister of Transport, Dato’ Sri Chan Kong Choy, who was greeted by the event’s host and Chief Executive Office of PTP, Datuk Mohd Sidik Osman.

All 67 rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes in operation at the leading Malaysian hub port have been retrofitted with Smartrail during the last 15 months and have played a major role in improving the container terminal’s efficiency and productivity.

Because Smartrail does not require civil works, buried wires or transponders, Kalmar was able to retrofit PTP’s cranes with the new system without interference to-day-to-day terminal operations.

PTP spokesperson commented:” Although PTP presently handles the world’s largest container vessels, current shipyard orders by the major carriers are increasing today’s vessel sizes even more, which subsequently intensifies the pressure on terminals. With this system, PTP is able to ensure that the highest productivity standards will be met, thus enhancing the status of the port.

Ken Loh, President of Kalmar Asia Pacific, said of the successful work carried out at PTP:

“We are pleased that the installation has been completed on time and without any impact on terminal operations. We understand the competitive pressures of container terminal operators and have designed a system that enables our customers to improve their operational efficiency.”

PTP now has an annual capacity of 6 million TEUs following the completion of Phase Two of its container terminal development.

Smartrail

Kalmar-developed Smartrail uses a Global Positioning System (GPS) technology that enables the RTG to autosteer along an invisible rail. This frees up the driver to focus on traveling as quickly as possible between lifts and on lifting and setting down containers.

An intergrated Position Detection System (PDS) automatically logs the position of each container yard management system. This provides yard operators with it is placed in a stack or moved from one location to another.

This is complemented by the Smartrail container position verification system, which is activated each time the spreader twistlocks open or close. The yard management system is automatically updated and the new position of the handled container is recorded. Smartrail reduces the down-time spent looking for misplaced or lost containers and improves efficiency and productivity.

While this particular retrofit project involves RTGs originally built by other manufacturers, the majority of Kalmar RTGs ordered over the past two years have also been fitted or retrofitted with the Smartrail system. These include cranes delivered to terminals in New Jersey, Oslo, Dublin, La Spezia, Dunkirk, Livorno, Kumport, and St Petersburg.