Implementation of the RFID system at the transshipment terminal

Optimized movement of delivery vehicles

The described implementation was carried out in a Polish seaport, where there is a bulk materials transshipment terminal. Materials are transshipped from arriving ships to trucks, as well as from trucks to ships. The main goal of the RFID implementation was to shorten the vehicle transit cycle through the terminal, which resulted in a shorter stay of the ship in the port. This was particularly important due to the high cost of port fees. Another goal was to eliminate the possibility of traffic jams forming before entering the terminal in the event of a pile-up of cars. In order to achieve the assumed goals, it was decided to implement two basic and integrated elements of the solution, i.e. a buffer parking lot in front of the terminal and an RFID system enabling automatic identification of the vehicle at every stage of its stay in the terminal (entry, weighing at entry, loading/unloading, weighing at exit, issuing transport documents). The designed RFID solution was to enable transit through the terminal assuming that the driver cannot leave the car cabin.

Description of the implementation process:

After entering the buffer parking lot, the vehicle driver goes to the RFID tag dispenser, where after entering the PIN code, an RFID tag is automatically issued to him. The RFID tag contains a unique identifier, which from that moment until leaving the terminal is necessary to identify the vehicle at subsequent stages of the process.

• the driver goes to the parking space and waits for the call
• after the call, the driver leaves the buffer parking lot
• if the verification on the exit template from the buffer parking lot is correct, the barrier is opened and the driver leaves the buffer parking lot
• in the sequence, the vehicle is identified at the entry gate to the terminal
• if the requested car is identified, the barrier is opened and the vehicle enters the entry scale
• the next step is loading or unloading the vehicle at the designated position
• After loading or unloading, the vehicle goes to the exit scale
• After loading or unloading, the vehicle goes to the exit scale

Thanks to the implementation of RFID technology in the newly built transshipment terminal, it was possible to shorten the loading and unloading process. The cycle of a car’s passage through the terminal, measured from entry to the terminal area to exit through the exit gate, decreased from approx. 40 to approx. 15 minutes

The shortening of the cycle was possible thanks to:

• efficient management of the buffer parking lot
• automation of settlement processes
• automation and acceleration of the document issuing process
• elimination of errors during loading and unloading