The conventional crane, steel and dockworker-bred terminal manager is being replaced by software savvy technocrats driving automation at ports and terminals around the world. One of these new leaders is Yvo Saanen, managing director of TBA, based in the Netherlands. Saanen told AJOT at the Navisworld 2015 conference in San Francisco, California that a new generation of designers is driving automation and cost-saving improvements at cargo terminals around the world, supported by innovative software designs. TBA’s work has won endorsements from customers such as: • APM Terminals, North America, USA • APM Terminals, Apapa, Nigeria • Long Beach Container Terminal (LBCT), USA • Peel Ports, UK • Georgia Ports Authority Saanen’s company has used its experience working with ports and terminals in the Netherlands to branch out across the globe and is supporting new automation at the Long Beach Container Terminal, California. Besides the mega-terminals, Saanen says smaller terminals can improve productivity by up to 25% using software applications and see the improvement in six months without resorting to spending millions on new cranes or other cargo-handling equipment. Sannen says that right now “automation is hot” and even lower wage terminals in China are trying to improve productivity and reduce costs. He says the “challenge is a seamless system” enabling terminals to link software, hardware and people. This is a big problem because equipment and software often are bought piecemeal and integrating them is a major challenge. Another problem is that adversarial relationships between purchaser and supplier sometimes result in terminals obtaining low cost solutions that may not completely work. Saanen is trying to emphasize the need for a more collaborative approach that results in acquiring the right product for the right application. At the same time, terminals often buy equipment piecemeal in order to improve, replace and modernize functions, Saanen told AJOT. He says terminals might have been making money and did not see the need for software upgrades until increased demand from new business or bigger ships increased congestion and required a fresh approach to the entire terminal operation. The development of Terminal Operating System (TOS) software by California-based Navis allows companies to adopt specific applications provided by TBA and other suppliers, such as Orbita, based in Spain. Laura Romo, project manager for Orbita, told AJOT that her company is providing similar productivity improvements through software for the company’s terminal clients in Spain, Portugal and Latin America. She says “the Navis software allows for Orbita to customize specific applications for terminals.” At TBA, Saanen is marketing two new software products, a Yard Crane Scheduler and Plan Validation Software. He says RTGs (rubber tire gantry cranes) and other container handling equipment may only be operating at 50% capacity. The Yard Crane software allows terminals to place the right equipment at the right time to improve efficiencies. Plan Validation Software allows the terminal operator to run simulations of existing operations “very quickly before you implement a new yard plan for your vessel or your gate” to see if it can be improved. Saanen notes that terminals can save money in capital expenditures when they invest in software: “Terminals make heavy purchases of equipment”, such as cranes, believing this is the best way to improve productivity. Often equipment is only operating at 50% of capacity, so it is necessary to “squeeze the lemon” and make equipment operate more efficiently and not necessarily faster. The result is that software-driven solutions can improve cost–efficiencies by 15% -25% within six months of installation.