THE Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) has leveraged technology to continue with port operations and recover faster from the impacts of the pandemic.
Reynaldo Mark Cruz Jr., MICT Information Technology System and Services director, said ocean transport accounts for more than 90 percent of the world’s trade economy. Cruz cited the pandemic disruption in LA, Long Beach and one of the world’s top ports in China.
As a result, MICT implemented strategies to address the impacts of the pandemic on port operations. This was discussed at the German Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (GCCP)’s “Smart Ports: Pandemic-Proofing the Mobility of Philippine Logistics” webinar.
There were 11 billion tons of goods transported by sea in 2019, equivalent to more than 80 percent of the global trade, according to the Asian Development Bank. Under normal circumstances, the offloading, transporting, storing and distributing to various distribution channels would be straightforward.
In April 2020, the pandemic disrupted this business model. Port facilities in Manila were congested as the yard’s utilization peaked at 98 percent, compared to the usual 60 percent. The strict implementation of the lockdown restricted the mobility of the goods.
“MICT’s strategy is to remove the need for physical presence, eliminate face-to-face transactions and shorten the stay as much as possible. The shift into full lockdown did not impact our billing process. Online adoption shot to 100 percent, through Advanced Customer Transaction System (ACTS),” Cruz said.
From 2017 to 2020, customer online adoption hovered around 30 percent only, as most preferred to go to MICT. But now, they remove the need to come to the port.
“With the online examination viewing portal, brokers need not come to the port to witness the examinations done by customs. We eliminate face-to-face transactions. Our gates are all man-less and equipped with OCR, LPR technology, and radio-frequency identification (RFID) sensors,” Cruz added.
MICT has formed a strategic partnership with Smart to set the stage for the future.
This has optimized the workflow and has accelerated digitalization such as the use of augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR), asset lifecycle optimization, voice communication, drone inspection, and more reefer monitoring.
It used individual wireless for manned operations, industrial wireless for (semi) automated operations, optical LAN for (semi) automated operations, worker’s safety, and video analytics.
Drivers no longer queue in the weighbridges as MICT deployed automatic weight detection using spreader load cells together with 5G technology.
MICT’s future rollouts include driver mobile notification, remote crane monitoring, TABS manifesting, and contactless safety monitoring.
By capturing container data and plate numbers during booking, drivers no longer need to input anything at the kiosks upon arrival. They can wait in their trucks, rather than congregate around the Bureau of Customs X-ray office waiting for the results.
“We can reduce the on-the-ground deployment of safety officers with the use of intelligent surveillance systems such as speed detection, no-man-zone alerts and more,” Cruz said.
Blanketing the terminal with 5G enables MICT to deploy more Internet of Things (IoT) devices and sensors, reducing the need for on-the-ground engineers. The future MICT app includes track and trace, ACTS billing, TABS booking, GPS and ETA, Geofenced and gate-in, yard locations for drivers, and Waze up to the stack.
Source: The Manila Times