Improving Real-time Port Productivity: How Can We Streamline Communication and Have Real-Time Operational Overview of Vessel Activities in Port?

Jurong Port is a multipurpose port operator that provides berthing facilities for vessels and facilitates loading and unloading cargo from ships. However, ground staff overseeing terminal operations do not have efficient way to communicate effectively with HQ managers, and there is a lack of avenues for timely intervention by the managers resulting in operational delays. HQ managers need full, real-time visibility of how assets are utilised to better predict and plan for capacity and deploy optimal resources.

Challenges
At present, near real time operations are being shared across multiple platforms repeatedly by the same or different stakeholders, e.g., WhatsApp updates by stevedoring liaison officers to Jurong Port operational staff and similar updates by the same operational staff on an internal application to Jurong Port Management Staff. Furthermore, the operational staff are providing the same operational updates on various platforms such as WhatsApp, and its internal web applications, including Teams, TOS, calls and emails. The highly manual process of updating vessel information is time and effort-intensive and presented differently by various parties.

Stakeholders
Port Operator

• Stevedoring companies – Stevedore workers, Stevedore supervisors, Stevedoring liaison officers
• JP management staff – operational Leads, managers, EVP, GMs in operations
• JP operational staff – port officers, port operations controllers
• Agents from JP’s principal carriers – Documentation controllers, agency supervisors

Desired Outcome
Possible solution spaces could be:
– An operational mobile enabled solution to provide real-time operational updates, which is a single point of information flow and access solution for end users (internal and external) to retrieve operational information and update required operational information.
– A web-based app or digital platform that standardizes and integrates real-time data from digital and analogue sources such as video feeds, photos, forms and documents etc., to better match demand with supply, while serving as a common channel for communication across multiple users.

Successful solutions should ideally:

• Resolve inefficiencies and be centrally positioned to support the operational and business models of numerous onshore players. The solution could be extensible to other port operations and easily re-contextualised to other global ports. This is as onshore activities typically represent an incredibly significant part of the maritime industry’s value-add.
• Have a user-friendly interface and the user experience should be simple, intuitive, and timely, accommodating all levels of users.
• Be compatible for external service providers to access and feed real-time information into the platform. In addition, it would be useful to align with or tap into databases, platform, templates, and codes that may already exist.
• Classify meta data that incorporate photo and video stills

Call for Proposals for this Innovation Opportunity is now closed.