Promoting Safety, Security, Awareness and Productivity in Port Plants

Abstract

This paper focuses on the combined use of eXtended Reality and Simulation to improve awareness and confidence in Container Terminal Operations by tailoring a Simulation Systems. Experimentation is proposed as example of the benefits achievable by training virtually operators in this context. The complexity of Port Operations creates a quite dangerous environment where the highly competitive business sector push to increase speed of operations and flows. In additions Port Terminals involve many actors that have to work and interoperate within a multi domain environment, outdoor all around the clock along the year in an almost all- weather context. Ports are growing getting encapsulated within major city that over time turn to be megacities creating additional challenges especially in terms of Safety and Security that require to operate with high performance in a safe framework. The automation obviously is crucial to further increase operations, therefore up to know the human component is still quite critical for many ancillary activities as well as often on main and secondary ones due to the flexibility and reliability required. This aspect could suggest a big potential for Industry 4.0 and its future evolution in this field as well as a continuous struggling with the very conservative mentality of Shipping and Maritime Operations relying in Systems able to operate in the previous mentioned conditions. Indeed, Training and Education are crucial to face these challenges and make it possible to introduce new technologies, policies and approaches in the very strategic field of Port Activities. The authors propose an experimentation carried out to demonstrate the potential to move training and education on virtual interactive solutions based on MS2G paradigm (Modeling, interoperable Simulation and Serious Games) by tailoring a Simulation System on specific criticalities