Cape Town Port introduces new system for temperature checks

Transnet Port Terminals has notched up a ‘first’ for sub-Saharan African ports by implementing the world-class Refcon system to remotely carry out temperature checks on refrigerated (reefer) shipping containers at Cape Town Container Terminal. Previous practice was for reefers to be manually checked by operators at fourhourly intervals, over and above shipping lines carrying out their own “shadow monitoring” twice daily; only at those times could breakdowns be identified. The main Navis operating system, which plans and records all container and equipment moves, has been successfully integrated with Refcon, allowing for automatic synchronisation of information between the two systems, thereby improving conditions immensely. (Refcon feeds reefer temperature information into Navis at 30-minute intervals.) “A major benefit of integrating Refcon into the Navis system is that faulty and out-of-protocol reefers can be identified easier and quicker, which reduces the terminal’s risk profile and saves costs,” says Hector Danisa, TPT’s assistant terminal executive for Western Cape terminals, adding that shipping lines are now able to access Refcon on Navis. In the event of Refcon shutting down, a manual procedure has been created to protect the cargo’s identity. Operators have been undergoing intensive training on remote reefer monitoring, Refcon’s remote monitoring server supplying electronic messages highlighting exceptions and enabling them (operators) to report the relevant alarms to shipping lines for rectification. Reefers that are not Refcon-compliant will continue to be monitored manually, however 80% of the terminal’s customers are already Refcon-compliant and initiatives are being implemented to improve this further. Future plans currently under consideration for Refcon include automatic e-mail and text message alerts to customers and stakeholders. TPT also hopes to extend Refcon to more reefer areas within the terminal. Maersk Line is already 95% Refcon-compliant, the line’s sales director, Mark Cairns, tells FTW. “This is a definite move forward, allowing for better ‘real time’ monitoring for boxes in the port, and the key here is to ensure that the system downtime remains at a minimum. “Maersk will continue to manually monitor these boxes until the trials are fully completed.”