HHLA will introduce Camco’s VirtualGate app to speed up truck gate processes

Camco Technologies today announced that its VirtualGate mobile app will be used at HHLA’s three container terminals in the port of Hamburg to further optimize throughput at the truck gates. This on-the-go solution allows truck drivers to pre-register their visit and loading info 预先登记他们的集卡访问和装载数据 entering the terminals, thus gaining precious time at the gates. All the driver needs, is the mobile app, his Trucker Card-ID and PIN. With a simple on-boarding process and straightforward screens, any trucker can use this app without the need for training.

“With the Camco Gate Operating System (GOS) already at the crossroads of HHLA’s port applications and databases, this mobile app is a logical next step for further gate automation,” says Anton Bernaerd, Business Development Director at Camco. “Camco is ideally placed to combine information from the TOS, Vehicle Booking System, Access Control System and others into terminal specific apps.”

The VirtualGate app, as well as HHLA’s new mandatory slot-booking process, are part of HHLA’s Fuhre 4.0 initiative to develop digital solutions for intelligent container transport.

“As volumes in container throughput and especially peak demands at HHLA terminals keep growing, we are looking for ways to accelerate throughput times at the truck gates as well as increasing the gate capacity without expanding the physical gates,” says Ingo Witte, Program Lead Fuhre 4.0 at HHLA. “The mobile app will support the trucker, reduce the truck administration processes at the truck gate and seriously improve gate efficiency and productivity.” With the app, which is to be released by mid-2018, HHLA targets more than 25.000 weekly truck visits at the terminals.

For HHLA, main advantages will be the higher throughput and efficiency at the gates, better control of truck flows, and freed-up parking space. Truck drivers and transportation companies will see shorter truck-turnaround times, better time-management and more accurate data.

What’s progressive about HHLA’s approach, is that the kiosk process will be partly integrated into the app. Truck drivers will register info that is valuable to yard operations in advance, such as the container position on the chassis or a ‘remain on truck’ notification. When used in combination with the immediate and accurate validation via Camco’s OCR systems at the terminal entrance, the mobile app becomes a very powerful tool for container terminals.