Last week, the port and shipping industry partners launched an urgent call to action to SPEED up digitalization in the ports in the post-Covid19 ‘new normal’.
The full text of the ‘call to action’ can be found here. The Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated that the heterogeneous way of working in ports worldwide should be harmonized to avoid unnecessary personal contact and to respect social distancing. Paper-based transactions are a ‘no go’ in the ports of the future. While some ports have started transforming themselves into ‘smart’ ports, using the whole range of available technology to run its port operations, others have barely started up the essentials of digitalization.
SPEED innovation portal
This call to action symbolizes exactly what the SPEED project stands for: there is an urgent need for digital transformation and a smart port ecosystem to do this together. Our goal is to develop ‘smart’ solutions for the challenges in the ports, by building up a community of port stakeholders on the one hand, and experts in digital applications on the other hand. The second group will develop tools to solve the first group’s problems, and we want to bridge the gap between the two.
Smart Port Maturity Model
Possible improvements are found in different fields: streamlined communication during port operations, secure GDPR-compliant information exchange, emissions-optimized solutions, integrated and digitized document flow, etc. The possibilities for digital harmonization are numerous. And if we think even further: why not expand the use of automated container handling, and share inter-port data about departure and arrival notifications or workload? The most complete list of such smart port challenges and use cases can be found on the SPEED innovation portal, where developers and users of smart port solutions can meet, exchange and start collaborating. Thanks to the support of Interreg 2 Seas, this portal is provided for free.
Is your company or port looking to further increase its digital maturity? Do you know what you should invest in first? Want to know which innovation applications have the highest impact? SPEED is currently fine-tuning the Smart Port Maturity Model, which will be launched soon. This framework defines the key investment areas for smart ports in different maturity stages, describes the 22 most relevant smart port application types and indicates the steps a port should take to become a real ‘smart’ port. Keep following our blog posts, which will tell you all about how it works.
To our community: Which best practices of a smart port should be extended globally? Do you have a great idea to create this smart port ecosystem? Share your knowledge with us on the SPEED innovation portal, and help co-create the smart ports of the future.
