Ten new automatic gates for trucks recently came into operation at the Terminal de Contenidors de Barcelona, owned by Grup TCB. The new system, which enables rapid identification of containers and accurate traceability, allows more efficient management of goods traffic in the access points to the terminal, which is in the midst of an expansion plan to increase its operational capacity, the company said in its press release.
The new automatic doors are equipped with OCR (Optical Character Recognition), a technology which allows the automatic identification of containers, in addition to truck licence plates.
The system integrates the data obtained by the automatic gates into ARGOS, the inhouse Terminal Operation System (TOS) used by Grup TCB at all its terminals. QR and RFID readers have also been incorporated, to facilitate interaction between the truck driver and ARGOS and speed up the entry process. Finally, the Megaports radiation detection portals have been transferred to the new automatic doors. The company Orbita Ingeniería has been selected by TCB to implement this Autogate system.
The new gates have been working since 28 November and operation has been totally normal while more fluid than before, without operation of the Terminal been negatively affected in any way. Truck access to TCB is now faster, safer and fully traceable, which enhances productivity and efficiency of the gates by a considerable amount.
This innovation represents a leap in efficiency at the terminal in Port of Barcelona, given that nearly 80% of the local load comes in or out of TCB by truck, with 20% doing so by rail.
"The new process provides maximum operational reliability and increases access productivity at the terminal," says Narcis Pavon, TCB's Director of Operations. "Each individual transaction is identified by a PIN and/or QR code input by the truck driver at the entrance. The new process allows us to streamline access and further automate the Terminal" says David Serral, Director of Information Systems at Grup TCB.