The safe, efficient and uninterrupted operation of Southern Ports Authority ports in Western Australian is critical. Between two of its ports, in Bunbury and Esperance, it handles some 650 ships every year and the goods they export contribute billions to the state’s economy.
It is one of a number of critical infrastructure organisations that have deployed Internet of Things (IoT) technology to tackle operational challenges across large, complex operational environments.
The IoT deployment at the Bunbury and Esperance is at a range and scale unprecedented in an Australian port, according to Southern Ports.
In August 2021, Southern Ports installed MOVUS FitMachine IoT technology to gather real-time data from key port machinery such as electric motors and bearings.
The MOVUS FitMachine technology provides data about machinery temperature, vibration and noise. This is fed to machine learning artificial intelligence software designed to detect and alert about problems before they result in machine failure.
In December 2021, Southern Ports added Meshed GPS trackers and controlled environment sensors to track mobile assets such as forklifts and elevated work platforms. In 2022, it added water meters to track water usage.
The suppression of dust created during ship loading requires large volumes of water and the IoT technology enables Southern Ports to control automated water sprays used for dust suppression, to help identify and prevent water wastage and to automate water usage reporting.
This has freed staff from the menial tasks of recording water usage and temperature, enabling them to focus on more rewarding higher-level tasks.
More than 300 devices were deployed: 100 MOVUS FitMachine devices; 110 Meshed GPS trackers to monitor the location of mobile assets; 75 Meshed controlled environment sensors to monitor locations such as server rooms; 20 SMART LoRaWAN water meters, with another 30 currently being installed.
The technology has led to a 40 percent reduction in loading delays resulting from equipment breakdowns, Southern Ports stated in its nomination of the project for the Smart Places & Infrastructure category of 2023 IoT Awards.
MOVUS FitMachine has identified four critical events, forestalling potential failures of cargo handling infrastructure.
The port predicted that the water meters would help it save more than 200 hours in manual labour costs this year, improve data accuracy and enable it to redirect workers to more meaningful tasks.
“The user-friendly interfaces deployed through the project have gained very strong acceptance from the workforce, providing detailed information about operations on a moment-to-moment basis and vastly improving the efficiency of field operations,” the ports’ award entry stated.
“Over time, IoT is providing a digital transformation platform that is allowing Southern Ports to build resilience in its assets, as a key foundation to its business model – future-proofing assets to underpin improved performance and life the rate of return (RoI).
Southern Ports also claimed the technology had benefits for staff members.
“IoT has put information in the hands of those who can use it – in a way they can understand – to make real change,” it stated.
“Data no longer needs to be interpreted by management. Instead, on-the-ground staff are empowered to make decisions to improve field operations, which is promoting innovation at Southern Ports.”
Meet IoT Awards finalists at the IoT Impact 2023 conference in Sydney on 23 May. See the IoT Impact agenda and purchase tickets.