Smart Brain Empowers Port Upgrade: YM Tech Creates a New Benchmark for Low-Cost and High-Efficiency Automation Transformation for Weifang Port
Amidst the global trend of increasing ship sizes and the pursuit of higher operational efficiency in the shipping industry, finding the lowest-cost way for traditional container terminals to achieve automation has become a key industry focus. Recently, the Smart Integrated Management and Control Platform for the automated terminal at the Weifang Port Area of Shandong Port Bohai Bay Port, constructed by YM Tech, was officially put into operation. This marks the successful implementation of the industry’s first automation transformation solution centered on “Reusing existing systems with no need to replace the TOS, Rapid Integration, and Flexible Equipment Control,” providing a replicable “Bohai Bay Port Solution” for the intelligent transformation of traditional terminals.
Innovative Solution: Addressing Industry Pain Points by “Connecting” Instead of “Replacing”
Traditional terminals often face a dilemma in automation transformation: replacing a mature TOS system carries high risks, long timelines, and significant investment; while choosing a closed automation solution offers poor flexibility and high compatibility costs. The Smart Integrated Management and Control Platform developed by YM Tech for the Weifang Port Area innovatively adopts a “Middleware + Intelligent Scheduling” architecture. It seamlessly interfaces with the terminal’s existing TOS system and flexibly integrates various automated equipment control systems, achieving automatic conversion of production instructions and equipment coordination while acting as a crucial intelligent bridge.
A technical leader from the Weifang Port Area highly praised this innovative solution: “The Smart Integrated Management and Control Platform provided by YM Tech has built an intelligent bridge between the terminal’s ‘traditional brain’ and its ‘automated capabilities.’ Through this platform, we can achieve automation upgrades without replacing our original TOS system, significantly reducing the complexity and risks of transformation.”
Three Core Innovations: From Equipment Coordination to Workforce Optimization
The Smart Integrated Management and Control Platform serves as the port’s “smart brain,” enabling flexible linkage of various equipment and playing a pivotal role in terminal operations. The platform features a cross-platform, cross-database, highly reliable, and highly scalable system architecture. Automation can be achieved without upgrading the existing TOS, greatly reducing capital and time investment costs and enabling Weifang Port to complete the full automation transformation of its yard in the shortest possible time.
The Smart Fusion Remote Operation Desk is an innovative achievement of YM Tech. By utilizing a shared system and unified control interface, it integrates the hardware and software of different types of equipment, realizing the integrated operation of quay cranes and rail-mounted gantry cranes. A leader from the Weifang Port Area operations department stated: “This platform integrates the operational roles for different equipment types, enabling unified dispatch of operators for machinery like quay cranes and rail-mounted gantry cranes. It successfully addresses operator shortages, optimizes personnel allocation, and maximizes workforce utilization. Furthermore, it possesses cross-terminal, multi-person, and multi-equipment resource allocation capabilities, enabling interconnection between personnel, equipment, and different locations, thereby breaking traditional operational boundaries.”
Balanced Economic and Social Value
The project has created significant multifaceted value. Economically, by protecting the existing TOS investment and using standardized integration interfaces, the project saved approximately 35% in investment compared to traditional complete overhauls and shortened the construction cycle by 6 months. Post-transformation, the terminal’s annual throughput capacity increased by 30%, and labor costs decreased by 25%, providing a highly cost-effective upgrade path for traditional terminals.
In terms of operational models, the platform achieves a flexible organizational approach characterized by “local and remote interconnection, and personnel and equipment interoperability,” breaking down the physical and organizational boundaries of traditional terminal operations. This model is particularly suitable for multi-terminal coordination and resource pooling under port group operations, offering the industry an expandable model for organizational innovation.
Building an Industry-Recognized “YM Tech Solution”
As the first automated container terminal at Shandong Port Bohai Bay Port, the Weifang Port Area, through YM Tech’s innovative technology, has developed a “Bohai Bay Port Solution” better suited to the port area’s characteristics. A relevant leader from the Weifang Port Area stated: “The solution provided by YM Tech not only demonstrates leading advantages in economic benefits, green environmental protection, and artificial intelligence but also provides a successful model for the automation upgrade and transformation of traditional container terminals.”
“By leveraging technological innovation to create a ‘Bohai Bay Port Solution’ more suitable for the Weifang Port Area, we see a new path for traditional terminal upgrades,” the leader added. “The Smart Integrated Management and Control Platform provided by YM Tech allows us to achieve automation transformation at lower cost and in shorter time. This pragmatic and innovative technological solution deserves promotion within the industry.”
Ongoing Technological Innovation and Industry Outlook
The Weifang Port Area of Bohai Bay Port stated that based on this successful practice, it will further adhere to technology empowerment, promoting the comprehensive application of technological innovation in port operations, management, and services, contributing to Shandong Port’s goal of building an internationally leading smart and green port.
YM Tech will continue to deepen its technological research and development in the smart port field. Plans include further expanding the platform’s applications to intelligent tallying, unmanned horizontal transport, and green energy management, promoting the evolution from single-point automation to comprehensive terminal intelligence. Simultaneously, the platform will gradually interface with upstream and downstream systems in the port logistics and supply chains, ultimately building a smart logistics ecosystem centered on the terminal.
With the successful practice and continuous refinement of the “YM Tech Solution” at Weifang Port, the path for automating traditional container terminals is becoming clearer and more feasible. YM Tech, with its pragmatic and innovative expertise, is contributing a uniquely distinctive technological solution to the transformation and upgrade of the global port industry.
