The Schwedenkai in Kiel.
Kerrick | iStock unpublished | Getty Images
An important port in northern Germany uses Siemens technology to monitor energy consumption. The cloud-based system collects a lot of data that could help the teams there to improve operations.
The project focuses on the port’s shore power system, which allows ships to be connected to an onshore power plant instead of using their own generators, thereby improving air and noise quality.
In a statement on Thursday, Siemens said the technology, the implementation of which was monitored by Siemens Smart Infrastructure, enabled monitoring of energy consumption at several key locations: the building for shore power operations and the connection points in the Schwedenkai and Ostseekai port areas.
According to Siemens, the operators in the port have “anytime and anywhere access to all relevant electrical values”. This enables them to “determine consumption, identify errors, avoid downtimes and better plan maintenance routines”.
The data itself is collected using measuring devices before being sent to a cloud-based Internet of Things system called MindSphere. It can then be visualized and displayed on a web server or via an app.
“With the systematic recording and storage of electricity data in the cloud, the system operator can now determine the efficiency of the systems at any time, ie how much energy is actually consumed,” said Dirk Claus, managing director of the port of Kiel. This would allow a quick response to any anomalies.
For his part, Andreas Matthé, CEO for electrical products at Siemens Smart Infrastructure, claimed that his company’s solution would help to “make the port’s shore power system even more efficient”.
The introduction of the surveillance system in Kiel is just the latest example of how services related to transportation and travel use new ideas and technologies to collect data and improve operations.
Last month it was announced that authorities in the south-east of England are working with a subsidiary of infrastructure giant Ferrovial to test sensors that monitor and analyze traffic.
In France, the SNCF Réseau, which manages the French railway infrastructure, and Capgemini have teamed up to improve the monitoring and resolution of problems on the rail network.
The idea is that the system uses geolocation technology to locate problems on the railroad in real time.
Among other things, teams at SNCF Réseau can “locate” “incidents” on a map that shows infrastructure data and guide employees to the exact location they need to be to resolve the problem.
These on-site employees can then get in touch with their colleagues and inform them about the problem and when it will be resolved.