Contecon Guayaquil, a subsidiary of International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI), operating the Guayaquil Container and Multipurpose Terminals in Ecuador, recently rolled out optical character recognition technology (OCR) to step up the automation of its quay crane fleet.

ICTSI tapped California-based APS Technology Group in the implementation of the OCR technology.  ICTSI’s flagship Manila International Container Terminal was the first in the Group to adapt the technology. 

ICTSI's subsidiary in Brazil, Tecon Suape, is also set to implement the technology at the Suape Container Terminal in the Pernambuco province.  

Quay cranes equipped with OCR devices automatically identify containers improving data accuracy, throughput and security while decreasing overall operating costs.  Contecon Guayaquil uses the APS Matchmaker System to automatically associate containers to terminal- owned trucks during hand-off, allowing for work assignment and confirmation without manual intervention.

“Using the APS solution with our new weight capture system has improved our productivity and processing time significantly.  Several time-consuming manual steps have been removed from the process, so throughput is faster and provides a much safer environment,” Jaime Guazhco, Contecon Guayaquil project manager, said.

In addition to the OCR, Contecon Guayaquil has implemented a spreader-based system for container weight capture, automatically collecting information in real time, and improving container processing times.  All data from the combined solution is fully integrated to the Navis Sparcs TOS.

With the addition of the OCR and weight capture system, Contecon Guayaquil has created easy steps for customers while improving processing time and productivity.