How to design your own port

When people buy things today, they like to go online and check it out for themselves first. For example, if you'd like a new sofa, you can search furniture websites for styles, colors, prices. Does it fold out into a bed? How easy is it to clean? Do you need to oil the hinges? Once you have a rough idea of what's available, you can go down to your local furniture store and talk with a salesperson. 

Going online first saves you time, prevents any spending you might regret later, and you enter the face-to-face discussion well-informed. So why not apply the same principles to ports? 

Putting your port together

A good place to start is the Konecranes Port Advisor Tool. It helps you to plan your container handling equipment for your current volume and forecasted volume changes. It's easy to compare different handling concepts at the quayside and in your yard, applying your own unique requirements. 

On the first page you use sliding bars to choose your terminal operating hours, your annual throughput in terms of import, export and transshipment in millions of TEU, and the TEU factor (aka the container size ratio). Then click the "Select equipment technology" button.

You get a selection of equipment for your quay and yard. First is vessel loading / unloading, which usually includes ship-to-shore (STS) or mobile harbor cranes. After you choose, it will even tell you how many moves per hour it needs to perform to maintain volume. Second is horizontal transport, like reach stackers, straddle carriers or terminal tractors. Finally, you can pick your stacking equipment, such as straddle carriers, reach stackers or RTGs. Then click "Get Recommendation for your Port".

You receive a summary of your input and a recommendation for the number of each type of crane and other types of equipment you need. 

Port Advisor is currently only available for container handling, but it will soon be extended to multipurpose harbors.

What do you look for in a crane?

In a similar way, the Konecranes MHC Product Advisor Tool is your virtual guide to mobile harbor cranes. You provide the basic details of your operation that will help you to decide which Konecranes Gottwald mobile harbor crane is best for your port.

To access it in Konecranes Zone, go back to the “Advisors” and select the "MHC Product Advisor". You will be taken to a landing page, where you can watch a short introductory video, or click on the button "Start Configuration".

You indicate the parameters of your operation through four easy steps:

1. Choose your main type of cargo like containers, bulk, general & project cargo as well as multi-purpose if you need to handle several cargo types;

2. Set the main parameters for the chosen cargo: for example, for container handling decide if you would prefer a single or twin-lift spreader. On the same step, you should indicate the typical load under your spreaders, and the size of the ships in your harbor based on number of container rows;

3. Select the right type of mounting for your terminal inftrastructure - wheels, rails, barge or pedestal;

4. Choose your three most important preferences from nine options to do with performance, environmental factors, and safety concerns.

When you click on "Next", the tool provides you with recommendations from the Konecranes Gottwald mobile harbor crane range. Once you have filled in your contact data you receive a personalized brochure based on your input and a link to contact a Konecranes expert. 

The Product Advisor Tool is currently only available for mobile harbor cranes, but it will soon be expanded to other Konecranes products.

Just going down to the store

At some point, your port equipment is going to need spare parts. The Konecranes Ports Store is here to help you find the parts you need. 

To access it in Konecranes Zone, just click the "Konecranes STORE" button and you'll go right to the store portal. On the landing page, you have plenty of options for browsing spare parts, kits, brochures, retrofits, and services that use spare parts, like maintenance and repairs. 

Of course, you can search for individual parts as you need them. But if you counted all the spare parts available in the store, there's nearly half a million. That's a lot to sort through, even with a good search engine.

You'll get the most out of the store if you register as a Konecranes customer. The store gives you a personalized list specifically for your Konecranes fleet or, if you prefer, for your more frequent parts requirements, speeding up the process to obtain the right parts. Based on crane use, the store can help you identify the key parts that you're most likely to need for your next crane service. You can also make bulk orders, ensuring easy availability of common parts on your own site whenever they're needed. Like with most online purchasing, you can also track your orders, so you know exactly when the parts will arrive, and you can schedule your maintenance downtime accordingly.

You can even have the Konecranes Online Store integrated into your own systems to speed up your own ordering processes. This is especially convenient if you have a large fleet and order spare parts regularly.

We are continuously improving the Konecranes Online Store content and adding to it as crane technology develops and the crane catalogs change. Online, you get the most up-to-date list available. 

The Konecranes Store makes buying crane parts very simple, so you can order with just a few clicks. When you know that crane parts are easy to get, it's one less thing to worry about. Tick off that box and concentrate on other aspects of port design instead.

It's often easier to do planning when you can see the physical characteristics of your port area. So, you can access these online tools on any device - a computer at your office, or on a tablet or phone while on location. Get to them through SELF SERVICE TOOLS in Konecranes Zone, or via konecranes.com.

Make it all real

Designing a port online is much more complex than buying a sofa, but the same principles are involved. 

Whether you're starting fresh with a greenfield site, or modernizing a brownfield terminal, these online tools use detail, convenience and speed to turn your ideas into something that you can see. As their development continues, adding Konecranes products and services, they will become a powerful addition to your design process. 

Please note that the tools only provide estimates based on your input and industry averages, so we do not recommend that you make final purchase decisions using the tool. But you'll have the basics. 

And that's a good place to start. Then come and talk with us at Konecranes.