The Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) amendments have recently been strengthened to lower potential marine danger and improve safety, productivity and efficiency in the port environment. According to SOLAS, the weighing of containers, where shippers are required to provide the verified gross mass of all packed containers, is one of the ways that industry can reduce risk and shippers who fail to comply with this requirement will not be allowed to load containers onto a ship

Under the SOLAS amendments, there are two permissible methods for weighing – one that requires the weighing of the container after it has been packed, and the other which requires weighing all the cargo and contents of the container and adding those weights to the container’s tare weight, as indicated on the door end of the container.

CFAO Equipment SA heavy lift division acting national operations manager Lenny Naidoo says the weighing process in port operations is a lengthy process, often leading to inefficiencies and poor productivity.

“It is for this reason that Konecranes, a leading international manufacturer of cranes and lifting equipment for use in port operations, developed its Static Weighing System. As an industry first, the Static Weighing System has seen great success since its recent launch, where reach stackers can now hydraulically measure the weight of lifted containers before they are loaded onto a ship, with 1% full-scale accuracy achieved and verified in less than five seconds. This is a dramatic improvement compared to conventional weighing methods where containers are loaded onto weighbridges, with the process taking more than five minutes at the least,” explains Naidoo.

Recent updates to the system include an in-cab printing system that not only provides the port and operator with a printed verified weight, but automatically transfers and stores the data on the YourKonecranes cloud-based service. This allows for seamless integration between the weighing systems and users’ terminal operating system, transport management system or enterprise resource planning systems.

The Static Weighing System is designed to be easy to operate, with the operator initiating the weighing process from a multi-touch seven-inch control display inside the cabin once the container is lifted into its transport position and provided with an automated verified gross mass (VGM) declaration using the data gathered.

The automated VGM declaration contains detailed information such as gross container mass, exact container identification, time and date stamps on each container, operator details and lift truck data. Furthermore, the system detects the global positioning system coordinates of the container, making for easier container picking and loading.

“The updates to the Konecranes Static Weighing System will make it not only easier for customers to comply with SOLAS regulations but will bolster their productivity and overall  efficiency. The system will also provide them with the agility and performance required to do more in less time, which will lead to increased operational profitability and elevated levels of safety in port operations,” concludes Naidoo.