FMDS V.2

In 2006, gluIT was given the opportunity to deliver a crane-specific FMDS for the new Automated Stacking Crane (ASC) by Gottwald Port Technology (now: Terex Port Solutions). There was a fruitful collaboration before in the CTA project: Terex Gottwald is supplier of the AGV fleet which is coupled to the CTA-FMDS.

Since 2007, the new system is now operational in Antwerp Gateway, a container terminal run by DP World in Antwerp, Belgium. Other installations followed, extending the connections to other cargo-handling devices such as AGVs. Furthermore, in a cooperation with Demag Cranes (Terex MHPS) the system was successfully adopted to supervise industrial production plants with a multitude of different components.

The major installations at a glance:

• Antwerp Gateway, Antwerpen, Belgium
• Rotterdam World Gateway, Rotterdam, Netherlands
• APMT Maasvlakte II, Rotterdam, Netherlands
• Long Beach Container Terminal (LBCT), Long Beach, California, USA
• HMK, embedded in Mobile Harbour Crane by Terex Gottwald
• Demag Cranes, two industrial production plants in Germany

This next-generation FMDS was re-built from scratch, technically seen. But it benefits heavily from gluIT's valuable know-how we were able to gain from its predecessor at CTA.

In addition to the old system's possibilities the new FMDS sports the following features:

• Status display: Direct as well as indirect PLC coupling allows for live views onto all supervised components — this is a novum. Measured sensor values as well as process data are visualized, faults are displayed using text and a graphical representation of the equipment.
• Report generation: A business intelligence software is leveraged to generate complex reports from FMDS data.
• Maintenance support: The FMDS controls maintenance tasks of all aggregates pursuant to maintenance schedules (e.g. on the basis of operation hours, operation events, or calendar) and supports the service team in accomplishing the work. By using special communication with external systems such as the Battery Maintenance System of Gottwald's battery-powered AGVs even more complex maintenance scenarios are possible.
• Alerting: By interfacing to external systems it is possible to alert users when certain failure events occur. For the time being, Mail and SMS messaging is supported. Other channels can be added at customer's option.
• Knowlede base: A Wiki system enables users to put their experience on record in a structured way, thus providing better and faster exchange of know-how.
• Flexible triggering: With the direct PLC coupling, the FMDS can provide complex mechanisms for detecting critical operating conditions. Using this for collecting PLC data can support analyzing operations.
• Better graphical analysis: Graphical analysis of collected data has been improved.
• GUI: A overhauled graphical user interface features a great deal of improvements in detail, enhancing everyday work with the application.
• Internationalization: Users can decide on the language of the application's user interface individually. There is no limit on the number of language versions that can be installed.
• Open Architecture: The system can be embedded optimally into a given environment in order to exchange data with other components or use available data.