Strainstall trials CWMS at UK’s leading ports
Container weight verification has been a long-standing issue for both the transportation industry and country’s worldwide.
Shipowners, ports, terminals, and other industry players have put increasing pressure on the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to act and address this recognised and documented safety problem. This month could prove pivotal for the campaign, with a compromise solution, agreed by no fewer than 15 governments and 13 industry groups, to be put before the IMO for consideration.
In preparation for legislation relative to container weight verification a number of companies have been busy developing and testing technology that would provide accurate real-time weighing data, whilst minimising the disruption of day-to-day port operations. Strainstall, a UK-based measurement and monitoring company, believes it has the answer.
Strainstall’s container weight monitoring system (CWMS) utilises industry standard twist locks by integrating strain gauge technology and instrumentation to create “an accurate load measurement solution that requires no modifications or the need to make any alterations to the existing spreader arrangement”.
This new technology has been specifically developed to enable port authorities, shipping companies and couriers to establish the exact weight of containers and detect eccentric loads helping to reduce: risk of accidents; damage to handling equipment; stack collapse (due to overloaded containers); additional fuel consumption from poorly loaded vessels; and revenue loss for terminals and shipping lines from transporting containers with under-declared weights.
Strainstall’s container weighing systems is available in several formats enabling customers to select the most appropriate option based on the operational needs of the port and existing infrastructure / equipment, and can be installed to RTGs (rubber-tyred gantry cranes), straddle carriers, reach stackersand STS (ship-to-shore) cranes
The company is already conducting trials at key ports in the UK including Felixstowe and Tilbury, while the CWMS is also being considered for integration throughout ports and terminals within Europe, Chile, the US and Canada.
“We have been very pleased with the high accuracy of data we have seen from our systems within the numerous ports,” said Strainstall’s business development manager (industrial sector), Scott Cruttenden.
“This has highlighted both the operational value of having CWMS in place as well as the value of ensuring safety during container loadings and ensuring weight is evenly distributed.”
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