People are Crucial to Bridging the Gaps in Today's Technologies

Discussing automation in the ports and logistics industry with Director of Portwise, Dr Yvo Saanen, TLME's Future-Proof Technologies Conference moderator Lars Jensen asked Dr Saanen if we use more and more automation in the industry, do people's expertise and experience become more critical in bridging the gaps in today's technologies?

"Absolutely," said Dr Saanen. Giving an example he said that when a terminal in Rotterdam moved to automated systems, they hired the same amount of process controllers as operators in a manual terminal. These people however, were not able to realise any benefits from the automation.

Then the terminal started hiring university graduates and productivity "significantly increased" as they were hands-on and better at handling exceptional situations during day-to-day operations.

Therefore, the profile of the people operating an automated terminal was critical to the success of its operations, Dr Saanen concluded.

Watch more: We Are Still a Long Way from Fully Realising the Benefits of Technology - Dr Yvo Saanen