Improving Project Logistics by using IoT

This Bachelor´s thesis is made on behalf of Wärtsilä Energy Solutions, Project Logistics & Transport Management department whose main task is to coordinate and ensure that materials and products are transported to the right place and on time in Project Logistics. This thesis examines how you could improve Wärtsilä´s Project Logistics by using Internet of Things. By developing IoT, there has been an increased chance to get more information about transports than before and Wärtsilä is currently looking for new solutions to use that could improve their current logistics system. The purpose of this thesis is to review new, and used, solutions on the market, and then see what could work in practice at Wärtsilä. Material to this thesis are gathered from books, web pages and articles that reviewed interesting IoT solutions and which also gave examples on different solutions that are used by other companies in the same business. The Result is two different methods that could improve Wärtsilä´s Project Logistics in different occasions. These results are intended to give tips on how IoT could improve the department´s ways of coordinating and check transports and logistics within a project.Detta examensarbete är gjort i uppdrag av Wärtsilä Energy Solutions, Project logistics & Transport Management avdelningen vars huvuduppgift är att koordinera och se till att material och produkter transporteras till rätt plats i rätt tid inom projekt logistiken. Examensarbetet behandlar hur man kunde förbättra Wärtsiläs projekt logistik genom att använda Internet of Things. Genom att IoT har utvecklats har det uppstått möjligheter att få fram mer information om transporter än tidigare och Wärtsilä söker för tillfället nya lösningar som kunde användas för att förbättra deras nuvarande logistiksystem. Syftet med arbetet är att gå igenom nya, men även redan befintliga, lösningar som används på dagens marknad - för att sedan se vad som kunde fungera i praktiken hos Wärtsilä. Material till arbetet är samlat från böcker, webbsidor och artiklar som gick igenom intressanta IoT lösningar och som också gav exempel på hur olika system fungerar och används av andra företag inom samma bransch. Slutresultatet blev två olika metoder som kunde förbättra Wärtsiläs projekt logistik vid olika tillfällen. Dessa resultat är tänkta för att ge tips på hur IoT kunde förbättra avdelningens sätt hur man koordinerar och granskar transporter och logistiken inom ett projekt

Importance of communication and information technology and its applications in the development and integration of performance in seaports

Abstract:The maritime industry is a global transporter of the goods of modern globalized economies. Shipping plays a vital role in today’s economy, with over 90% of the world’s trade carried by sea[1].The efficient transportation of cargoes impact on both consumers and the global economy.In order to improve the safety and efficiency of maritime transport and the protection of the sea and marine environment, it is inevitable to use modern information and communication technologies when collecting, storing, processing, presenting and distributing relevant data and information to the participants in maritime transport. The Smart Port used information technology (IT) extensively to create a high-tech port.The key factors contributing to the success of the IT and communication infrastructure in the Smart port are the  ability to meet the changing demands of users and to keep up with the rapid developments in IT and the ability to accommodate new technology developments without having to constantly restructure.This paper presented the key issues related to navigation systems, communication networks and information technology and its applications to secure the ships and the development of business performance for the transfer and circulation of goods within the seaports with high efficiency and the impact of this on the national economy.</p

Future Greener Seaports:A Review of New Infrastructure, Challenges, and Energy Efficiency Measures

Recently, the application of renewable energy sources (RESs) for power distribution systems is growing immensely. This advancement brings several advantages, such as energy sustainability and reliability, easier maintenance, cost-effective energy sources, and ecofriendly. The application of RESs in maritime systems such as port microgrids massively improves energy efficiency and reduces the utilization of fossil fuels, which is a serious threat to the environment. Accordingly, ports are receiving several initiatives to improve their energy efficiency by deploying different types of RESs based on the power electronic converters. This paper conducts a systematic review to provide cutting-edge state-of-the-art on the modern electrification and infrastructure of seaports taking into account some challenges such as the environmental aspects, energy efficiency enhancement, renewable energy integration, and legislative and regulatory requirements. Moreover, the technological methods, including electrifications, digitalization, onshore power supply applications, and energy storage systems of ports, are addressed. Furthermore, details of some operational strategies such as energy-aware operations and peak-shaving are delivered. Besides, the infrastructure scheme to enhance the energy efficiency of modern ports, including port microgrids and seaport smart microgrids are delivered. Finally, the applications of nascent technologies in seaports are presented

Industry 4.0 as a strategy related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in Norwegian Industries

The new industrial revolution, known as Industry 4.0, is becoming increasingly important within Norwegian companies. Industry 4.0 is a future-oriented strategy and could be significant for maintaining and improving companies’ competitiveness. Further, the importance of sustainability has increased in the last few years, which resulted in the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and associated subgoals. Additionally, the triple bottom line (TBL) has been developed based on the term sustainability. This thesis aims to research how Industry 4.0 as a strategy is related to the UN SDGs within Norwegian industries. As there exist limited studies related to Industry 4.0 combining Sustainability within Norwegian industries, a qualitative method is conducted. A literature study is executed based on a comprehensive literature search to acquire relevant data. This thesis consists of Industry 4.0 technologies provided by Bai, Dallasega, Orzes, and Sarkis (2020), and Oztemel and Gursev (2020), which evaluate Industry 4.0 technologies from a sustainable perspective. Further, the thesis analyzes the UN subgoals based on their relevance within Norwegian companies utilizing Industry 4.0 technologies. The relevant subgoals and Industry 4.0 technologies are linked with the TBL to generate the finding of this thesis. Industry 4.0 allows for automated processes and decreased human interaction. Conclusively, it decreases the cost of human labor, increases production efficiency, and reduces waste. Additionally, rural companies in Norway could experience the demand for workforce exceeding the supply due to rural flight. Thus, Industry 4.0 is related to economic sustainability and SDG8.2. Further, automated processes reduce employee’s exposure to dangerous work tasks and are therefore related to social sustainability and SDG3.d. Industry 4.0 increases the demand for a qualified workforce, indicating reskilling of employees. Social sustainability and SDG4.4 are thus correlated. The technologies’ facilitation for local production results in shorter transportation routes, thus, reducing gas emissions. This is related to environmental sustainability and SDG9.4. Industry 4.0 also correlates with SDG12.5 and environmental sustainability, as it allows Norwegian companies to forecast demand and reduce overproduction

Internet of Things and Modern Supply Chain Management

Information flow has a great influence over the flow of materials in the supply chain industry. The behavior by which the materials flow is highly affected by how the information flows throughout the organization in a smooth manner. To develop the supply chain performance and improve the efficiency of information sharing a lot of practices have been developed to achieve that target. However nowadays with the expansion of companies and having complicated structures of communication, ordinary practices cannot suffice any longer. Additionally, a lot of time is not utilized properly wasting a lot of time and lowering the efficiency of the organization. This research aim is to investigate the development of the internet of things and how when properly utilized it can make a huge impact on modern supply chain management. This research aim is to provide a theoretical basis on how companies can use internet of things to allow easier access for information throughout the organization with minimal effort. The research questions to be addressed in this research are (1), What is the impact of the internet of things on modern supply chain management (2) what are the possible improvements and future work that can be done with regards to the internet of things (3) is it easy to use. An application of internet of things in the supply chain management is developed based on literature findings. The applications aim is to take place to match between execution flexibility and information abundance. Information sharing aimed should be providing high quality information for the higher ups and management before making crucial and swift decisions. To improve the flexibility of the operations and improve the pace within the working environment information must be gathered in a swift manner. It was determined that there are several reasons behind the turbulent flow between materials flow and information flow. Numerous plan changes in response to demand changes, varying planning processes which would subsequently cause problems when designing a supply chain model to organize the information flow. Moreover, it was also found that another reason was insufficient data which resulted in the inability of sharing information between various departments

Internet of Underwater Things and Big Marine Data Analytics -- A Comprehensive Survey

The Internet of Underwater Things (IoUT) is an emerging communication ecosystem developed for connecting underwater objects in maritime and underwater environments. The IoUT technology is intricately linked with intelligent boats and ships, smart shores and oceans, automatic marine transportations, positioning and navigation, underwater exploration, disaster prediction and prevention, as well as with intelligent monitoring and security. The IoUT has an influence at various scales ranging from a small scientific observatory, to a midsized harbor, and to covering global oceanic trade. The network architecture of IoUT is intrinsically heterogeneous and should be sufficiently resilient to operate in harsh environments. This creates major challenges in terms of underwater communications, whilst relying on limited energy resources. Additionally, the volume, velocity, and variety of data produced by sensors, hydrophones, and cameras in IoUT is enormous, giving rise to the concept of Big Marine Data (BMD), which has its own processing challenges. Hence, conventional data processing techniques will falter, and bespoke Machine Learning (ML) solutions have to be employed for automatically learning the specific BMD behavior and features facilitating knowledge extraction and decision support. The motivation of this paper is to comprehensively survey the IoUT, BMD, and their synthesis. It also aims for exploring the nexus of BMD with ML. We set out from underwater data collection and then discuss the family of IoUT data communication techniques with an emphasis on the state-of-the-art research challenges. We then review the suite of ML solutions suitable for BMD handling and analytics. We treat the subject deductively from an educational perspective, critically appraising the material surveyed.Comment: 54 pages, 11 figures, 19 tables, IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, peer-reviewed academic journa

Transport 2040 : analysis of technical developments in transport - maritime, air, rail and road

A number of technical and socio-technical factors are driving the development and adoption of automation. The report, Transport 2040: Automation, Technology, Employment – The Future of Work, provided an overview of the most important trends forecasted to affect the global transport sector by 2040. This current report provides additional details of that assessment. The research conducted is guided by a transport-technology analytical model that provides a structure for a systematic review across different modes of transport. This report reviews, in particular, the transportation technology through the lens of transport vehicles (e.g. ships, trucks, trains, aircraft) and the technical infrastructure that is needed for the operation of the vehicle (e.g. waterways and harbours, roads, railway tracks and freight terminals, as well as controlled airspace and airports).https://commons.wmu.se/lib_reports/1076/thumbnail.jp

DEVELOPMENT OF AN AUTONOMOUS NAVIGATION SYSTEM FOR THE SHUTTLE CAR IN UNDERGROUND ROOM & PILLAR COAL MINES

In recent years, autonomous solutions in the multi-disciplinary field of the mining engineering have been an extremely popular applied research topic. The growing demand for mineral supplies combined with the steady decline in the available surface reserves has driven the mining industry to mine deeper underground deposits. These deposits are difficult to access, and the environment may be hazardous to mine personnel (e.g., increased heat, difficult ventilation conditions, etc.). Moreover, current mining methods expose the miners to numerous occupational hazards such as working in the proximity of heavy mining equipment, possible roof falls, as well as noise and dust. As a result, the mining industry, in its efforts to modernize and advance its methods and techniques, is one of the many industries that has turned to autonomous systems. Vehicle automation in such complex working environments can play a critical role in improving worker safety and mine productivity. One of the most time-consuming tasks of the mining cycle is the transportation of the extracted ore from the face to the main haulage facility or to surface processing facilities. Although conveyor belts have long been the autonomous transportation means of choice, there are still many cases where a discrete transportation system is needed to transport materials from the face to the main haulage system. The current dissertation presents the development of a navigation system for an autonomous shuttle car (ASC) in underground room and pillar coal mines. By introducing autonomous shuttle cars, the operator can be relocated from the dusty, noisy, and potentially dangerous environment of the underground mine to the safer location of a control room. This dissertation focuses on the development and testing of an autonomous navigation system for an underground room and pillar coal mine. A simplified relative localization system which determines the location of the vehicle relatively to salient features derived from on-board 2D LiDAR scans was developed for a semi-autonomous laboratory-scale shuttle car prototype. This simplified relative localization system is heavily dependent on and at the same time leverages the room and pillar geometry. Instead of keeping track of a global position of the vehicle relatively to a fixed coordinates frame, the proposed custom localization technique requires information regarding only the immediate surroundings. The followed approach enables the prototype to navigate around the pillars in real-time using a deterministic Finite-State Machine which models the behavior of the vehicle in the room and pillar mine with only a few states. Also, a user centered GUI has been developed that allows for a human user to control and monitor the autonomous vehicle by implementing the proposed navigation system. Experimental tests have been conducted in a mock mine in order to evaluate the performance of the developed system. A number of different scenarios simulating common missions that a shuttle car needs to undertake in a room and pillar mine. The results show a minimum success ratio of 70%