W O R K S H O P
WORLD-FIRST COGENT
‘SKY DEPOT’
BOOSTS EFFICIENCY WITH SMART KONECRANES
One of the largest integrated logistics
hubs in Singapore, Cogent One-Stop
Logistics Hub, houses a world’s first
– a cutting-edge rooftop container
depot that enables the facility to provide its
customers with a full suite of services.
In major transshipment hubs like Singapore, there
is a great need for facilities that can store empty
containers. Cogent Logistics, an important player
in the warehouse logistics industry, opened a
pioneering sky depot as a direct response to this
need.
Cogent is the first logistics provider in the world
to successfully implement 15-high container
stacking using Konecranes electric overhead
traveling (EOT) cranes. Now in active use, the
heavy-duty cranes have a lifting capacity of 12
tons – suitable for empty container handling.
Added smart features such as target positioning,
hoist synchronisation, hook levelling and energy
saving regenerative drives help the crane
operator handle the containers safely and
efficiently.
Cogent One-Stop Logistics Hub’s towering
structure confronts the challenges of land
scarcity and high operating costs in Singapore.
Perched atop it, 110 meters above the
Jurong and Tuas industrial areas, is the hub’s
groundbreaking rooftop depot. Opened in 2016,
this latest expansion of the facility enables
Cogent to support customers with a full range of
services including transportation, warehousing
management and container depot management.
But as warehouse and container depots are
typically situated either portside, near railways or
other transport hubs, finding an effective concept
for a rooftop depot was an especially complex
and demanding process. The task of acquiring
the right lifting technology was no exception.
For an overhead crane to operate seamlessly
and efficiently from a rooftop, the facility needed
to apply a particularly innovative lifting solution,
explains Jian Yong Lee, spokesperson at Cogent
Container Depot.
“Although many of the existing features of
our cranes mirror that of cranes used in ports
and terminals, our container depot has lower
tonnage empty containers, tight space limitations
and a significantly higher handling height.
Customisations to the taxi speed, anti-sway and
target positioning systems also had to be made
to suit our requirements,” says Mr Lee.
To procure the cranes that would fulfil such
unique specifications, Cogent needed a
technology partner, not just an equipment
supplier. Taking on this special project required
thorough risk assessment, according to Ryan
Wang, regional sales manager, industrial cranes
SEAP, at Konecranes.
“We had to apply our technology from a different
perspective and know our own limitations well
enough to take up this project,” says Mr Wang.
Mr Lee says that Konecranes worked
collaboratively with Cogent to understand the
requirements for their unique container depot.
“They provided recommendations throughout
the project that helped us to develop a suitable
solution,” he said.
“Konecranes is one of the few vendors that is
open, innovative and flexible enough to challenge
norms and address new industry problems and
requirements.”
By incorporating a warehouse and container
depot in one hub, Cogent Logistics has effectively
sped up the transport cycle by doing away with
one trip per cycle. Shipping containers collected
from the integrated depot can be delivered to the
warehouse within minutes, cutting waiting times
significantly.
This abbreviated flow of operations also means
that the hub can manage higher volumes within
the same amount of time, translating to savings
for the shipping lines Cogent serves.
“Our initial challenge was adapting to this new
form of operation flow. Therefore, it helps to work
with vendors who are able to bring solutions to us
that are safe, reliable and innovative,” says Mr Lee.
The hub’s operations also benefit from
Konecranes TruConnect Remote Monitoring,
which makes use of sensors installed on the
cranes to gather data on their operation. The data
includes operating statistics such as running time,
motor starts and work cycles as well as safetyrelated
issues like emergency stops.
“TruConnect has given us a platform to keep
track of our equipment utilisation frequency and
running hours. This is useful for monitoring and
planning operational work, to monitor run times of
the equipment and keep logs for better detection
of any abnormalities on the cranes,” says Lee.
“Expected downtime to perform crane servicing
or maintenance can always be arranged at
reasonable notice to minimise operational
disruptions. Good communication with the
Konecranes team is always appreciated.”
42 June 2019