New automated gate lifts standards of efficiency and safety at Vado Gateway

All gates at the Vado Gateway port system, the Mediterranean's largest fruit logistics hub located in Vado Ligure (Savona), Italy, have now been automated. The automation of the final two gates on the inbound and outbound lanes at the Reefer Terminal provide safer and faster truck turn times at the port for both dry and reefer containers.

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) cameras automatically read the vehicle license plate and pull up the necessary information in the Terminal Operating System to confirm the validity of the appointment. Yard operations are then triggered, and the driver is issued a ticket indicating the correct way to perform the pick-up or drop-off at the terminal, including, for example, loading/unloading position and any possible requirements for weighing (VGM).

Similarly, when exiting the terminal, cameras detect the vehicle's license plate, and the operating system issues the hauler with a receipt certifying the completion of the operations performed.

New totems enable truckers to communicate with the terminal staff for any trouble shooting. This enables truckers to carry out the activities required for loading and unloading without getting out of their vehicles and keeps terminal staff safely separated away from moving vehicles.

In addition, also on the safety front, two new protected areas dedicated to the control of container locking systems on vehicles have been built.

Faster truck turn times

The interventions carried out at the gate allow for a significant reduction in the time it takes for vehicles to enter and leave the terminal - truck turn time - and an improvement in the overall operational efficiency of the port infrastructure.

"Thanks to the automation of the Reefer Terminal Gate we have simplified and sped up the access and exit from our terminal and increased the efficiency of our yard activities," says Santi Casciano, Managing Director of Vado Gateway and Reefer Terminals. "With this important investment, we can offer an improved service to haulers while increasing the level of safety for both drivers and our operators.”

"With the entry into operation of the Reefer Terminal Gate," Casciano concludes, "the automation of the Vado Gateway port system's gates for container handling is completed. This is an achievement that further increases our competitiveness in Italy’s port terminal landscape."