The stockyards of the Port of Tubarão, in Espírito Santo, Brazil, which are capable of storing 3.3 million metric tons of ore, are being scanned and will soon fit on a computer screen, permitting online inventory control.
This unprecedented technology will further improve operational safety at the stockyards during material handling operations by minimizing the risks of machinery colliding with piles of products. At the moment, stock control is carried out manually by surveyors.
This online mapping is part of the second phase of the port’s remote control project, which already allows the gigantic machinery installed at the stockyards to be operated from a control center some distance away. In all, R$500,000 has been invested to implement the pilot project and develop the technology. It is expected that the mapping work will be completed by the end of 2012.