Container Handling in Intermodal Nodes—Optimal and Secure! 

CHINOS (Container Handling in Intermodal Nodes—Optimal and Secure!) is a 3-year EC funded research project that addresses RFIDenabled innovative container handling procedures (Proposal/Contract No FP6-CT-2005-03418). It commenced in October 2006 with an overall budget of over 2.600.000 €; its Coordinator is ISL (Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics).

Operators of container terminals (sea ports, inland ports, freight villages, rail/road intermodal terminals) and transports are currently facing several challenges that put additional burden on them but offering potentials for process optimisation at the same time.

Drivers are:
• Commercial: how to cope with continuous rising cargo volumes to be handled
• Legal/Security: how to deal with new security rules and regulations for fighting against terrorism and the change of responsibilities in the chain
• Technical: how to best integrate technologies such as RFID transponders for container identification and electronic seals combining the benefits of classical bolt seals with RFID capabilities.

CHINOS will support operators to exploit these challenges in the best possible way by employing innovative IT technology solutions. Processes can be optimised and accelerated tremendously by using automatic identification and condition checks with contact free reading possibilities (container RFID tags, electronic seals, optical checks) without requiring human intervention. This combination of commercial and security issues in one approach makes CHINOS quite unique. CHINOS terminal operators are able to optimise their storage space and to enhance the integration of transport modes along intermodal logistics chains by re-designing the procedures at their interfaces.
Since the full benefit from new technologies can be exploited only if the total integration of (re-engineered) business processes and IT systems will be achieved, CHINOS will put a special focus on this integration work and the validation at several European locations, i.e. in the ports of Bremerhaven, Thessaloniki, the Graz freight village and a railway station of the Polzug network.
CHINOS results are ready-to-the-market IT tools (Automatic Container Identification Unit, Damage Documentation System, Communication Controller(s), Chain Event Manager) as well as technical and organisational recommendations how to efficiently exploit these new technologies to be prepared for the actual and upcoming challenges.

PARTNERS

Institut für Seeverkehrswirtschaft und Logistik (ISL)	www.isl.org
DBH	www.dbh.de
National Tehnical University of Athens(NTUA)	www.martrans.org
Thessaloniki Port Authority (THPA)	www.thpa.gr
Information to Digital Media (i2dm)	www.i2dm.de
TRICON	www.tricon-rfid.com
TEAMLINES	www.teamlines.de
T - SYSTEMS	www.t-systems.com
POLZUG	www.polzug.de
EUROGATE	www.eurogate.de
CARGO CENTER GRAZ (CCG)	www.cargo-center-graz.at

Website :     www.chinos-rfid.eu