Meeting to Explore Safety and Automation Technologies with Partner Wuxi Tancheng at Cat Lai

As the core technical unit responsible for the technical assurance of the entire port cargo handling equipment fleet across Saigon Newport Corporation (SNP), Tan Cang Technical Services Joint Stock Company (DVKT) is keenly aware of its pioneering role in researching and applying cutting-edge technologies [1][2]. In the context of Tan Cang – Cat Lai Port, Vietnam’s largest cargo clearance gateway, frequently operating beyond designed capacity, operational optimization has become an urgent imperative [3]. Key challenges such as maximizing operational throughput, mitigating yard congestion, and, above all, guaranteeing occupational safety for thousands of personnel operating in high-intensity environments remain paramount priorities.

Recognizing this imperative, DVKT has been actively scouting solutions best suited to the Vietnamese market—not only for Cat Lai but also with broad scalability across SNP’s nationwide network of terminal facilities. The technical working session held on July 23 with partner Wuxi Tancheng is a prime testament to this proactive mindset, unveiling promising avenues for integrating advanced technology into port handling operations and logistics management.

High-Potential Technology Solutions from Wuxi Tancheng

Wuxi Tancheng is a technology enterprise headquartered in Wuxi, China, specializing in intelligent systems and automation for heavy-duty vehicles and large-scale fleet management. During the meeting, representatives from Wuxi Tancheng highlighted that their solutions deliver superior performance, with several technologies engineered to high-standard military-grade specifications, ensuring exceptional reliability and durability under the harshest operating conditions.

Below are key featured technologies introduced with high practical applicability for port and logistics infrastructure in Vietnam, carefully evaluated by DVKT for adoption potential over the next 5 to 10 years:

1. Advanced Driver Safety Assistance Solutions

This is an Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) specifically engineered for heavy industrial environments.

• Radar-based Obstacle Detection: This technology enables precise obstacle detection unaffected by environmental interference such as heavy rain, smoke, dust, and dense fog—common conditions in seaport environments. Simultaneously, it automatically reconstructs visual representations of obstacles on in-cabin displays, aiding driver situational awareness.

• AI Driver Status Monitoring (DSM): Utilizing optical cameras and artificial intelligence algorithms, the system identifies signs of driver distraction, drowsiness, fatigue, or prohibited behaviors such as smoking and mobile phone usage. It triggers real-time alerts to the driver while logging events directly into the vehicle’s telemetry records.

• Rapid Response & Braking System Integration: Hardware and software are optimized for instantaneous alert delivery. Crucially, this solution features deep integration with the vehicle’s braking system, enabling automatic deceleration intervention if the driver fails to react in time, thereby drastically minimizing collision risks.

• Incident Recording & Data Retrieval: In any anomalous event or near-miss, all relevant parameters (images, video footage, telemetry data) are recorded and transmitted to the central server for post-incident investigation, safety auditing, and continuous operational refinement.

• All-in-One Integrated Technology: Seamlessly combines trip logging with real-time driver hazard alerts, offering customizable warning thresholds.

Application Potential: This solution can be deployed across terminal tractors (yard trucks) and container reach stackers / forklifts throughout the port. Its modular deployment architecture allows for phased installation and customization, optimizing upfront capital expenditure while delivering tangible reductions in workplace accident risks.[6]

2. Centralized Fleet Management & Data Telematics Center

This platform aggregates and analyzes fleet telemetry data to elevate management and operational efficiency.

• Real-time Data Telemetry: Comprehensive operational data including vehicle GPS location, speed, driver status, and active safety alerts are transmitted in real time to the central control center.

• Analytics & Decision Support: Automated data processing provides multifaceted reporting on driver performance, incident frequency, and fatigue occurrences, empowering managers with objective data for incentives, targeted training, or role reassignments.

• Cloud Remote Management Platform: The system offers an intuitive, responsive management dashboard accessible via desktop and mobile devices, facilitating proactive, remote fleet supervision swiftly and effectively.

Application Potential: Highly compatible with SNP’s inland trucking and road logistics network, streamlining transit routes, monitoring en-route safety compliance, and boosting overall fleet productivity.

3. Next-Generation Full-Color Night Vision Technology

• Ultra-Low-Light Full-Color Night Vision: A breakthrough technology utilizing ultra-sensitive optical sensors combined with intelligent image reconstruction algorithms. The system captures and reconstructs vivid, true-color imagery in extreme low-light environments, requiring only minimal ambient light such as starlight, moonlight, or faint illumination.

Application Potential: Demonstrates significant utility in port security and defense applications. For terminal operations, it can be deployed for quay management teams, marine pilots, perimeter security patrols, or onboard tugboats, dramatically enhancing visibility and ensuring navigational and operational safety during nighttime operations.

4. Vehicle Lifecycle Management Software

• Centralized Asset Database: A comprehensive software suite tracking all asset parameters, from repair, preventive maintenance, and spare parts replacement histories to real-time operational efficiency metrics (when integrated with telemetry modules). This data provides vital analytical backing for major overhauls, predictive servicing, and optimal asset disposal schedules.

• Automated Maintenance & Procurement Notifications: Automatically issues scheduled maintenance reminders and triggers procurement notices for spare parts and consumables.

Evaluation and Considerations: While recognized as a valuable tool, DVKT noted that immediate deployment requires careful assessment. SNP has recently invested in and commissioned the maintenance management system Speedmain, tailor-built and optimized for SNP’s operational workflows. Introducing an overlapping platform may present adaptation hurdles for front-line personnel. Furthermore, localization, customization, and API integration with existing terminal backend systems would demand considerable time and resource allocation.

5. 360-Degree Panoramic Surround View for Heavy Equipment

• Multi-Angle Panoramic Video Transmission: Delivers a comprehensive 360° panoramic view of the equipment directly to in-cabin displays in real time without blind spots or perceptible latency.
• Distortion-Free High-Definition Imaging: Utilizes high-definition 360-degree cameras with advanced optical de-warping algorithms to deliver true-to-life panoramic imagery with minimal latency, granting operators complete spatial visibility.
• Integrated Visual Hazard Alerting: Automatically identifies and visualizes surrounding vehicles, obstacles, personnel, and hazard zones directly on the display. Detected objects are automatically bounding-boxed and highlighted to facilitate rapid operator decision-making.

Evaluation and Considerations: This system can be integrated across various port assets including RTG cranes, STS cranes, internal terminal tractors, and container reach stackers / forklifts. However, achieving full multi-angle coverage requires installing a substantial array of optical sensors across large machinery. Additionally, for RTG and STS crane operations, at least one ground safety marshal is currently deployed on-site to oversee safety protocols, handle emergency response, and maintain direct two-way radio communication with crane operators.

Conclusion

The technical exchange with Wuxi Tancheng unveiled numerous visionary technology solutions. This initiative reaffirms DVKT’s standing not merely as a technical maintenance provider, but as a proactive strategic partner continuously appraising and adopting cutting-edge technologies to enhance competitiveness, ensure workplace safety, and drive the modernization of smart port and logistics ecosystems for Saigon Newport and the broader Vietnamese maritime industry. In-depth technical appraisal will continue to select the most practical and high-impact solutions for implementation.