In the 1990s, facing fierce global competition, BMW revamped its manufacturing approach by focusing on "value-added production time," a key concept in operational excellence. This principle emphasizes maximizing time spent on activities that directly contribute to customer value, such as assembling car components, while minimizing non-value-added tasks like waiting for parts or unnecessary movement. BMW scrutinized every step of their production process, streamlining workflows, improving supply chain management, and enabling employees to solve problems on the spot. This focus on efficiency and quality allowed BMW to deliver superior vehicles and a better ownership experience, setting them apart in the competitive luxury car market.
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FERNRIDE applies a similar commitment to operational excellence in automating horizontal transport within container terminals, focusing on how automation can increase value-added time in daily operations while minimizing disruptions. This commitment to efficiency leads many of our customers to ask questions about how our system fits into their current terminal operations and meets their productivity goals.
Our phased deployment approach begins with the foundational setup, including
Once this foundation is in place, we work with you on a tailored fleet ramp-up plan, ensuring each step aligns with your terminal’s unique operational needs.
For flexibility, we often start with a smaller number of vehicles and gradually expand based on the terminal’s replacement cycle and capacity needs. This approach allows us to meet your specific requirements while integrating new capabilities seamlessly into existing workflows and minimizing any operational impact.
We ensure operational stability by conducting a detailed risk and impact assessment before the integration begins. This helps us identify and mitigate any potential issues with operational or functional safety. Our integration follows the fix and scale principle, meaning we conduct testing in each phase carefully to resolve any problems before moving forward.
Once the system is in place, we provide on-ground engineering support, ensuring everything runs smoothly before handing over operations to your team. To maintain stability, we provide ongoing maintenance and system checks to identify and resolve issues early. We also implement KPI tracking to monitor critical performance metrics like operational uptime and incident rates, giving you confidence that the system remains stable and efficient.
Operational excellence to FERNRIDE is a continuous process of measuring, refining, and improving processes; not a one-time setup. This commitment means your terminal benefits from ongoing improvements in efficiency, reliability, and safety as the system evolves.
Execution excellence ensures that every step in the deployment and scaling process is thoroughly tested and optimized before handing operations over to your team. By the time you take control, the system has been carefully calibrated to run smoothly, with minimal risk of unexpected issues. This emphasis on a reliable, stable rollout gives operators confidence that the system will consistently meet or exceed the standards expected in a high-performance terminal environment.
In a busy terminal, breakdowns or issues need to be resolved quickly to avoid delays. At FERNRIDE, we’ve established a three-level support system to handle any problems effectively:
In addition, we have strategic partnerships with service providers to ensure technical support and spare parts are available on-site when needed. With this structure in place, you can be confident that any downtime is minimized, allowing your operations to continue smoothly.
Access to performance data is key to maintaining efficiency. FERNRIDE provides regular performance reports based on key operational KPIs like uptime and incident tracking. You’ll also have access to vehicle performance data and any operational anomalies, giving you the information needed to make timely adjustments.
Our feedback loops ensure that your system continuously evolves based on its own data, enabling ongoing optimization that fits your terminal’s needs.
Adopting new technology means preparing your team to work alongside it. FERNRIDE provides hands-on training during the initial deployment phase to ensure your team is fully comfortable working with the autonomous tractors. But training doesn’t end there. Ongoing support is available to address any issues or questions after the system is fully operational, and we hold feedback sessions to fine-tune both the system and the training based on your team’s needs.
Yes. FERNRIDE’s system is designed to be scalable, meaning you can add more ATTs incrementally without disrupting your operations. We perform careful planning and testing to ensure that any expansion is integrated smoothly, so whether you’re scaling up or adjusting to new operational needs, the system adapts seamlessly without major reconfiguration of the terminal.
Just as BMW transformed its processes through operational excellence, FERNRIDE applies the same approach to our automated horizontal transport solution. We focus on making sure the system integrates smoothly into your operations, delivering stability, efficiency, and scalability.
To us, operational excellence means measuring and improving processes to ensure everything runs smoothly before we hand over control to your team. By the time you take over, the system is fully tested and optimized, minimizing risks and ensuring reliable performance.
If you're looking for a solution that integrates easily and helps your terminal achieve new levels of efficiency and safety, FERNRIDE’s autonomous terminal tractors are designed to meet those needs.