Smart Bollard

The Smart Bollard is a bollard that measures the vector load and angle on the bollard generated by the mooring lines. It measures, by using industrial sensors inside the bollard, the loads of the mooring lines on the bollard by sensing and translating structural movement caused by the mooring line tension. The Smart Bollard can be used for all seagoing vessels, such as container and bulk carriers.

With the Smart Bollard, safety can be monitored in real-time. The actual data will be available for the port authority, terminal operator or the vessel itself.

Why a Smart Bollard?

Until now it has not been possible to measure the load on mooring lines. The lack of exact data measured on moored vessels means that ports have to assume maximum mooring loads. With vessels getting bigger it is important to have better insights in mooring loads. Real-time monitoring allows to monitor safety at berth and helps to avoid unsafe situations.

Benefits of the Smart Bollard

It increases safety by real-time load monitoring
It gives a better understanding of mooring forces, which will result in a more efficient use of the port
Reduces downtime
Clear overview of the available quays for each vessel
Possibility to moor larger vessels on quays deemed inappropriate before
Due to real-time monitoring, scarce resources like tug boats can be used less often, as the port will have a better understanding when to expect critical situations
Easy integration with Port Management Systems (PMS)

Data connection Smart Bollard

The Smart Bollard can be connected with ethernet or it can operate wireless. When connected to ethernet a separate switchbox is necessary to gather and transmit the data to the cloud. For wireless operation a gateway needs to be installed on site.

Cloud and API

Data will be send to the cloud (AWS) and is available in our portal. This portal also provides information about weather and current, and can hold a vessel database. With our standard API our system can easily be integrated in other systems.

Do you want to know more about Smart Bollards?

Trial at Port of Rotterdam

Straatman developed the Smart Bollard together with Port of Rotterdam. Along the quay of ECT Delta Terminal, the Port of Rotterdam has installed the Smart bollard as part of a trial. The product is in line with the ports policy of making the port more efficient through digitisation. Next step will be to install the Smart Bollards on a large scale along the quays of the Port of Rotterdam. Read the Press release Port of Rotterdam for more information.