Design of terminal automation systems

The work of the terminal is associated with the performance of many routine tasks: acceptance and shipment of products, laboratory research, movement of goods across the territory of the enterprise, documentation, etc.

While manual process control was the norm in the pre-digital era, today’s industry

competition requires businesses to solve problems faster and more accurately, making it increasingly difficult for terminals to do without intelligent automation systems.

In this article, we will talk about exactly how such systems help the business, as well as how and why they are designed.

Terminal optimization using automation systems allows not only to improve processes, but also to increase the profitability of the enterprise by reducing the cost of warehouse logistics and increasing the volume of cargo handling.

The main functions of such systems include:

• Acceptance control. Upon arrival at the terminal, the products are automatically weighed, tested for quality and other manipulations, after which the operator will only have to choose the best place to store them.
• Inventory tracking. The system automatically monitors and provides personnel with information about the level of filling of tanks, warehouses and other containers for storing products. The data is updated in real time and is always up to date.

• Storage. Most of the products at the terminal are demanding on storage conditions. The automation system has special tools that monitor all important indicators and notify operators in a timely manner when problems arise.
• Processing control. Terminals often perform primary processing of products – oil stabilization, grain mixing, and so on. Automation tools can greatly simplify this process and achieve maximum accuracy of proportions.
• Equipment service. All equipment that is involved in the operation of the terminal needs timely and regular maintenance. An intelligent management system monitors these issues and notifies staff in a timely manner of an upcoming maintenance, thanks to which the company can completely abandon magazines and other bureaucracy.

There is an opinion that it is not advisable to pay much attention to design, and it only delays the production process. However, in reality it is just the opposite.

In fact, design is a tool for testing ideas. It allows:

• Find the best technical solutions.
• Optimize development.
• Minimize risks.
• Save the customer’s budget.
• Reduce the lead time for a quality product.

During design, a terminal automation system goes through a complete life cycle – from idea to actual implementation. In simple words, at this stage a working prototype is created, which will become the foundation for developers in all subsequent stages of implementation.

Consider several reasons why it is worth creating a prototype before starting development:

• Development and testing of ideas. During design, there is a huge space for finding new ideas and testing their effectiveness – after all, the technical development of the product has not yet begun. Sometimes MVPs can be created to test some solutions.
• Search for problems. Design allows you to detect and eliminate most of the problems in the software at an early stage. Accordingly, this will save a significant part of the budget.
• Implementation of an efficient interface. The customer side is involved in the creation of prototypes, and sometimes even end users. This is a great opportunity to implement the most thoughtful and comfortable system interface.
• Improving communication. Through prototyping, the client and developers can synchronize their vision of the product. Therefore, the customer can be sure that he will get the result that is needed for his business.
• Budget planning. The prototype allows the development team to estimate the time and cost of software development much more accurately.

Design is a structured process that has its own life cycle. As a rule, it consists of seven stages:

1. Goal setting. A meeting of developers with representatives of the client is organized, at which the goals, objectives and priorities of the terminal automation system are discussed.
2. Study. Specialists carefully study the requirements of the customer and analyze the internal processes of his business.
3. Formation of hypotheses. This step defines the ideas that will be tested with the prototype.

4. Prototyping. Taking into account the results of the study and the formulated hypotheses, a layout of the automation system is created.

5. Testing. Further, it is important to check how expedient the implementation of a particular functionality is, whether the logic and other nuances are violated. Sometimes special focus groups are involved for this.

6. Presentation. The finished and tested prototype is shown to the customer.

7. Refinement. If necessary, the layout is finalized taking into account the new comments of the client.

The prototype is not just a sketch of the interface, but a deeply thought-out model of the product. As a rule, it includes:

• Schematic visualization of the project and its main modules.
• Interface mockup.
• Block diagrams of functions.
• A summary table of functionality, which describes in detail the nuances that cannot be visually depicted on a mockup.

• Mathematics of the project – a table of formulas, which shows exactly how certain indicators will be calculated.

For the presentation of the prototype, our specialists record demo videos that explain in detail the features of the functionality.

This helps the client to better understand how his system will work, which is extremely important for building effective communication.

AVADA MEDIA has extensive experience in developing software for terminal automation. Through careful design, each of our solutions is designed to optimize complex processes – from product acceptance to handling and document management.

In this way, we help clients improve business efficiency and increase its profitability through the introduction of digital technologies.