Project Summary

Sea ports play a critical role in the UK’s logistical supply chain, managing almost 500 million tons of freight annually and providing employment for over 100,000 individuals. Port congestion can cause significant disruptions to schedules, making planning more challenging. Such delays can result in increased costs throughout the supply chain. Labour is a crucial factor in port efficiency and throughput. To address inefficiencies in labour utilisation, Ensemble Analytics (EA) is partnering with multiple UK ports to develop a data-driven digital twin that provides actionable insights, resulting in higher UK port efficiency.

Project Achievements

Our project focused on creating software to support strategic workforce planning in ports, addressing skill shortages, an aging workforce, and industry attractiveness. Key achievements include: Data Collection and Cleaning, Stakeholder Engagement, Contract Development, Platform Development, and Testing, Technical Viability. Challenges included data cleaning due to messy and non- uniform data and the complexity of building constraint model contracts. Our project is considered a success, offering a robust and adaptive software solution for port workforce planning. Reflecting on the process, we acknowledge the importance of preliminary data assessment and domain-specific consultations in complex industries like maritime. T a w i C C T c V s f

Conclusions

The project successfully developed software to aid ports in strategic workforce planning, addressing skill shortages, an aging workforce, and industry appeal. The software enables workforce simulation under various conditions based on historical shift data, contributing to improved employee work structures. Challenges included data cleaning, but stakeholder engagement, especially with Bristol Port Company, proved invaluable. The project’s outputs demonstrate the software’s potential to enhance operations and foster constructive discussions between port authorities and labour unions. Valuable learnings emphasize the importance of preliminary data assessment and domain- specific consultations in complex industries like maritime. The project’s success lays the foundation for commercialization and further expansion.

Next Steps

Commercialisation: Our immediate focus is transitioning from research to a commercially viable solution. This involves refining the product to meet maritime sector needs, particularly during union negotiations, where it can transparently showcase workforce requirements and operational insights. Integration with Existing Systems: We plan to integrate our tool with our existing scheduling product, offering a comprehensive solution for both immediate and long-term workforce and operational needs. Expansion to Other Markets: Our product’s versatility extends beyond ports, as evidenced by contracts with Boskalis and a Letter of Intent from Van Oord for offshore and dredging markets. Progress on the Technology: Readiness Level (TRL) Path Commercialization will elevate our product from TRL 5 to TRL 6. We aim to achieve TRL 6 with Boskalis by year-end and with ports by end of 2023. Collaborations and Commercial Interest: Collaborations with Boskalis and Van Oord showcase commercial potential. We’ll continue seeking partnerships and feedback to enhance our offering. Funding and Future Plans: To further develop and scale, we’re actively exploring investment opportunities from stakeholders who recognize our solution’s value in the maritime industry.