Advanced System for Container Management in

Multimodal Transport (MNS - Multimodal Network System)

Gabriela Rodica Hrin PhD

National Institute for research and development in Informatics

ICI Bucharest
e-mail:[email protected]

Abstract: The multimodal transportis a relative new mode of transport through which the goods are transported between two locations or on
a chain of locations using different means of transport / vehicles specific to different transport modes, for cost optimisation reasons. The
MNS is a modern, integrated, interactive and intelligent system, being dedicated to the provision of electronic services for multimodal
transport of containerized goods at European level and to the monitoring of the container position and integrity. The key aspects considered
in MNS development address the planning of the multimodal transport of the goods, the surveying of the multimodal transport, and the
management of the containers in multimodal transport using autonomous GPS & GSM devices. The system is an information system that
support s all the activities regarding freight mobility and is dedicated to freight providers, freight buyers, brokers, road transport operators,
railway transport operators, naval transport operators, air transport operators, assurance age ncies, container owners. The system enables the
registration of an organization involved in the multimodal transport, as agent, and also enables the registration of the agent’s
business partners and the organisation’s employees which administrate or use the information. The system allows the administration
of the goods, containers, vehicles, multimodal transport routes by highlighting the transport chain segments (segments highlight the
locations / points through which the transport pass and the places where the transit between two modes of transport is performed).
The system provides confidentiality, ensuring the access to the information only for the agents that have previously received the
access rights at the multimodal transport chain in which they are involved. The technologies that have been integrated in system
development process are the following: Net, GPS (Global Positioning System), GIS (Geographical Information System), GSM
(Global System for Mobile Communications).

Keywords: Goods multimodal transport, container monitoring, .transport route planning, transport route surveying, Net technology,
GPS, GIS, GSM.

Gabriela Rodica Hrin PhD: Project manager and Deputy Manager of Complex Project Department in ICI. She coordinated
national complex research projects in several programs such as AMTRANS, RELANSIN, INFRAS that have been developed in
heterogeneous consortia. The SOMCET-NET and ELIAS-HIS systems obtained diplomas, being appreciated both at national and
European level. Partner in the European projects FRETRIS, EDIPA and DISTRICT. Currently, Mrs. Hrin coordinates projects
dedicated to transport area, e-commerce and national standardization body achieved in AMTRANS, RELANSIN and INFRAS
national programs as well as EUREKA European program.

1. Introduction
The multimodal transport is a complex transport mode that integrates at least two of the following
transport modes: road transport, railway transport, naval transport and air transport. A diversity of
computerised systems for data acquisition, data processing, data storing, data distribution, data retrieval
and data representation on the digital map have been developed in order to optimise transport activities, at
transport mode level.
The multimodal transport is a relative new mode of transport for goods transport between two locations or
on a chain of locations (departure, destination, transit) using means of transport / vehicles specific to
different transport modes (figure 1) to minimizing transport costs.

Figure 1: Multimodal Transport Chain

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An intense research activity has been dedicated over the last years, in high-developed countries
and in FP6 Program to the development of new information systems designed for multimodal
transport management. Taken into account the new research strategies for transport area, a new
approach for computerised system development, dedicated to multimodal transport, has been
considered also in Romania.
The principal aspects considered in MNS development (figure 2) address the good multimodal transport
planning, the multimodal transport surveying, and the container management in the multimodal transport
using autonomous GPS & GSM devices.

Figure 2: Multimodal Transport Management Using MNS System

2. Characteristics
MNS offers a direct management of the container and an indirect management of the vehicles with which
the goods are transported along the different segments of the multimodal transport chain. The system
supports the transport activities regarding the mobility of the goods transported in the containers.
A Web system (figure 3) has been developed for data acquisition, data storing, data processing and data
retrieval in order to manage the information concerning the good multimodal transport planning and
surveying and the container monitoring, anytime and anywhere, to optimise business processes and to
increase the transparency and responsibility inside the business groups involved in the good multimodal
transport. The system offers, for any goods supplier, buyer, forwarding agency, container owner, road
transport operator, railway transport operator, naval transport operator, air transport operator, and
insurance company, Internet services to goods multimodal transport planning and the surveying.

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 Figure 3: MNS Working Environment

The MNS system:

• Has a high contribution to the increasing of the multimodal transport efficiency;
• Monitors, in real time, the position and the integrity of the containers;
• Provides Web services for the agents involved in the multimodal transport;
• Influences the development of an open electronic market for multimodal transport;
• Contributes to the increase of human resource efficiency;
• Allows the planning and the tracking of goods multimodal transport;
• Ensures the increase of goods multimodal transport quality;
• Minimizes the number of lost containers and the risks in the management of containers;
• Allows a friendly dialogue with the users, a special training for its use being unnecessary;
• Influences the environment protection by diminishing the pollution risk;
• Ensures the development of an efficient communication between the agents involved in the good
multimodal transport.

The MNS is a modern, integrated, interactive and intelligent system, dedicated to the electronic service
provision for the multimodal transport of the containerized goods in Europe and to the container position
and integrity monitoring.

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3. Functional Architecture
The functional structure of the system is highlighted in a top-down approach, starting with the system
level and ending with the module level (figure 4).
MNS is structured in two types of components:
User oriented components, that offer computer aided services for good transport management;
Administration oriented components for a safe and reliable system operation that perform the system
administration and the container dispatching using autonomous GPS & GSM devices.
The multimodal transport chain contains a Departure Point (DP), a Destination Point (DP) and several Transit
Points (TPi ) in which the transit of the goods / containers from one mode of transport to another is performed.
The system takes into account a multimodal transport which includes, as transport segments, all means of
transport: road transport, railway transport, naval transport (fluvial and maritime) and air transport.
For the container monitoring, using the GPS technology, the system takes into account, in the multimodal
transport, as transport segments, only road transport, railway transport and fluvial transport.
The system enables the registration of the organizations involved in the multimodal transport, as agents,
and also enables the registration of the agent’s business partners and the organisation’s employees which
administrate or use the information.
The system allows the administration of the goods, containers, vehicles, multimodal transport routes by
highlighting the transport chain segments (segments highlight the locations / points through which the
transport pass and the places where is performed the transit between two modes of transport).
The system provides confidentiality, ensuring the access to the information only for the agents that have
previously received the access rights at the multimodal transport chain in which they are involved.

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4 Logical Architecture
The managed information is structured, taken into account the role in the system, in categories as: agent
types, agents, business partner groups, administrators at agent level, GIS administrators, system
administrators, system operators, goods, containers, vehicles, transport routes, route segments, transport
modes, locations (departure, destination, transit), autonomous GPS & GSM devices for container
monitoring, digital maps. The MNS logical architecture is presented in the figure 5.

Figure 5: MNS Logical Architecture

5. Technical Architecture
From technical point of view, MNS contains (figure 6) a Web server, a database server, a GIS server, a
Container Monitoring Centre, communication lines between the Web server and the database server and
between database server, GIS server and Container Monitoring Centre.

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 Figure 6: MNS Technical Architecture

6. Access to the System

In order to become a client of the system, any agent (organization involved in the good multimodal
transport) can register himself. If an agent is already registered in the system, the access into the system is
performed with the identification name and the password.
Any registered agent has access to all information regarding the transport in which is involved. An
agent’s administrator can register, as a user, any agent employee. Also, the agent’s administrator can
register, as an agent, any partner organization.

7. Provided Services
MNS offers to clients the following services: registration as agent or user, multimodal transport planning,
multimodal transport surveying and system operation.
“Registration as agent or user” service allows the registration of the organizations (goods supplier, goods
buyer, forwarding agency, container owner, road transport operator, railway transport operator, naval
transport operator, air transport operator, and insurance company) involved in the multimodal transport.
“Multimodal transport planning” service allows:
• Registration of the information regarding the multimodal transport planning;
• Visualization of the information regarding the multimodal transport planning;
• Visualization on the digital map of the planned transport route.
“Multimodal transport surveying” service allows the registration and the visualisation of real multimodal
transport routes and the monitoring of the container using GPS and GSM technologies.
“System operation” service allows the registration into the system database of the system operators, the

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specification of the access rights, and the validation of the access to the system and the dispatching of the
autonomous GPS & GSM devices.

8. Example of System Interfaces

Below are presented some illustrative interfaces regarding the multimodal transport route management. In
order to register a multimodal transport route the „Segment Route Registration” function (figure 7) is used

Figure 7: Launching of the Registration of a Multimodal Transport Route Segment

The page for a route segment registration (figure 8) is displayed by pressing the „Add” bottom.

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 Figure 8: Registration of a Multimodal Transport Route Segment
For multimodal transport route segment view on the digital map „Route View” bottom is used (figure 9).
The „Search” zone is used to indicate the container and the period. The search criteria used to define the
selection formula are the followings: „Planned Container”; „Real Container”; „Only unfinished routes”;
„Only finished routes”; „Both finished and unfinished routes”; „All registered routes”.

Figure 9: Multimodal Transport Route Segment View Using Search Criteria

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The multimodal transport route segments are also represented on the digital map. Detailed information
(figure 10 and figure 11) about the goods / freight, route segment, container, vehicle are als o provided

Figure 10: Route View on the Map (up part)

Figure 11: Route View on the Map (down part)

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Figure 12: Web Interface With Container Monitoring Information on the Route Bucharest - Sinaia
- Bucharest – Craiova

Figure 13: Interface for Container Monitoring on the Route Bucharest – Craiova in the
Management Center

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9. Benefits
The main benefits that can be obtained as a result of MNS using are:
• Increase of the responsibility and information transparency at the level of business partners involved in the
multimodal transport;
• Development of the electronic market in the area of the multimodal transport;
• Decrease of the information search and administration time related to multimodal transport;
• Decrease of the administration costs in the multimodal t ransport of the containerised goods;
• Substantial decrease of the search costs of the containers that “deviated” from the planned route.
The system was developed through a research, development and technological innovation project in the
framework of the AMTRANS program – contract 3C03 / 2002.

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