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FEDeRATED: a viable network of platforms for data sharing in freight transport and logistics

On 24th of November 2021 the Mid Term Review meeting of the FEDeRATED project was held at the Codognotto headquarters in Salgareda (Italy). The project aims to contribute at the establishment of a viable federated network of platforms for data sharing in the freight transport and logistics domain at European Union level. Therefore, the main objective is to enable a smooth and effective public involvement within logistics chains for the execution of public duties.

The Mid Term Review meeting was divided into two main sections. The morning conference was a public event open to all interested stakeholders and both private and public entities. The speakers provided a general overview of the project scope and objectives, introducing the wide audience to the main foundation principles upon which the project is based. In this respect, a detailed overview of the semantic models developed and applied in the living labs was given, followed by a presentation of six living labs to provide an idea of the practical application of the IT architecture defined together.

The afternoon event was dedicated to the consortium meeting, and it was therefore open to the project partners only. During this second session, the project partners have first reviewed the main progresses so far, openly discussing the feasibility of applying the architecture developed and how to further proceed to meet the targets set at the beginning of the project. Then, a roundtable discussion was held to update the partnership on the status of each living lab and provide a brief explanation of the main advances achieved.

Living lab for “track and trace”

In this regard, the Zailog team presented a status of the implementation of their “Track and trace system” living lab. The focus of this living lab is to federate the traffic management system of the road operator and the terminal handling system with the purpose of generating a smooth data exchange. The data will be exchanged through the API and the authentication of the information will be guaranteed by an authorization component. More in details, the aim of this pilot is to define and develop an IT system based on the IoT (Internet of Things) concept that must be able to define:

  1. Where the ILU is located in the yard;
  2. The status of the trains in the network (currently there is no visibility);
  3. A unique method to collect data in order to ease the flowing of information among the actors of the chain and to foster the interoperability.

Overall, the ultimate objective is to reduce the inefficiencies outside the terminal zone with an increase of the overall efficiency and a reduction of the congestions in the surrounding roads and areas. In particular:

  • On the one hand, the terminal manager will have the opportunity to better organize the yard and consequently the shifts of the workers, improving the allocation of the resources available to grab new market shares. In addition, the enhanced visibility of the railway line will permit a real-time rescheduling of the arrivals timetable.
  • On the other hand, the forwarders will be able to re-arrange their daily routes according to the information provided by the system, preventing useless trips with positive results in terms of money saving and environment impact.

To do so, the following procedure has been defined. First, the truck drivers will send signals when they depart from the logistics hub, and the terminal handling system will receive a warning. Then, the latter system will provide a feedback. This will be positive only in case the train has already arrived inside the terminal and it is ready for the handling processes. In this case, the authorization component will grant the access to the trucker and will also provide the number of the slot in the buffer area of the terminal. Therefore, the truck driver will be authorized to enter the terminal through a fast lane in order to skip the queue at the terminal gates. In case of a negative feedback, the trucker will have the possibility to re-plan his journey to prevent to further congest the terminal area, as well as to increase efficiency in its daily activities.

Overall, the Mid Term Review meeting was attended by more than a hundred participants, including both internal partners and the external audience of public entities and stakeholders.

Paolo Lunardi

Paolo Lunardi

European project specialist, Zailog scarl

Giovanni Petroli

Giovanni Petroli

Junior Project Manager, ZAILOG scarl

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The publication of the European Review of Regional Logistics is supported by a grant of Wirtschaftsförderung Region Stuttgart GmbH (WRS).

European regional review, Issue 2022/1

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