PSP Mobile evolves and now allows better guarantees

PSP Mobile® is the official application of the Paperless Port® system. It is an application for consultation and operation of various processes carried out within the web applications of Puerto sin Papeles® in the different ports that have this tool in Mexico.

Its main objective is to speed up the consultation of information regarding operations carried out inside and outside the port that form part of the entire logistics chain of import and export goods clearance, from their departure from origin to their delivery to the end customer's door.

It includes information related to ship scheduling, arrivals and departures, merchandise handling, control of controlled areas, motor transport, railroad, dry docks, security permits and others.

The problem of road congestion is real and visible to all those who carry out operations within the Manzanillo port area. This is due to various factors, including the capacities of the customs personnel, the roads themselves, the times of the transport companies and the capacities of the terminals, among others.

There is already an ongoing project implemented by the Port Administration focused on improving the circulation of both local and foreign units based on an access pass system that aims to allow entry provided that certain guidelines are followed to ensure that the players have coordinated jointly and have set a schedule under certain rules for their operations, focused mainly on eliminating rows of cargo units out of time or without operations assigned in the main lanes.

An access pass is a unique document that allows transport companies to enter the port at finite time intervals to a terminal. Originally, the first effort to organize the actors was the creation of a standard of units and operators that would guarantee a greater degree of reliability in the operations and that would allow transforming the physical revisions into instantaneous scanning processes with the help of mobile devices.

The process is based on the authorization of the terminals for the entry of cargo transport units and operators to perform loading and unloading maneuvers of goods at certain times (periods), from their systems in communication with the Paperless Port System® (PSP®).

PSP® already has a module for tracking maneuvering trips where the units report their maneuvers from their departure from the external yard to their departure from the port, similar to the taxi services that exist today. This module allows the tracking of the trips with the use of the GPS of the operators' device and to register areas of interest for indicator measurement based on defined geofences and polygons of interest.

The new model is based on a process of Check-In and Check-Out of access passes where a record is made of 'authorized yards' for both processes and from where units can check-in only at the entrance and check-out at the exit, validated against the geolocation of your mobile device physically with your pre-entry pass. For this purpose, it has been necessary to update the access pass registration service so that the terminal can (if it considers it useful for its operation) determine which external yards are valid to start the service and monitor only those yards for the 'exit on time' guarantee.

Once the maneuver has been initiated and with the unit tracking in real time, PSP® monitors the changes of ETA based on the distance of the unit from the gate and the traffic on the route in real time, depending on the terminal to which it is directed. When the ETA is higher than the end date of the period assigned by the terminal, PSP Mobile® starts the self-management with the terminal, that is, it sends the new ETA and the distance (in meters) and the terminal can extend the period automatically without human intervention, this through the already existing communication methods.

Although trips can be initiated at any time from the external yard, self-management of the schedule is subject to rules based on permitted departure times (Check-Out) from origin, depending on the distance of that point from the terminal, remembering that each authorized yard will be in different regions, which requires different departure times. The Check-In can be initiated in the yard assigned by the terminal (or in any of the yards registered in PSP in case a specific one is not defined) up to 12 hours before the start date of the pass (lower range of the period); on the other hand, the Check-Out is done in an automatic way to the exit detection of the geofence of the external yard, restricting the activation of the warranty only if it leaves within the established time, then the warranty is lost and the trip returns to the regular conditions.

This new model aims to improve the flow of vehicles and give better privileges to those who adhere to the rules established by the Port Administration, always focused on being a world class port.