Scaling digital twins

Abstract

Container terminals are critical infrastructure for the economy, and the need to digitalize is felt in the industry. One solution is to combine digital integration and process automation with a digital twin. This is an ideal tool to identify weaknesses and opportunities in the operations of a container terminal. However, digital twins are often developed for a single terminal with unique characteristics, which means that the tool cannot be easily scaled to other sites. To optimize operations at multiple container terminals, it is necessary to explore how the twin can be scaled. Such a strategy for scaling digital twins at container terminals cannot be found in literature. Therefore, this research aims to fill this gap by developing a criteria-based roadmap for the senior management of global container terminals. The scaling strategy focuses on scaling up to multiple locations instead of scaling out to several processes on the same terminal.

After a detailed review of the literature and conducting interviews, the main findings were combined into design criteria for the roadmap. The three phases for the timeline are shown as three columns in the roadmap. The phases are 'developing the digital twin', 'using the digital twin' and 'scaling the use of the digital twin'. Most used in transformation projects is the People, Process and Technology (PPT) framework, so people (key actors), process (operations and strategy) and technology (data, hardware and software) are the three themes and shown as rows in the roadmap.

When all criteria were established and the roadmap template was designed, the logical steps of the roadmap were identified for each of the three phases. These steps were complemented and validated to see if important information was missing. For each step, it was determined which themes (people, process and technology) were applicable. After the first design, several interviews with experts from the container terminal industry were conducted to validate the roadmap. Based on their feedback, the roadmap was improved. Six stages were added to the final phase to emphasize the scaling phase. Each stage describes an essential element for scaling up and it is important to understand these to establish successful scaling procedures.

In conclusion, the roadmap developed in this study is useful for container terminals looking to scale up digital twins. It provides insight into the steps required to develop, use, and ultimately deploy digital twins on a larger scale. Especially for terminals that have no experience with such projects, it serves as a starting point to define the strategy and free up resources within the organization. Because the roadmap was developed at a strategic level, not all steps are very detailed, so an organization will need to do further research to determine its strategy. Each organization can determine for itself which steps are familiar and which steps require more attention. Therefore, this roadmap serves as a solid starting point for senior management looking to scale digital twin solutions.