- It sets out the requirements for a port to be considered smart and furnishes recommendations for attaining this goal.
- The next step in the pipeline is a UNE standard on semantics to enable interoperability between systems.
Madrid, 27 November 2024 Puertos del Estado and the Spanish Association for Standardisation have today unveiled the new UNE 178110 standard which sets out the requirements a port has to meet to be considered smart coupled with recommendations to attain this goal. The UNE 178110 standard has been published by the Spanish standardisation body and sponsored by Puertos del Estado.
This new UNE standard will make it easier for ports to transform and evolve towards the smart port concept by enhancing their management and efficiency. It will also help to craft new value-added services between port authorities and enterprises in the logistics and port community for their end customers while additionally building on their relationship with their cities.
This standard "supports the target set out in the Strategic Framework of delivering smart and synchromodal ports, thereby making the state-owned port system more competitive," said Álvaro Rodríguez Dapena, Puertos del Estado's chair.
“Standardisation is a strategic tool to successfully tackle the major challenges facing organisations and in enabling the rollout of public policies," added Alfredo Berges, UNE's chair. "This new UNE standard led by Puertos del Estado is a milestone for Spanish ports by setting out a reference framework which will foster their evolution towards smart ports, thus contributing to the shared progress of the sector."
The standard notes that “technology alone is not enough to create a smart port. Smart ports must have in place a strategic response model specific to ecosystems with interconnected components which are coordinated to achieve the best outcomes and be more attractive and competitive for both customers and users and also for the setting where their operations are conducted."
The document says that the array of activities and services a port needs to deliver to qualify as a smart port encompasses sustainability (in its threefold economic, environmental and social dimension), customer experience, governance (for services and data), interoperability, connectivity and digital platforms. It further develops each of them and also lays down the stages a port has to undertake to become a smart port in the full sense defined in the standard.
Puertos del Estado is partnering with the Spanish National Accreditation Body (ENAC) to draw up a certification scheme which will enable independent third parties to certify compliance with the standard.
Following publication of this standard, Puertos del Estado is also fostering a new document on semantics which, as explained by Jaime Luezas, Head of the Port Community Services Unit, will "enable interoperability between systems which is crucial to stepping up digitalisation and technological innovation in ports."
