Keeping an eye on everything is the task of remote crane operators like Immanuel Konschak (right). He is still training on the simulator but will later become a container gantry crane operator (left). The office-based workspace is more ergonomic than the glass cabin.
Technical innovations and improved processes have always changed port logistics in Hamburg. At HHLA, employees are preparing for this and are now taking a further step towards the future.
The winter in the Port of Hamburg can be quite uncomfortable in Hamburg. With strong winds and temperatures hovering just above zero degrees, Immanuel Konschak is not exactly drawn to the quayside of the Container Terminal Altenwerder (CTA). Instead of sitting at dizzying heights in the cabin of a container gantry crane, he is working in the warmth of an office today – in front of several screens at a modern remote console. Konschak has been working at the port since 2007 and has continuously undertaken further training. Thanks to several certificates of proficiency known as “patents”, he is licensed to operate various kinds of heavy equipment. His next aim: to operate the container gantry cranes via remote control. Konschak is still training on a state-of-the-art simulator in the digital training centre at the “ma-co maritime competenzcentrum”. But the future is already here: new, remote-controlled container gantry cranes are assembled on the terminal site, almost like an oversized set of building blocks. The biggest difference to their predecessors: they no longer have a cabin for the crane operator. Instead, specially trained dockers control them from the remote console in the office building.
The future is already here
However, this is not exactly a new development for the CTA. As one of the terminals with the highest degree of automation in Europe, more than 100 remote crane operators already work here. Dennis Winzer is one of them. He describes his job as follows: “We remote crane operators have to keep an eye on everything and intervene quickly in difficult situations. Due to the fact that we have several different licences, or “patents”, we are used for a wide range of tasks. That makes the job varied and interesting.” His colleague Konschak adds: “When you’re constantly bending over on the crane for four hours at a time to see the containers below, then you notice the impact it has on your health. It’s different in the office.” There are clearly some advantages to the job as a remote crane operator. The specialists work in ergonomically designed offices, making the work at the container terminal more inclusive – for people whose mobility is restricted for various reasons, for example.
Remote-controlled container gantry crane read more
A safer and more comfortable working environment is a good incentive, especially for young people. Especially in Germany, where it is estimated that are for instance between 70,000 and 100,000 professional drivers are lacking. This means that employers have to fight hard for qualified workers. In Japan, the acute shortage of workers is almost a dire reality. The trade unions in the country are also having constructive discussions about extensive automation because ever fewer workers have to move even greater quantities in some cases.
Opportunities and concerns
The challenges could become even greater if forecasts by the Global Maritime Forum turn out to be correct. A study estimates that up to four million entirely new jobs could be created in the maritime industry alone by 2050 in order to decarbonise transport processes and technologies and make them more sustainable. Innovations in robotics and drone technology are also leading to the creation of new job profiles in the logistics sector. But where exactly are all these skilled workers supposed to come from?
Moving 40 tonnes in 1875 was still possible with muscle power, thanks to gearwheels and a counterbalance. Despite the transference of force, there was a lot of winding involved.
The current changes due to advancing automation, artificial intelligence and climate change are prompting very different reactions. While many companies and employees view these developments as an opportunity, there are also concerns. After all, progress also means having to learn new skills and adapt. Yet technological change is an inevitable constant of history.
The elegant tall ships, which were dependent on the wind, were superseded by steamships, which in turn had to make way for general cargo carriers with diesel engines. At the beginning of the 20th century, up to 12,000 stevedores worked in the Port of Hamburg to discharge them. Between 200 and 500 people were enlisted on a daily basis to handle a single ship, bustling back and forth between the quayside and the storage sheds. They only had a simple handcart to help them do their hard and dangerous work, which they pushed around using pure muscle power.
Technological leap: From 1925 onwards, new electric trucks were used at the port. They were able to move 10,000 sacks of sugar as quickly as ten workers with handcarts.
Fewer workers are available to move greater quantities of goods
Today, huge container ships manage the global movement of goods, while container gantry cranes dominate the skyline of port cities. The workers and employees have adapted to these changes over the years, acquiring licences for reach stackers and straddle carriers and learning professions such as that of cargo inspector – some of which have since disappeared again. Those who once wrote out cargo lists with a pen, ruler and the utmost care were soon entering container data into the first computers.
Lifelong learning is becoming the norm
The increasingly automated port terminals are also changing what is required of the workforce. Lifelong learning is becoming the norm, as emphasised by Torben Seebold, HHLA’s Chief Human Resources Officer: “Professional requirements are constantly changing, which is why additional qualifications are becoming more important – maybe even several times over the course of a person’s working life.
Humans are still indispensable at the port
We have introduced progressive agreements, enabling us to use technological progress to increase our competitive ability while at the same time giving employees the opportunity to get the right training and qualifications. Modern working time systems and flexible personnel planning also play an important role. We can only successfully manage this huge transformation in cooperation with the employees.
A huge transformation
How can such models be put into practice? What impact do digitalisation and automation have on specific tasks, and what specific, new skills are needed? The PortSkill 4.0 project, to which HHLA is making an important contribution, examines and answers such questions. Its CTA terminal marries state-of-the-art technology with networked learning, and there is also a focus on the analysis of future job requirements. Hand in hand with the “ma-co maritime competenzcentrum” and other partners, a pioneering platform aimed at ensuring skilled workers have the right qualifications has been created here. Training and learning content is being tested as part of PortSkill 4.0 and will also be made publicly available once the project has ended.
Radio call centre : In the early 1970s, certain tasks were still done manually, but have since been optimised using software.
At the heart of the training centre is a large video wall with six screens, which, together with consoles, serves as a control centre. Remote consoles are also available for container gantry cranes, warehouse cranes and rail gantry cranes, plus a room with virtual reality applications for immersive training. The CTA is connected to the ma-co locations in Hamburg and Bremen, enabling training to be carried out across sites in a shared virtual environment. The IHATEC II research initiative launched by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) is funding the project, which is set to be available to the German port industry from the end of 2025. Also up and running is the DigiRemote2030 funding programme, with which HHLA has already started training the first 50 container gantry crane operators. They are being prepared for their new role as remote crane operators throughout 2025. The individual training sessions start after performing detailed job analyses and holding interviews with the employees. Immanuel Konschak from the CTA is among the first.
“For us, investing in people is at least as important as investing in future technology.”
Torben Seebold,
HHLA’s Chief Human Resource Officer, at the opening of ma-co’s new digital training centre:
“In several research and practical projects, we are exploring how our employees can continue to get the right training using cutting-edge methods. Making sure they have the necessary qualifications is a critical success factor in maintaining and consolidating our competitive ability. The German port industry has recognised this fact and is setting completely new standards in training and educating its employees.”
His example proves that humans are still indispensable at the port. It is also proven by the number of jobs, which, according to the Federal Employment Agency, has remained stable at more than 13,600 for over ten years. When looking back on history, one thing becomes clear: if the Port of Hamburg had not continued to modernise since the middle of the 19th century, it would have long since lost its role as a competitive “global port”.
Virtual reality: With virtual assistance (here at HHLA Sky) people can make better decisions.
Keeping an eye on everything is the task of remote crane operators like Immanuel Konschak (right). He is still training on the simulator but will later become a container gantry crane operator (left). The office-based workspace is more ergonomic than the glass cabin.
Technical innovations and improved processes have always changed port logistics in Hamburg. At HHLA, employees are preparing for this and are now taking a further step towards the future.
The winter in the Port of Hamburg can be quite uncomfortable in Hamburg. With strong winds and temperatures hovering just above zero degrees, Immanuel Konschak is not exactly drawn to the quayside of the Container Terminal Altenwerder (CTA). Instead of sitting at dizzying heights in the cabin of a container gantry crane, he is working in the warmth of an office today – in front of several screens at a modern remote console. Konschak has been working at the port since 2007 and has continuously undertaken further training. Thanks to several certificates of proficiency known as “patents”, he is licensed to operate various kinds of heavy equipment. His next aim: to operate the container gantry cranes via remote control. Konschak is still training on a state-of-the-art simulator in the digital training centre at the “ma-co maritime competenzcentrum”. But the future is already here: new, remote-controlled container gantry cranes are assembled on the terminal site, almost like an oversized set of building blocks. The biggest difference to their predecessors: they no longer have a cabin for the crane operator. Instead, specially trained dockers control them from the remote console in the office building.
The future is already here
However, this is not exactly a new development for the CTA. As one of the terminals with the highest degree of automation in Europe, more than 100 remote crane operators already work here. Dennis Winzer is one of them. He describes his job as follows: “We remote crane operators have to keep an eye on everything and intervene quickly in difficult situations. Due to the fact that we have several different licences, or “patents”, we are used for a wide range of tasks. That makes the job varied and interesting.” His colleague Konschak adds: “When you’re constantly bending over on the crane for four hours at a time to see the containers below, then you notice the impact it has on your health. It’s different in the office.” There are clearly some advantages to the job as a remote crane operator. The specialists work in ergonomically designed offices, making the work at the container terminal more inclusive – for people whose mobility is restricted for various reasons, for example.
Remote-controlled container gantry crane read more
A safer and more comfortable working environment is a good incentive, especially for young people. Especially in Germany, where it is estimated that are for instance between 70,000 and 100,000 professional drivers are lacking. This means that employers have to fight hard for qualified workers. In Japan, the acute shortage of workers is almost a dire reality. The trade unions in the country are also having constructive discussions about extensive automation because ever fewer workers have to move even greater quantities in some cases.
Opportunities and concerns
The challenges could become even greater if forecasts by the Global Maritime Forum turn out to be correct. A study estimates that up to four million entirely new jobs could be created in the maritime industry alone by 2050 in order to decarbonise transport processes and technologies and make them more sustainable. Innovations in robotics and drone technology are also leading to the creation of new job profiles in the logistics sector. But where exactly are all these skilled workers supposed to come from?
Moving 40 tonnes in 1875 was still possible with muscle power, thanks to gearwheels and a counterbalance. Despite the transference of force, there was a lot of winding involved.
The current changes due to advancing automation, artificial intelligence and climate change are prompting very different reactions. While many companies and employees view these developments as an opportunity, there are also concerns. After all, progress also means having to learn new skills and adapt. Yet technological change is an inevitable constant of history.
The elegant tall ships, which were dependent on the wind, were superseded by steamships, which in turn had to make way for general cargo carriers with diesel engines. At the beginning of the 20th century, up to 12,000 stevedores worked in the Port of Hamburg to discharge them. Between 200 and 500 people were enlisted on a daily basis to handle a single ship, bustling back and forth between the quayside and the storage sheds. They only had a simple handcart to help them do their hard and dangerous work, which they pushed around using pure muscle power.
Technological leap: From 1925 onwards, new electric trucks were used at the port. They were able to move 10,000 sacks of sugar as quickly as ten workers with handcarts.
Fewer workers are available to move greater quantities of goods
Today, huge container ships manage the global movement of goods, while container gantry cranes dominate the skyline of port cities. The workers and employees have adapted to these changes over the years, acquiring licences for reach stackers and straddle carriers and learning professions such as that of cargo inspector – some of which have since disappeared again. Those who once wrote out cargo lists with a pen, ruler and the utmost care were soon entering container data into the first computers.
Lifelong learning is becoming the norm
The increasingly automated port terminals are also changing what is required of the workforce. Lifelong learning is becoming the norm, as emphasised by Torben Seebold, HHLA’s Chief Human Resources Officer: “Professional requirements are constantly changing, which is why additional qualifications are becoming more important – maybe even several times over the course of a person’s working life.
Humans are still indispensable at the port
We have introduced progressive agreements, enabling us to use technological progress to increase our competitive ability while at the same time giving employees the opportunity to get the right training and qualifications. Modern working time systems and flexible personnel planning also play an important role. We can only successfully manage this huge transformation in cooperation with the employees.
A huge transformation
How can such models be put into practice? What impact do digitalisation and automation have on specific tasks, and what specific, new skills are needed? The PortSkill 4.0 project, to which HHLA is making an important contribution, examines and answers such questions. Its CTA terminal marries state-of-the-art technology with networked learning, and there is also a focus on the analysis of future job requirements. Hand in hand with the “ma-co maritime competenzcentrum” and other partners, a pioneering platform aimed at ensuring skilled workers have the right qualifications has been created here. Training and learning content is being tested as part of PortSkill 4.0 and will also be made publicly available once the project has ended.
Radio call centre : In the early 1970s, certain tasks were still done manually, but have since been optimised using software.
At the heart of the training centre is a large video wall with six screens, which, together with consoles, serves as a control centre. Remote consoles are also available for container gantry cranes, warehouse cranes and rail gantry cranes, plus a room with virtual reality applications for immersive training. The CTA is connected to the ma-co locations in Hamburg and Bremen, enabling training to be carried out across sites in a shared virtual environment. The IHATEC II research initiative launched by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) is funding the project, which is set to be available to the German port industry from the end of 2025. Also up and running is the DigiRemote2030 funding programme, with which HHLA has already started training the first 50 container gantry crane operators. They are being prepared for their new role as remote crane operators throughout 2025. The individual training sessions start after performing detailed job analyses and holding interviews with the employees. Immanuel Konschak from the CTA is among the first.
“For us, investing in people is at least as important as investing in future technology.”
Torben Seebold,
HHLA’s Chief Human Resource Officer, at the opening of ma-co’s new digital training centre:
“In several research and practical projects, we are exploring how our employees can continue to get the right training using cutting-edge methods. Making sure they have the necessary qualifications is a critical success factor in maintaining and consolidating our competitive ability. The German port industry has recognised this fact and is setting completely new standards in training and educating its employees.”
His example proves that humans are still indispensable at the port. It is also proven by the number of jobs, which, according to the Federal Employment Agency, has remained stable at more than 13,600 for over ten years. When looking back on history, one thing becomes clear: if the Port of Hamburg had not continued to modernise since the middle of the 19th century, it would have long since lost its role as a competitive “global port”.
Virtual reality: With virtual assistance (here at HHLA Sky) people can make better decisions.