TOPS Advance is the only true real-time graphical system in the world. It allows all users on the network to view the same data in real-time. Any changes to any data is displayed instantaneously on all other screens and is also immediately available to all other users.
TOPS Advance
The Most Advanced Proven Solution for the Container Handling Industry
TOPS offers a full suite of terminal management capabilities, including operations optimization; yard management; vessel management; berth management; crane allocation; container handling equipment management; gates management; reporting and interfaces to financial systems, Gate Operating Systems, REFCON reefer monitoring system, radio data terminals and GPS systems. Furthermore, the TOPS package includes a management information dashboard and a monitoring tool, together with the fully integrated TOPS KPI functionality. TOPS is also offering two additional modules: TOPS SimOne and TOPX Strategy, taking terminal operation to the next level.
The TOPS package – with the components TOPX (operation system) and TOPO (foundation system) – has been designed from with the full operational spectrum in mind.
TOPX Advance – The Terminal Operations System
TOPX is a true real-time graphical container planning, monitoring and control system. This sophisticated software tracks every movement of a container through a marine terminal. TOPX Advance automatically manages the storage of containers in the terminal on their way to their final destination, minimizing the number of re-handling moves and facilitating the fast and easy retrieval of containers.
TOPX Advance supports the operational areas Vessel Management, Rail Management, Equipment Control and Yard/Truck Management.
Within the TOPS Advance package TOPX is the Terminal Operation Package for X-Windows. It has been designed as a high performance, scalable and reliable graphical solution. It runs on industry standard servers such as Intel servers with Red Hat Linux. It connects to any SQL database such as Oracle.
TOPX Advance has constantly been enhanced over the past decade using the most up-to-date computing technologies. TOPX Advance takes use of a high degree of graphical display in well organized GUI Windows and user definable and customizable colors and styles.
TOPO – The Terminal Foundation System in the cloud
Within TOPS Advance the TOPO package is the terminal foundation system. It supplies the terminal with all possibilities to automatically receive and manually manipulate information. All information is shared within the whole TOPS package between TOPO and TOPX. All TOPS modules are totally integrated into TOPS, in order to support a seamless operation process at the terminal from the foundation module to the graphical system.
TOPO is based on a .NET architecture connecting a smart client to an SQL based database, e.g. the Oracle database. If so required and based on the local setup, a terminal can run multiple instances or sites on one TOPO database.
The TOPO system has an easy to use, intuitive GUI that is very familiar to users of MS Windows. It supplies many standard Windows features – such as exporting every list from the system on-the-fly to Excel or HTML.
The TOPO solution comes with two additional modules:
- TOPO EDI Server – handling all EDI traffic
- TOPO Report Server – handling all scheduled reporting from the system
Primary Benefits of TOPS Expert Cloud
The TOPS suite of applications handles every aspect of container terminal operations. From planning to operations to optimization, TOPS automates terminal operations to improve productivity, raise throughput and improve customer service. Specific benefits are as follows:
True Real-Time System
System Architecture
RBS uses object oriented designs and true client-/server implementations on the most reliable open architecture operating systems like e.g. SUN Unix, Intel Linux and also Microsoft Windows servers, which ensures efficiency and ease-of-use to terminal operations.
Response Times
The entire database is stored in the main memory of the server, allowing immediate response times and reducing network traffic, regardless of terminal throughput. It provides the most current real-time information of the terminal operation, in order for the system to make optimal decisions – resulting in time savings and giving the user more time to concentrate on the operation.
Scalability
The TOPS Advance system allows unlimited expansion of operations (limited only by the hardware configuration). The application is scalable, in order to accommodate future growth due to increased container traffic, new customers, information from new data sources or new business processes, without degrading performance.
Optimize
The built-in optimization engine of TOPS Advance has access to all terminal/container information, enabling to automatically calculate optimal container moves after considering the pre-specified rules and other relevant factors such as incoming containers, transshipment containers, already planned moves, segregation rules and CHE availability and many more.
Increasing Revenues
The extensive use of automation throughout the System leads to a more efficient terminal operation with less errors, a reduced requirement for manpower, resulting in a faster operation, leading to a higher throughput of containers. The savings alone in time and manpower are able to reduce the terminal’s costs and to increase throughput of containers, resulting in higher earnings.