CONSULTING ENGINEERING
“AQUATTI” provides professional engineering services, project management, and consulting services to the maritime industry worldwide, specializing in container and bulk handling equipment, cruise terminal equipment, and waterfront facilities. “AQUATTI” provides owners and operators an efficient and proven method for acquiring all types of equipment for the maritime industry and will provide facility design in port facilities across the Americas and throughout the world. Our expertise also extends into port equipment remodels, relocations, appraisals, and demolitions.
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PRELIMINARY DESIGN STUDY
Before commencing design and construction work on a terminal, port, or other infrastructure facility, a whole host of questions regarding its future operation must be answered:
• most importantly, will its services be needed?
• which requirements does it have to meet to ensure competitiveness?
• can it be built on existing property?
• if there are several land plots, which one is the most suitable?• will current road and rail capacity be able to cope with the planned cargo-flows?
• which fundamental technical solutions will be best to adopt?
• finally, will the project be commercially effective, and what can be done to make it still more effective?
COMPLEX LOGISTICS PROJECTS
Creating a new production facility, or making changes to the volume and output of an existing plant, brings with it logistical challenges. An increase in cargo-flow demands that the optimal format for delivering equipment, raw materials and the finished product is found, and for that one needs to understand whether the existing infrastructure can cope with the increased strain, and what measures are needed for its development.
Absorbing the added freight-flow may require coordination between different forms of transport – sea, river, road, rail and even hydro-transport, as well as between storage facilities and terminals. The fundamental characteristics of the transport fleet, vehicles and rolling stock, and how the product will be packaged, must all be settled in advance. There must be an understanding as to whether further investment in transport assets is necessary, and all the costs and risks associated with both the construction phase and eventual operation must be weighed up and evaluated.
“AQUATTI” stands out through its all-encompassing approach to increasing and developing logistical capacity. We bring together specialists from different disciplines and propose solutions founded on our deep knowledge of the latest transport technologies, on sound economic thinking and a comprehensive overview of the situation.
We are often tasked with resolving unorthodox challenges, and we have the capability to do so, combining established, tried and tested technologies with innovative new proposals.
MASTER PLANNING
Sea or river port Master planning by “AQUATTI” addresses seaports as dynamic systems. We understand the relationship between land-use, automation, intermodal operations, and forecasted demand components. We use an interactive and iterative approach and surveys that enable the assessment of client needs. Through this process, we evaluate limitations and opportunities, develop planning criteria, and propose alternative concept layouts for comparison.
Areas of work include:
• Evaluation of limitations and opportunities
• Alternative concept layout and comparison
• Dry, liquid and break-bulk facilities
• Container and intermodal facility planning
• Infrastructure requirements study
• Phasing plans for growth or conversion
MARKET RESEARCH AND BENCHMARKING
The world today is changing all the time, and ports and terminals on land and sea are a reflection of the wider economy; they exist in a dynamic, fast-evolving environment. Cargo-flows are also changing, and new competitors and technologies are constantly emerging. To maintain or enhance their market position, companies need to have an understanding both of economic trends and of modern demands on service levels.
«AQUATTI» has a long track-record in analyzing cargo-flows and benchmarking services at ports and terminals. We closely follow developments in the sector as a whole.
For our work, we use various forecasting methods, both simple and complex, but the most effective form of forecasting is to have specialists with in-depth experience in transport logistics to verify predictions – and that is exactly what we have at «AQUATTI».
AUDIT OF LOGISTICS INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS
The decision to invest in any project – the construction of a maritime, river or land terminal, the acquisition of new equipment, re-orienting to a new cargo-class – will always require comprehensive analysis.
The most diverse backgrounds and disciplines are needed: experience in design engineering and gaining approval for project documentation, an in-depth understanding of construction technology and the process of receiving construction permits, an extensive knowledge of transport technologies and the logistics market, along with the ability to evaluate capital and operational expenses, structure a financial-economic model for the project, and assess its effectiveness.
If the decision to implement the project has already been taken, then control is required over how closely the work undertaken corresponds to the planned budget and timetable – timely identification of the risks of changes to both schedule and cost, as well as non-receipt of the necessary approvals, is vital.
«AQUATTI» has all the necessary experience and qualifications to audit a project at various stages in its implementation, form before the decision to invest is made, right up to the start of construction work.
DEVELOPING LOGISTICS SUPPORT FOR NEW PRODUCTION OPERATIONS
1. Analysis of existing cargo flows:
a. directions, routes and volumes of transport operations;
b. technologies used for transportation and trans-shipment, containers, type of rolling stock;
c. key consignors and consignees, tendencies of changes in cargo flows.
2. Assessing existing technologies of transportation and transshipment. Analyzing alternative technologies, their advantages and disadvantages, and selecting the best transport technology taking into account the special features of the situation.
3. Determining service level requirements necessary for competitiveness of the transport scheme as a whole and on an element-by-element basis.
4. Infrastructure analysis:
a. Analyzing the infrastructure used for transportation. Identifying bottlenecks and constraints:
i. Intra-plant logistics infrastructure;
ii. Ports and terminals;
iii. Road and rail access;
iv. Warehouse facilities.
b. Assessing infrastructure requirements for cargo pick-up and delivery.
c. Assessing capacity of existing infrastructure taking into account prospective cargo flows in a region.
d. Developing proposals on the construction or reconstruction of infrastructure.
e. Estimating capital expenditures based on the proposed steps.
5. Carrying out pre-project studies with respect to construction or reconstruction of the infrastructure, port or land terminals:
a. Determining key parameters;
b. Developing preliminary layout plan;
c. Identifying needs in production equipment;
d. Assessing capital and operating expenditures;
e. Developing financial models.
6. Analyzing full logistics costs:
a. Identifying capital and operating expenditures with regard to own infrastructure;
b. Analyzing costs for rail transportation, vessel charter, warehouse operations, etc.;
c. Assessing the need for rolling stock or vessel fleet to be purchased and corresponding costs;
d. Estimating costs for transportation on proposed and alternative routes;
e. Assessing relative competitiveness of transportation schemes.
7. Providing grounds for outsourcing solution or for logistics functions to be set up in the company’s structure:
a. Choosing between construction of own terminal, leasing, acquisition, partial reconstruction of infrastructure at an existing port, selecting the format of relationship with a logistics operator;
b. Determining practicability to construct own fleet or rolling stock.
8. Formulating a program for development of transport assets (terminals, fleet, rolling stock):
a. Elaborating action plans, identifying phases;
b. Budget assessment;
c. Efficiency analysis.
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
In partnership with his colleagues and networks, “AQUATTI” provides a variety of services ranging from feasibility studies and economic analyses to planning, design, program management, and construction support.
