Internship assignments - examples

Below you can find some examples of possible assignments within Cofano. In each assignment, the angle of the assignment (Technical, Industrial Engineering, Educational, Business & IT) is indicated. The description of the assignments is a mere direction in which the assignment could go, several variations are possible. In addition, we are also open for your own ideas and assignments within logistics, we are generally interested in trying out new technologies and ideas.

1. Location tracking reach stackers (Technical)

At a container terminal, containers can be moved in several ways. One of those ways is to use a reach stacker. Such reach stackers drive criss-cross around on the terminal and moves containers in the meantime.

For the efficiency of the terminal, it would be very convenient to know the position of every container. It is impossible to provide GPS for each container (these containers are not owned by the terminal). The most obvious way to determine the location of a container is tracking the position of the reach stacker.

This topic has been examined by a number of people already, but there has not been achieved much yet. To find a solution for this problem we have to think of alternative ways to determine the location, such as tags in the ground, measuring movement or visual reference points.

The requirements for this technique are:

• The accuracy must be at least 1 meter
• This accuracy should be reached within 5 seconds
• Optional: the location tracking should be available 24 hours per day, in almost every weather condition, outside (with a changing amount of light), and should be able to go through several layers of metal (containers)

The area where the location has to be tracked, is always the same and equipment can be applied here.

The challenge for you is to create a way of location tracking that is precise, robust and efficient, and truly build this system. We intend for you to end up actually testing the system on container terminals.

2. Gate-in Registration (Technical)

Containers enter a container terminal through a gate, this way the terminal has a correct view of all containers on their yard. At this moment there is a lot of manual labour for typing in the container numbers, photograph the container and check all the papers. We want to find out if it is possible to automatically determine the container numbers based on camera. And in a final state check automatically if everything is correct and open a barrier.

3. Automatic classification containers (Technical / Mathematical)

At terminals, containers are stacked in front of each other and on top of each other to store them efficiently. As a result, it is only possible to grab the container which is in front or on top. To be able to grab containers which are not in front or on top, other containers need to be moved first, which takes a lot of extra time and is expensive. By optimizing the place a container needs to be stored, the number of unnecessary container movements can be reduced.

The challenge for you would be to design a system that determines the best place to store a container, and to be able to present this information in an effective way. This can be done by creating an algorithm for example, but you can also create something based on a dataset and machine learning.

Now that you have a better idea of the challenging and fun assignments you can do at Cofano, we hope that we have grabbed your interest as well. So, interested in doing an internship at Cofano? 

What are we looking for?

• You are an enthusiastic person and eager to learn,
• You are always open to new ideas and technologies.

What will we offer you?

• Gaining experience in relevant field
• Valuable addition to your CV
• Placement fee
• Room for your own ideas
• Colleagues who would like to help you
• Fun and informal working environment
• Flexible working hours
• Possibility of full- or part-time employment

Contact details

For applying for an internship, please contact:

Maureen de Raad
vacature@cofano.nl

085 - 44 44 530