The protocol provides for enhancing cooperation in providing training services by Siemens, with the aim of raising the efficiency of technical cadres in the Suez Canal and developing its training centers.
Navigational expert and teacher at the Arab Academy for Maritime Transport, Ahmed El-Shamy, says that the cooperation of the Suez Canal and Siemens in the areas of development and digitization is an important step, given that Siemens has a long history and has been able to achieve continuous successes in the global and Egyptian market.
The navigation expert added in an exclusive interview with “Sky News Arabia” that Siemens has been spending millions of dollars since 2011 on digitization research and technological development, and in 2017, it reached an internationally advanced position in this field, and its new cooperation with the Suez Canal is of course important, but it is a continuation of continuous cooperation in the areas of training. and development since earlier times.
Al-Shamy pointed out that cooperation with Siemens involves exchanging interests and experiences with the Suez Canal, and Siemens’ success in energy, railway and other projects in Egypt heralds new success with the Canal.
digital transformation
On the most prominent items of cooperation related to digital transformation, the teacher at the Academy of Maritime Transport said that the Suez Canal is conducting a continuous technological update, within the Egyptian state’s plan for digital transformation, especially after the Corona crisis, which highlighted the urgent need for digitization.
He added that the Suez Canal deals daily with hundreds of ships and locomotives, and voice communication is no longer the basis for work, and there are technological tools that are currently used in the field of movement management, and the navigation course is completely electronically covered.
The Egyptian expert continued: “Managing the movements in the Suez Canal and dealing with navigation and maritime transport companies” is the fastest sector that achieves direct returns as a result of its technological development, through access to drip rates, a better rescue and guidance method, and improving logistical performance.
He pointed out that Siemens is cooperating with the German company SAP, one of the largest software companies in Europe and the world, and this would benefit cooperation with Egypt.
The Suez Canal is a global company with companies and clients all over the world, according to the Egyptian academic, who adds that the majority of these clients deal with the latest technological methods and it is necessary that the Suez Canal keep pace with the latest developments in the world in this field.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said during the inauguration of national projects a few weeks ago, that Egypt was ready to pay 100 billion pounds to mechanize the state and neutralize the human factor.
Terms of cooperation
According to the memorandum of cooperation between the Suez Canal and Siemens, the two parties are considering concluding an agreement to supply equipment and spare parts for the authority from Siemens, at competitive prices.
On this, Al-Shamy says that many of the Suez Canal equipment and devices are German-made, some of which are from Siemens, and resorting to the source will undoubtedly give them competitive prices for repair or purchase.
The agreement also includes Siemens’ cooperation with companies affiliated with the Suez Canal, including Al Temsah Shipbuilding Company, in the design and operation of automatic control systems, electric motors and speed variators in marine units.
The navigational expert explains that Al-Temsah is a historic company, and it must be modernized and developed in the field of shipbuilding, repair and maintenance, and cooperation with Siemens will improve its logistical performance to reach global rates.
Regarding cooperation in the field of inventorying and evaluating the company’s used products and devices, and making recommendations for their development, Al-Shami comments that the aim is to determine the technical situation and determine the need, either to raise efficiency or replace, and this is at the core of Siemens’ competencies.
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