OBJECTS OF INVESTIGATION
The research project ProKon focuses the division “High & Heavy” of a large international automobile terminal, on which several million vehicles are handled in a year. This specific operating division deals with the import and export of RoRo cargos. These cargos either are too large or too heavy for conventional container transport, so that they don´t depend on the lifting of special heavy-height vessels. In the year 2008 the "High & Heavy” division had a turnover of more than 500,000 t. The goods are distinguished in self-propelled cargos such as trucks, tractors, etc., and not self-propelled cargos such as wind wheels, locomotives, power plants, etc. Due to their nature, special requirements for the "High & Heavy" division arise: While self-propelled pieces of equipment are loaded on its own axis, non-self-propelled goods should be transported and loaded with other conveyor vehicles. A technical solution for non-self-propelled goods, which is widely used in international port terminals, are the use of special towing vehicles (tugmasters) and load carriers (low-floor trailers for heavy loads) - shown in figure 1.