Procedures and staff motivation are critical issues
JOY ORLEK
EIGHT MONTHS since his arrival in South Africa to spearhead the drive by APM Terminals for a share of the concessioning of Durban Container Terminal, business development executive Captain Franck Kayser is confident that getting Durban up to speed will be a difficult, but manageable task.
“Experienced international operators will show some changes within six months, and in two years those changes will be dramatic,” he told FTW.
The critical issues, in his view, are procedures and staff motivation.
“Procedures on how cargo moves in and out of the port must be formalised and optimal fixed berth planning is essential.
“This, in our experience, is the only way you can utilise a limited area to the fullest.”
Lines, shippers and port authorities have traded a fair amount of invective in the past over who is to blame for the ongoing congestion. Better planning would clearly eliminate any finger-pointing by assigning clearly defined procedures to every party in the chain.
“Durban is one of the few large container terminals in the world where a line can change its mind midstream about the number of containers it is discharging or loading,” says Kayser.
And while the arrival of an additional three cranes later this year is good news and a boost to productivity, refined procedures and planning will improve efficiency even further, he says.
In Durban, 13 cranes handle 1 million TEUs a year. In Algeciras, by comparison, 16 cranes handle 1,7 million TEUs annually. The industry norm dictates that one crane should handle 90 to 120 000 moves a year. “So although equipment is essential, efficient operation also calls for training and education of staff and top rank yard and berth planning systems.”
Once import/export cargo is optimally handled to customers’ satisfaction, additional services such as transhipment can be added to the service palette. While the margins are low, it provides cream on the top for the terminal operator and ultimately benefits the country through job creation and added income, says Kayser.
“Sapo managers and staff are generally very professional and dedicated to their task. They are however burdened with procedures from the past where ‘flexibility’ was defined as doing everything for everybody any time.”
