Co-operation and
commitment deliver
Leonard Neill
THE CITY Deep container terminal is back on track after problems caused by a computer system crash two weeks ago. “It was a harassing and challenging seven days but with everyone throwing their weight into getting things straightened out, we are back to normal,” says City Deep manager Dina Spannenberg.
The computer system crashed on Friday, July 11, with an immediate impact on the arrival of import containers. These had to be processed manually, with City Deep officials taking stringent security measures to ensure no container left the premises until it had been cleared by customs.
“There was little delay in sending off export containers, and the trains ran on time,” says Spannenberg. “The hold-ups were on the import side, and that caused the backlog in deliveries.
“It meant consignees had to produce documents in order to have their containers served manually with a resultant slowdown in processing. But the clients were most co-operative and we had little trouble.
“A back-up system was introduced and Spoornet set up 10 computers at its Johannesburg headquarters to assist us. Then Spoornet’s IT people moved in here and worked throughout the nights of Wednesday and Thursday the following week to get the system up and running again.”
Agents reported initial problems in clearing containers but said the spirit of co-operation was excellent.
“We saw chaos staring at us at first, especially as it happened at the start of a weekend,” says RailRoad Africa branch manager Deon Weelson. “But the City Deep people certainly moved into gear rapidly and there wasn’t anything like the backlog we had expected. Things were a little slow at first, but after the first couple of days of last week, everything started to move into place. Happily, it’s all systems go once again.”
