July 6 will see the introduction by Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) of the Navis Truck Appointment System at its City Deep Terminal in Johannesburg. The system is designed to regulate the flow of road trucks to the terminal and enable physical distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The appointment system aims to improve customer service delivered at the terminal by elimination of excessive truck queues at the gate – limiting the maximum number of trucks lined up at the in-gate at any given time, and also limiting the waiting time before being processed at the in-gate aligned to demand and terminal capacity,” said Containers & Automotive Business and NatCor Corridor acting general manager, Andiswa Dlanga.
TFR has been engaging with customers regarding the provision of online training prior to going live. Post ‘go live’ support for customers will be in place to minimise teething problems as the company migrates to the new on line process.
The terminal will create appointments spread over the course of the day based on the resources, capacity and demand for evacuation or delivery into the terminal. It has also created appointment windows over the operational period where customers will log into the system, select an appointment and proceed to call at the terminal.
“The Truck Booking System will resolve several challenges that are currently experienced, particularly around the road truck congestion and truck turnaround time. It will also enable the terminal to control the rate of collections and deliveries in line with capacity and demand,” said Dlanga.
