Transnet has met the necessary requirements to improve machine and personnel performance at the country’s ports, long blamed for holding back South Africa’s export capacity of time-sensitive cargo.
Addressing a webinar on ‘Agriculture’ focusing on technologies and infrastructure needed to boost the sector’s shipments, Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) chief executive, Jabu Mdaki, said the state-owned logistics utility was taking comfort from consistent progress in key areas.
These he identified as machines already received from various original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), long-term assurances from OEMs related to spare parts supply and maintenance support, incentivising port personnel and ensuring network connectivity.
“A lot of groundwork has been done,” he said, “and we’re seeing the results of that.”
Mdaki said the rubber-tyred gantry cranes, straddle carriers and ship-to-shore cranes that had already landed at various ports, especially Durban and Cape Town, served as proof of the parastatal’s intent to overcome consistent equipment shortages experienced in the past.
OEM assurances of maintenance support formed part of Transnet’s commitment to bolster and sustain throughput capacity, said Mdaki.
As for the country’s often stormy weather episodes, he stressed: “It is also important that we’re not just replacing equipment but we’re equipping ourselves for the new challenges we are facing.
“With the inclement weather we are facing in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape, the equipment we are deploying has the technology to operate at elevated wind speed.”
He said the new cranes were equipped with the latest anti-sway technology and could handle gusts of up to 90km an hour, compared with the previous 70km-threshold, beyond which port operations would be suspended.
“It will buy us additional time to continue operating and be able to move product.”
To encourage personnel to work more efficiently, TPT had initiated incentives that were aligned to productivity, said Mdaki.
“It started in December and we have seen turnaround in terms of the morale of the people. It has been reflected by some customers and the shipping lines.”
Although these incentives would have terminated at the end of this year’s first quarter, Transnet’s group exco has decided to extend the incentives, he said.
Regarding digital network reliability, Mdaki said TPT was investing in technology to upgrade the terminal operator’s systems, as it was well recorded what a “huge impact” it had on operations when connectivity-reliant services experienced down time.
“Those incidences have decreased over a period of time. It has become a rare incidence that we have a network that is unavailable or that is down.”
He said TPT was fully committed to succeed in its mandate – meeting market demand through additional resource deployments for all-round improved capacity.
Mdaki said it was especially the case during reefer season, when South Africa’s agricultural sector clicked into overdrive for fruit exports.
