Shape up or ship out! Green reads the riot act to security under-performers,

20 Apr 2000 - By Staff reporter

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Shape up or ship out! Green reads the riot act to security under-performers, writes Ray Smuts - Freight & Trading Weekly - 20 April 2000 edition -

- Freight & Trading Weekly

20 April 2000 edition

Shape up or ship out! Green reads the riot act to security under-performers,

writes Ray Smuts

BARELY A month after declaring war against crime in the Port of Cape Town, port operations manager Malcolm Green has thrown down the gauntlet to the authority's security contingent - perform or face radical action.
This was the thrust of his parting words at a recent two-day gathering of about 30 Portnet security personnel at which problem areas were identified.
In a dossier subsequently compiled by the organisation Business Presentation Group, it became clear that security management was not held in high esteem by those in lower positions and that leadershp qualities were lacking.
Nine 'business plans' were proposed through a process of participation, each to be driven by a champion tasked with mobilising small working teams to come up with an accepable action.
Areas of concern centre around structure of security, change management, discipline, departmental image, commitment, client orientation, roster scheduling, dual responsibilities and recruitment.
Green told FTW he had "read the riot act" to those assembled, stressing he was no longer prepared to accept what he termed a sub-standard performance "and if it means at the end of the day that we have to consider the future of that department we will go to that length.
"We cannot continue struggling with a department that cannot look after the well-being of our assets, our customer's cargo, and if it cannot perform radical action will be considered."
On the beefed up security measures to be implemented this year, Green said:"It is one thing to to have barriers and security cameras but if you haven't got people who are synchronised and integrated in what they are doing and saying you're not going to get anywhere."