Systems upgrades speed up vessel turnaround

RAY SMUTS ACHIEVING QUICKER turnaround and consequently a saving to the fruit producer lies at the heart of Fresh Produce Terminals’ operational systems upgrades at its portside cooling terminals in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Durban and Maputo. General manager: marketing Michael Paulse says FPT’s experience in the port of Durban last year underscored the necessity to be as efficient as possible at quayside, a consequence of which was operational improvements at three cooling stores outside the port. This has resulted in port stays of specialised reefer vessels being drastically reduced in Durban. “There are two major elements to the operational system used in the terminals - a planning system and a warehouse management system which work together in perfect harmony, resulting in quicker loading, vessel turnaround and cost saving to the shipper.” FPT has selected Paltrack as its solutions provider to help design and implement an R800 000 upgrade to the warehouse management system. This upgrade is to come on stream at FPT’’s facility in the port of Cape Town, to be followed by Port Elizabeth and Maputo. Paulse explains that once an exporter has submitted a specification of which fruit is to be loaded to the vessel planner, it is loaded into the system. This is then transformed into a sequence of instructions by space and traffic controllers and fed electronicaly to the forklift operators. This two-way electronic communication between the space and traffic controller and forklift operator instructs the latter to select the exact pallets required for loading, also specifically where they are to be placed aboard the ship. “As all pallets are tracked in this manner, loading is 100% accurate to spec.” The upgrade is seen as a first step in a partnership between Paltrack and FPT to develop a completely new planning and operational system to cater for the current and future requirements of fruit logistics. Koos Bouwer, FPT’s general manager: technical, points to additional benefits of the warehouse management system. These include better control of forklift utilisation, improved cold storage space utilisation, less movement of fruit and improved stock control. “We are not chasing productivity at all costs - indeed productivity is very good at our Cape Town operation - but rather improved total quality levels,” added Bouwer.