An integrated information system that tracks all cargo movements in and out of ports – including anchorages and truck staging areas – is being introduced by Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) in order to improve efficiencies within the ports. According to TNPA general manager operations, Herbert Msagala, the system will be rolled out from the end of February 2014, starting with the ports of Durban, East London and Richards Bay. The other ports should be live by mid-year. “Our mandate is to lower the costs of doing business in South Africa. That means we have to drive efficiencies,” he told FTW. A central Port System Performance Management operations centre is being established in Johannesburg, and each port will have its own operations centre. It was announced in Port Elizabeth because the idea was initiated by the TNPA team in the port. “The operations centres will create visibility of the total supply chain and will help stimulate growth,” said Msagala. Once operational it will help identify bottlenecks stretching from anchorage on the sea-side to queues of trucks and delayed trains outside the harbours on the land-side. It will help shipping companies to operate more efficiently by providing prior warning of delays in ports. Vessel sailing speeds can then be reduced to save fuel and waiting time outside the port, or vessels can be rerouted. All 90 of the terminal operator licensees within the ports system will be included in the system. The system will measure berthing delays, berth occupancy, berth utilisation, ship working hours, berth equipment productivity, truck turnaround time, truck queues outside terminals, rail turnaround time, trains departed on time, cargo dwell time in terminals, and terminal throughput. An interface has been built for all the different operating systems. It will be made visible to port users and other stakeholders, with different levels of access in order to hide commercially sensitive information. “We will not restrict access to the performance of the supply chain,” he says. Greater transparency of the port operations was welcomed by Captain Sumeet Bhardwaj, head of marine operations at Mitsui OSK Lines. He told FTW that it demonstrated a more business-like approach by TNPA. “It is not good enough for the South African ports to be the best in Africa. They have to be among the top five in the world for the country to be truly competitive,” he told FTW. Msagala says the new approach stems from the realisation that TNPA “can’t always just be pouring concrete. We must ensure that we utilise the assets we have effectively”. Siya Mhlaluka, general manager of Transnet Port Terminals’ Eastern Cape Region, said the terminal operator welcomed the introduction of the system as it would help identify bottlenecks. He sees it as a tool to improve productivity rather than a stick with which TNPA can beat the terminal operators. INSERT & CAPTION 1 Our mandate is to lower the costs of doing business in South Africa. – Herbert Msagala INSERT & CAPTION 2 It is not good enough for the South African ports to be the best in Africa. They have to be among the top five in the world for the country to be truly competitive. – Sumeet Bhardwaj
