Transnet on a mission to integrate regional operating systems

Transnet is on a mission to speed up regional trade through the integration of terminal operating systems with a single, web-based hub, says Louis Hutton, infrastructure manager for Transnet Port Terminals. Hutton told FTW last week that Transnet had pioneered the implementation of a single system to manage containers in the ports, on rail and road and was already talking to the authorities in a number of neighbouring states. Navis N4 and Sparcs N4 have been deployed in all Transnet’s port terminals, and for the first time all TPT, Transnet Freight Rail and Transnet National Ports Authority information is shared on a single platform. The web-based Navis System is hosted centrally in Durban. The system also for the first time allows clients to make changes up to the point that the container passes through the terminal gate, and to track the movement of containers in real time. “We now have shipping companies phoning to ask why we have moved a particular container in the port. It is that accurate and transparent,” he says. “Transnet is the only organisation globally to have deployed Navis the way we have done,” adds Hutton, who speaks with a level of enthusiasm that can best be described as “missionary zeal”. His mission is to have all the systems of the region integrated. The system can be implemented in the port, and at any place “where the train departs.” TFR is piloting a tracking system that will give shippers and cargo owners real time information on where their containers are at all times through the Navis system. This will help rail compete against road, particularly if it is implemented throughout the region, he says. Hutton says the Transnet Navis system is now a showcase of what can be done by integrating information through the web. Problems in Durban were as a result of the complexity of the operation. The lessons learned can be applied to make change-overs smoother elsewhere on the continent. Port authorities from around the world also want to come to South Africa to see the system in operation, he adds proudly.