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Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals (1986)

Chapter: The Marine Terminal -- An Element of Transportation Systems

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Suggested Citation:"The Marine Terminal -- An Element of Transportation Systems." National Research Council. 1986. Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/926.
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Suggested Citation:"The Marine Terminal -- An Element of Transportation Systems." National Research Council. 1986. Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/926.
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Suggested Citation:"The Marine Terminal -- An Element of Transportation Systems." National Research Council. 1986. Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/926.
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Suggested Citation:"The Marine Terminal -- An Element of Transportation Systems." National Research Council. 1986. Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/926.
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Suggested Citation:"The Marine Terminal -- An Element of Transportation Systems." National Research Council. 1986. Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/926.
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Suggested Citation:"The Marine Terminal -- An Element of Transportation Systems." National Research Council. 1986. Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/926.
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Suggested Citation:"The Marine Terminal -- An Element of Transportation Systems." National Research Council. 1986. Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/926.
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Suggested Citation:"The Marine Terminal -- An Element of Transportation Systems." National Research Council. 1986. Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/926.
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Suggested Citation:"The Marine Terminal -- An Element of Transportation Systems." National Research Council. 1986. Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/926.
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Suggested Citation:"The Marine Terminal -- An Element of Transportation Systems." National Research Council. 1986. Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/926.
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Suggested Citation:"The Marine Terminal -- An Element of Transportation Systems." National Research Council. 1986. Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/926.
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Suggested Citation:"The Marine Terminal -- An Element of Transportation Systems." National Research Council. 1986. Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/926.
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Suggested Citation:"The Marine Terminal -- An Element of Transportation Systems." National Research Council. 1986. Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/926.
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Suggested Citation:"The Marine Terminal -- An Element of Transportation Systems." National Research Council. 1986. Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/926.
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Suggested Citation:"The Marine Terminal -- An Element of Transportation Systems." National Research Council. 1986. Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/926.
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Suggested Citation:"The Marine Terminal -- An Element of Transportation Systems." National Research Council. 1986. Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/926.
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Suggested Citation:"The Marine Terminal -- An Element of Transportation Systems." National Research Council. 1986. Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/926.
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Suggested Citation:"The Marine Terminal -- An Element of Transportation Systems." National Research Council. 1986. Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/926.
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Suggested Citation:"The Marine Terminal -- An Element of Transportation Systems." National Research Council. 1986. Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/926.
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Suggested Citation:"The Marine Terminal -- An Element of Transportation Systems." National Research Council. 1986. Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/926.
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Suggested Citation:"The Marine Terminal -- An Element of Transportation Systems." National Research Council. 1986. Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/926.
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Suggested Citation:"The Marine Terminal -- An Element of Transportation Systems." National Research Council. 1986. Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/926.
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Suggested Citation:"The Marine Terminal -- An Element of Transportation Systems." National Research Council. 1986. Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/926.
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Suggested Citation:"The Marine Terminal -- An Element of Transportation Systems." National Research Council. 1986. Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/926.
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Suggested Citation:"The Marine Terminal -- An Element of Transportation Systems." National Research Council. 1986. Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/926.
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Suggested Citation:"The Marine Terminal -- An Element of Transportation Systems." National Research Council. 1986. Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/926.
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Suggested Citation:"The Marine Terminal -- An Element of Transportation Systems." National Research Council. 1986. Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/926.
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Suggested Citation:"The Marine Terminal -- An Element of Transportation Systems." National Research Council. 1986. Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/926.
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Suggested Citation:"The Marine Terminal -- An Element of Transportation Systems." National Research Council. 1986. Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/926.
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THE MARINE TERMINAL- AN ELEMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS Productivity from a Rail Transportation Perspective DAVID BURNS Abundant material exists on current technologies of intermodal facilities, including marine terminals. ~ will focus upon what Burlington Northern (BN) Railroad sees, from our own experi- ence, that inhibits productivity at marine terminals which we serve. ~ will then comment on what we would try to do if we were responsible for that operation. Normally, ~ would not attempt to do this. It is annoying to have an outsider tell me what is wrong with BN's intermodal terminals, and what he would do to improve them, especially when he has little knowledge concerning their practical capacities and no responsibility to implement the proposed panaceas. ~ am willing to offer such comments here for two reasons. First, the panel is dealing with marine terminal productivity not in an isolated vacuum, but as an element of a transportation system. David Burns is director of the Intermodal Department, Burlington North- ern Railroad. 69

70 Since railroads and motor carriers are also elements, it is proper and productive that we work together to streamline the system and make it work better in order to better identify and meet customer needs. Second, railroads, in a sense, are often customers of marine terminals, as you are often customers of ours. At EN we are learning to listen attentively when customers speak. How else will we know what they need to compete and grow, and what we can do to increase our value to them? Likewise, ~ hope my comments will be helpful to the workshops on improving the productivity of marine terminals, and in improving their product and value to their customers. IMPROVING SYSTEM PRODUCTIVITY 1. What marine terminals might do to improve system productivity at their end. a. Have special gate lanes for special, volume moves. Presently, except for longshoremen-drayed interpier moves, all shipments go through the gate line on a first-come, first-serve basis. EN routinely sets up special lanes for high volumes. Unit type moves, such as a large number of import loads of a certain ship or from a certain customer for a certain train, reduce gate time for these repetitive, prearranged units, as well as free up space and time at-the regular gate. For example, when a railroad has an inbound train of empty containers on even export loads to ground and bring to a pier, run them through a special lane rather than through the regular lanes. b. Make pier hours of operation more flexible and responsive to user needs. Rather than having all pier employees take breaks and lunches simultaneously, stagger the times so that the particular pier is performing work during the entire shift. Draymen and users oth- erwise get caught during the dead time. Some piers are now down 20 percent of the time. Furthermore, stagger starting times so that piers work more closely with the 12-hour-day pattern in effect by users nominally 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. rather than the traditional 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. work day on piers.

7 1 Base work schedules on volume requirements, rather than set similar hours each and every day. Presently users fight to get in during the 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. window in order to avoid extra charges to set up extra shifts. Many shipments would more logically and smoothly flow on a second or third shift. But even when an extra shift is arranged at extra cost, the flow is further impeded by a 1-hour shutdown between the day and afternoon shift, and a third shift that only works 5 hours between 3 a.m. and 8 a.m. This impedes orderly and fluid asset utilization. ' c. Obtain ocean bill of trading information from shippers rather than draymen. Presently, gate delay results from draymen submitting ocean bill of lading information (vessel, voyage, or destination data) to the pier operator. In the case of EN, we have to call the shipper to obtain this and in turn furnish it to the pier via the draymen. The shipper has previously contacted the pier to book space. Why not have the shipper provide all necessary movement and billing information at that time, either via phone or facsimile electronic mail? This would cut out the middleman, plus save time and paper both at the rail and pier gate facilities. d. Change Customs procedure of bond verification. Customs needs to verify units moving in bond. But at present, an additional seal is placed on shipments moving individually in bond, or under a master to cover shipments of less than six units. These require time to apply and then subsequently record and verify as the shipment moves through the pipeline. Is the second seal necessary in addition to the current verification procedures? e. Eliminate gate requirements that cause drivers to have to leave their tractor. At many piers, drivers must leave their tractors to complete paperwork. BN is working to simplify or eliminate such paperwork, including the use of talk-back speakers, so that drivers do not have to get out. This reduces total gate time considerably, plus streamlining the overall paperflow. f. Organize, stripe, label, and number the parking areas more clearly to expedite pickup/drop of.

72 BN's intermodal terminals are not laid out as well as some, nor organized as well as we intend. But we are working hard at and seeing the benefits of well-marked and -organized staging areas. Our Seattle International Gateway and South Seattle facilities are good examples of such efforts that have significantly reduced the time it takes customers to drop or pickup units. Such efforts also fit right into the increasing use of computer assists to improve facility operation as contrasted to manual methods. 9. Establish a focal coordinating association at each terminal to identify and resolve problems. Most railroads have an agents Association or an operating of- ficers association in each major terminal area. Meetings are held monthly to identify and resolve operating problems, which en- hances the productivity of the product for the customer. Per- haps this concept should be applied to the components of the marine terminal network namely the steamship lines, pier oper- ators, major drayage firms, and railroads. Each would designate a knowledgeable representative empowered to try new ways of re- solving productivity impediments. The group would establish an agenda and prepare progress reports to otherwise avoid becoming just a debating society. In other words, the group would talk and try, rather than just talk. The group might see the benefit of an outside review of paperwork and paperflow systems in an effort to identify and implement a more common system. Right now, each component of the system pretty well goes it alone, and others have to adapt as best they can. This often produces additional work or creates errors and delays. Such an operating officers association might further see areas for standardizing handling equipment. Presently each component group is pretty well going it alone. There are surely areas where greater knowledge of the entire system's individual needs might produce more versatile and universal useable equipment, for ex- ample, straddle cranes wide enough to go over a flat car as well as a box, or pier cranes that can bottom as well as top pick. 2. What the rail partners are trying to do to improve system pro- ductivity. a. Improve throughput time for draymen.

73 Time is money, whether the railroad, the marine terminal, or the customer provides the drayage between the pier and the rail- car facility. One way to speed this up includes advance scheduling of deliveries, so that on arrival the driver is sent to a backside car spot where a crane is waiting to put the unit directly onto the rail car. Another way is to have the railroad waive inspection of units ar- riving at the gate, and instead accept and use the marine terminal departure record as contrasted to a duplicate inspection process. - A third way is virtual computerization of the gate arrival process at the rail facility. Rather than spend time manually writing down information from the cirayman regarding the shipment, have as much as possible predelivered and already entered. Enter the rest direct as the driver gives it while the rail facility employee is hearing it and looking right at the unit. This saves time and prevents errors. A fourth way is to eventually have all movement and billing information transrn~tted electronically from the customer to the carrier. This is being worked on in a number of areas, including the Port of Seattle, and is a logical next step in data processing productivity to benefit transportation system participants and our customers. At our Seattle International Gateway, we had hoped to get draymen out within 30 minutes after they had entered. We are presently averaging 10 minutes, in large part due to these steps. b. Improve load ratios for draymen. Even though EN does not provide drayage to and from its Seat- tIe International Gateway, the railroad feels obliged to minimize one-way or bob-taiT moves as much as possible. As a result, we or- ganize the daily operation to provide a return unit for the draymen to take back to the pier, if at all possible. 3. Some ideas that might work for you, for us, and for our cus- tomers. a. Implement neutral chassis pools. While this concept is not new, it appears to have wide areas left for implementation.

74 It is based on one firm, partial to no one (hence neutral), owning, dispatching, maintaining, and billing for the chassis supply and support function. Such a pool was implemented at our Chicago Intermodal Hub in the fall of 1985. Thus far, it has generated far more satisfaction than dissatisfaction. We have eliminated chassis swings within the facility, either from one chassis to another, or from a stockpile to another. Instead, units go from rail car onto a chassis and out the gate. Should the outbound drayman not be there, the units are parked short term in a holding lot at the rail terminal, or longer term at an off-site surge lot operated by the pool contractor or the customer. But the units are handled only once. In addition, chassis ownership, operation, and maintenance cost less than the individual participants were able to obtain. b. Implement a neutral surge facility. Neither marine nor rail terminals appear to be logical places to congest with units that cannot move that day. Space at these facilities is costly. Efficiency is improved with steady flow logistics, not start and stop. Terminals work hard to develop capacities and contingency plans to survive these situations. Wouldn't it be better to use the transportation system assets to utilize a neutral surge lot, in between the pier or the rail terminal, and to hold surplus supply until it can be fed into either end? Like a blocking diode, the neutral surge lot would come into play only when either end became congested. It would preclude component overload. Our Chicago neutral chassis pool provides this feature for longer term surges, and we are pushing the system to respond to short- term surges as well. The middle ground has more capacity than either marine or rail facilities to store units that cannot move immediately. c. between. Get rail cars out onto the piers and eliminate drayage in This idea is not new and is fraught with feasibility and im- plementation difficulties. It would require a large surge and sort facility in between backside and shipside. It would not apply to all locations and situations, but it certainly appears to have benefits for some, including:

75 elimination of the entire drayage component and expense; . ability to make last minute changes in load patterns to reflect market or customer requirements; and . reduction of overall terminal space requirements by using high-density stacking and sorting technologies within the surge- sort facility that are not feasible at an individual terminal. Marine Terminal Productivity as it Relates to the Trucking Industry ROBERT A. CURRY The majority of cargo, with the exception of steel, automobiles, paper, and lumber, that is handled today is containerized in some fashion, so this report involving issues of productivity at marine terminals as related to the trucking industry is directed primarily toward container facilities. The basic purpose of a modern marine terminal is to berth a vessel, to Toad and discharge from 500 to 3,000 containers, and to sail the vessel in the shortest period of time. Because of the impor- tance of maintaining schedules and of the high daily cost, the main commitment of the terminal activity is to turn the vessel around in the shortest period of time. This leaves the other required services of the terminal, such as delivering and receiving containers from truckers, in a secondary role. Containerization and the secondary role that has been left for truckers has created dramatic changes in that part of the trucking industry that interfaces with steamship lines and marine terminals. It was not that Tong ago that the owner-operator was the ex- ception, not the rule, in the movement of cargoes to and from the steamship berths. Ten years ago, it was hard to find many independent owner-operators in the various harbors. At that time there were many large carriers (mostly unionized) who owned, op- erated, and maintained their own equipment. They handled the bulk of the containers that were moved between the steamship berths and the shippers, consignees, or raid yards. These carriers Robert A. Curry is president of California Cartage Co.

76 no longer operate trucks in the harbor. For many reasons, some relating to the productivity at the marine terminals, these truck lines have gone completely out of this type of trucking business. Today's harbor carriers are a different breed altogether. The old line carriers have been replaced with skeleton companies op- erating fleets of owner-operators. Some of these owner-operators make a sincere attempt to maintain their tractors at legal and safe standards and to carry reasonable limits of insurance; how- ever, there are a large number of these owner-operators who are working today without proper authority, without insurance, and with questionable road-worthy equipment. Many of the owner- operators in the Southern California area today are non-English speaking, and some may even be undocumented workers. As the large carriers disappeared from the harbor, so too are the quality owner-operators disappearing. The owner-operator is paid either a flat rate or a percentage of revenue for each container that he transports, so his ability to make a reasonable income is dependent to a great deal upon how fast he can turn around at a given marine terminal and on how many containers he can either pick up or deliver each day. Many of the practices and policies employed by marine terminals directly affect the produc- tivity of the trucking industry serving these terminals. Changes in some of these practices and policies could significantly increase the productivity as it relates to the trucking of these containers. Regarding the two types of container terminal operations, the wheeled operation is far superior in productivity for the trucker than is the stack operation. Anytime a trucker, who is making multiple moves of containers, can drop an-empty on a chassis and immediately pick up a Toad, the productivity of the operation will be much greater than if the same trucker had to go under a transtainer to have the empty removed and then repeat the op- eration to pick up a load. The productivity of a trucker moving containers from a wheel-configuration marine terminal is generally 50 to 100 percent greater than if he were moving the same con- tainers from a stacked operation using transtainers. The trucking industry has generally found public terminals to be substantially more restrictive than steamship-owned terminals; consequently, the productivity at these terminals is less. It would appear that there are issues pertinent to productivity that involve both types

77 of operations; however, from the trucking point of view more im- pediments seem to exist at the grounded container terminal. GROUNDED CONTAINER OPERATIONS The processing by the trucker of the paperwork required by the terminal company is similar for both the wheeled operation ter- minal and the terminal whose containers are grounded. However, the physical aspects of picking up and delivering the containers are very different. In a terminal operating a grounded operation, the trucker is responsible for going to a separate area of the terminal and securing a road-worthy chassis. If he cannot find a chassis free of defects, he has two choices. He can take the chassis to the garage area of the terminal and wait while the defect in the chassis is repaired, or he can just take the chassis. Many times the driver just takes the chassis so he can get his container and be on his way. Once he has the bare chassis, he moves to the aisle where the container he wants is stored. There may be from 1 to 10 trucks in front of him waiting for the transtainer to service them. In some cases, the transtainer operator must dig through the stack of containers to secure the desired one. Depending upon the volume of traffic at the terminal, the elapsed time to pick up the chassis and secure the container can vary from 45 minutes to 4 hours. When that same trucker returns with the empty container, he must have the completed unit inspected by a mechanic. These mechanics are looking for every type of exception from cut tires to missing twist locks. These exceptions are noted on the inter- changes that the longshore union clerk prepares, and, wherever possible, the exceptions are costed and charged to the trucker. There are always less exceptions taken on returned equipment at marine terminals who have wheeled operations versus those with grounded operations. Most marine terminals using a grounded operation are easy going out and tough Corning in. The trucker then gets in the empty receiving line. Some termi- nals only apply one piece of yard-handling equipment to handle the decking of empties. In some cases, the drivers must wait in the empty line until the lift or transtainer operator changes the spreaders from 20 feet to 40 feet, or vice versa. If the termi- nal had one top handier for the decking and setting up of 20-foot

78 containers and a similar piece of equipment for handling 40-foot containers, a great deal of waiting would be eliminated. It would also seem appropriate to try to coordinate the number of outbound empty releases to the empties being returned so that they would not have to be decked. The trucker could just drop the container and chassis, thus speeding up the operation. After delivering the empty, the trucker takes the chassis and repeats the procedure described earlier for picking up a full con- tainer. Because you have two separate operations inside the terminal delivering the empty and picking up a load the time elapsed for the trucker can vary from 1.5 hours to 6 hours. The largest block movement of containers for any terminal is the landbridge schedule. Because of the advent of stack trains, this movement becomes extremely time sensitive. Sometimes the en- tire vessel's landbridge discharge must be moved from the marine terminal to the railroad within a period of less than 8 hours. Con- sequently, a discharge from the vessel direct to the road chassis is nearly imperative. However, if limitations or shortages of chassis prevents this, then a system should be developed that places these containers in one area so they are segregated from the local boxes. Then transtainers can deliver them to the trucker without digging into stacks. Because the railroads operate on a 24-hour basis, ordinary landbridge movement lends itself to a night or weekend operation, and moving these containers during other than normal working hours tends to minimize congestion during the day. GATE OPERATIONS The productivity of a gate operation, as it relates to the trucking company, varies greatly from marine terminal to marine terminal. A major complaint of the trucker at many terminals is that he has waited for an inordinate amount of time outside the terminal in line. This situation seems to be at its worst in the morning, prior to the start of business, and just after the completion of the lunch hour when work again is starting up at the marine terminal. Possibly a system with staggered lunch hours, thus keeping the terminal open during the noon hour, would alleviate the situation in the afternoon, especially at heavy volume terminals with back- to-back schedules of vessel receiving and discharge.

79 The releasing of cargo or containers and the handling of the necessary paperwork, is also different at every marine terminal. For example, at one steamship line, the trucker must go to the steamship line's container freight station (CFS) in order to secure the release of the shipment and the proper paperwork which will allow him to pick up the loaded container at'their container yard (CY). In this particular case, the CFS is not located within the confines of the CY area, so the trucker is forced to make a stop at a separate location before he can obtain the necessary paperwork to pick up his container. At other marine terminals, truckers are sometimes forced to go to more than one building to secure the paperwork and, in the process of doing this, they must stand in separate lines to consummate each transaction. Each of these situations consumes valuable time, reduces the trucker's ability to make the maximum number of turnarounds each day, and causes congestion inside the terminal with tractors parked wherever they can to satisfy the terminal's procedure. The trucker's productivity would be greatly increased if he had to only stand in one line and see one person to consummate all transactions. No matter whether the trucker was picking up a full, delivering an empty, or both, the operation would be substan- tially more productive if what was necessary to consummate the operation were handled by one person at one place. AVAILABLE PRODUCTIVE WORKING HOURS AT A MARINE TERMINAL When analyzing the marine terminal's working hours, which are between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., it is apparent that there is probably less than 7 hours of productive working hours when you discount start-up time, coffee breaks, and the lunch hour. The railroads, the motor carriers, and the airlines have all adopted flexible start- ing times and flexible work needs for the purpose of increasing overall productivity. However, the steamship industry still main- tains very rigid working hours. Congestion and delay time for the truckers would be greatly reduced if service hours were increased. Productivity would also be enhanced if flexible work hours were developed so that clerks and marine terminals could continue to operate during breaks and lunch periods.

80 The trucking, railroad, and air freight industries have all ne- gotiated work-ruTe changes, without additional cost, that have materially increased productivity. All of these industries now have some form of flexible starting times, work weeks, and in many cases reduced hourly or daily pay guarantees to allow for the use of ca- suals to handle peak hours. Any or all of these work-rule changes would markedly increase productivity at the marine terminals. For example, if, through staggered starting times, marine termi- nals could open at 6 a.m. and close their facilities at 6 p.m., then much of the bunching and congestion of trucks at these facilities would be eluninated. Contrary to the raid industry, which has developed stack trains that ultimately Reprove the overall productivity of moving the cargo inland, the trucker must still use one tractor to move one hotfoot container between the marine terrn~nal and its origin or destination. We have no new innovations that are going to move more containers over the highways faster. The ability of the trucker to do this is predominantly determined by the efficiency and the working hours of the marine terminal. The real productivity of a trucker at a marine terminal is measured by the number of minutes it takes him to either pick up or deliver a container from the time he arrives in line at the marine terminal until the time he leaves. The trucking industry is in a transition period. The quality of the owner-operators continues to deteriorate because they are unable to generate adequate revenue for the services that they perform. Much of these problems are caused by delays and con- gestion at the marine terminals. Increased productivity at the marine terminal would greatly enhance the trucking industry's ability to move more containers in a shorter period of time.

81 Marine Container Terminal Productivity L . P . ROBINS ON In its 1984 annual report, the Marine Board of the National Research Council noted that "there are indications that shippers and ports in the United States may be losing import and export opportunities because of conditions in U.S. ports, including marine terminal productivity." Furthermore, "for cargo handling systems in which the United States is pre-eminent, productivity of use in this country is below that of other countries. While most steamship lines, stevedoring companies, and termi- nal operators guard their respective productivity figures as closely as a sales department would guard its customer list, it Is generally accepted that, given equivalent container-handling equipment and facilities, European and Asian stevedores and terrn~nal operators do outproduce their U.S. counterparts. Compared to the theoret- ical design production capability of most shoreside cranes, U.S. productivity is usually in the 45 to 50 percent range. 20 lifts/hour (U.S. average) . . = 45 to 50% 40-45 l~fts/hour (design capability) Compared to typical crane productivity figures in Asia and Europe, U.S. crane productivity is generally only 57 to 67 percent as good. 20 lifts/hour (U.S. average) = 57 to 67% 30~35 lifts/hour (Asia/Europe average) Productivity in a marine container terrn~nal generally breaks down into three principle areas of concern: (1) stevedoring, (2) container yard, and (3) receiving and delivery gate. (For purposes of this analysis, it is assumed that container freight station oper- ations are not an integral part of the marine container terminal.) L. P. Robinson is senior vice-president of operations, American President Lines, Ltd.

82 In the area of stevedoring, the primary beneficiaries of high productivity are the stevedoring company, the vessel operator, and the port authority. The stevedoring company generally has a substantial capital investment in container-handling equipment and frequently has facility rental commitments based on either a fixed cost per acre or on a wharfage sharing agreement requiring a minimum container throughput volume. The stevedoring com- pany often has fixed guarantees for a portion of its work force in order to ensure continuity in certain aspects of terminal and stevedoring activities. The trend in contractual arrangements be- tween the stevedoring company and the steamship line has been toward a fixed throughput rate per container lift. Given its high capital investment and fixed-cost base, the stevedoring company must attain a high productivity to make a profit. The higher the fixed-cost base as a percentage of the total cost, the more stevedoring productivity will affect profitability. The vessel operator typically has a huge capital investment in his ship and support equipment such as chassis and containers. His interests center on getting the ship in and out of port as quickly as possible. Simply stated, HA ship doesn't make money while it's tied up at the pier." The vessel operator can benefit from increased stevedoring productivity in many ways: . By sailing ahead of schedule the vessel can proceed to the next port at a slower speed to make its scheduled arrival, which can dramatically reduce fuel consumption. . If the vessel is behind schedule, decreased time in port can help to get it back on schedule. . Frequently crew overtime payment for off-hour sailings can be eliminated. . If the productivity at each port on the vessel's itinerary was consistently and dependably high, the deployment involving numerous vessels in a scheduled service, could be changed to provide for additional revenue generating port calls or incremental round-trip voyages, with the same vessel assets, over a fixed period of time, (i.e., improved asset use). That same consistency and dependability, when applied to a number of vessels in the same deployment, could even result in the reduction of one ship in the deployment, while still maintaining the same service levels.

83 Frequently, the design, control, and physical operation of the container yard (CY) has a direct bearing on the costs and pro- ductivity of the vessel stevedoring operation. If containers for outbound loading cannot be readily located at the time they are needed for loading, stevedoring productivity will suffer. Likewise, if the physical layout of the CY is subject to traffic jams that impede the flow of containers to and from the ship in any way, productivity will be negatively affected. Finally, if proper supervi- sion of CY activities is not provided, even a superbly designed CY will not function properly, and again the stevedoring productivity will go down. One must bear in mind that in most CY operations, there are numerous activities, besides the stevedoring operation, taking place simultaneously. Local truckers are bringing in loaded con- tainers for export and returning empty containers. Other truckers are picking up imported containers for delivery to the consignee, and empty containers for export loading for future vessels. Con- tainers are flowing to and from the container freight station for vanning and devanning. Containers are being moved to and from garages for servicing, maintenance, and repair. Containers are being examined and inspected by Customs authorities, Food and Drug Administration representatives, and other authorities. Im- pediments to a smooth flow in any one of these individual activities will frequently have a snowball effect on the efficiency of all the other activities, including stevedoring productivity. Before the export container gets parked in the CY to be ready for loading to the vessel and after the import container is dis- charged from the vessel and staged in the yard, it must pass through the receiving and delivery gates. Here again, delays at the gate result in problems in the CY, which result in stevedoring delays. Many of the loaded and empty containers that get caught in a jam-up in the receiving lanes may be destined for the waiting crane that is working the ship lying at the berth. WHO CARES? As previously discussed, the vessel operator cares about pro- ductivity. Even if he enjoys a fixed-cost, per-unit stevedoring rate, which, theoretically, is not altered by poor productivity (at least until his next contract negotiation with the stevedoring company),

84 there are many side benefits that can accrue on the water-side if his vessel gets good land-side production. Depending on the wording of his agreement with the stevedoring company, the ves- se! operator may also be burdened with payments for extended hours (beyond the normal gang working hours), overtime shifts, and dead-time adsorptions if additional gangs have to be ordered to compensate for poor or inconsistent productivity. Certainly the stevedoring company/terminal operator should care, since his profitability, and possibly even his economic sur- vival, are dependent on productivity. The days of cost-plus con- tracts, and the practice of passing on inefficiencies resulting from poor productivity, are rapidly disappearing. Flat-rate per-lift pricing forces concern for productivity. The stevedoring company has to make money on his existing clients in order to retain them and to stay in business; to make a profit he has to be productive. In order to increase his business, his rates and productivity have to be attractive and competitive, and the service he provides to the vessel owner has to be dependable. The trucker, a key link in the chain, should also care. Whether the truck is operated by an owner/operator or an employee of a trucking company, its profitability is determined by how many containers, or how much cargo, it can handle in a finite amount of time. As it relates to the marine terminal, the primary areas of potential delay are waiting at the receiving and delivery gate, searching for containers in the CY, waiting for chassis or contain- ers to be provided, paperwork problems, Customs detainments, and roadability problems with the chassis, container, or related equipment. The longshore worker should care. The American worker typi- cally gets paid more money and enjoys a higher standard of living than his counterparts in foreign countries, yet typically produces less in today's environment. For decades, America stayed ahead on the productivity curve, primarily due to technological devel- opments, innovation, and ingenuity. Today, there are few major foreign ports without container-handling equipment that is at least comparable to the equipment in U.S. ports. Based on the assumption that some, but not enough, U.S. workers do care, any analysis of stevedoring productivity must include an examination of the work ethic and motivational mind set of the American longshore worker.

85 The port authority, regardless of whether it actually operates the port or acts simply as a landlord, should have concern for productivity in all areas of the port's operation. Poor productivity will cause the port authority to make huge capital investments for additional facilities in order to compensate for inefficient use of existing facilities. Such investments may be premature at best or totally unnecessary at worst. Last, but not least, the customer should care. The proprietary owner of the goods, whether an importer or an exporter, is the one who pays the bills for all the other parties. Poor productivity ultimately costs him more money for the transportation services that are provided. Additionally, if he can't get his cargo to the pier to make the appropriate vessel or if he can't get his cargo off the pier without undue delay, he may suffer additional internal costs, dissatisfied customers of his own, and eventual cancellation of orders and loss of business. There are many parties involved, and they all should care. Each party's Tong-term potential for profit, or wages, as the case may be, is inexorably linked to the performance of the other parties. Productivity involves the efficient use of time, and time is money. If all this is true, then why is stevedoring productivity in the United States so poor, and what can be done about it? HOW TO IMPROVE STEVEDORING PRODUCTIVITY The Ship Many physical elements in the design of the ship can have a positive impact on productivity. These include the following: . automatic trim control to minimize listing during cargo operations; . gathering guides at the entrance to the cells, large enough to facilitate entry of the containers to be loaded; . proper placement of the house, on-board cranes, and other structures to minimize the necessity to ~boom-up" when shifting from hatch to hatch; . gathering guides painted with high-visibility paint for day and night operations (this can improve crane operator perfor- mance);

86 ~ minimizing stevedoring delays when selecting the above-deck conta~ner-securing system (systems currently in use range from the interbox connector/wire rope/turnbuckle method, to stacking frames, to above-deck cell guides); and constant tension winches to minimize vessel drift. The Crane Shoreside gantry cranes can be initially built or modified to enable greater productivity. . The comfort of the operator should be considered. A com- fortable seat, optimally placed to maximize visibility, and simple, well-placed, user-friendly controls are a must. . Line speeds for hoisting and trolleying should be maximized, within the limits of safety. . Expandable spreaders and quick change headblocks to en- able efficient changing of spreaders for handling differing container lengths are necessary. . The design of flipper guides on spreaders is critical for efficient handling of above-deck containers, an well as mating the spreader to containers ashore. ~ Sufficient, appropriately placed lighting is necessary for pro- ductive night operations. . Antisway devices may be useful for less-experienced opera- tors, but may actually hinder the productivity of highly skilled operators. . Selection of crane gauge (i.e., 50 feet, 80 feet, or 100 feet between crane legs) may or may not be a factor in productivity depending on the number of cranes in simultaneous operation on one ship and whether or not a parallel lane versus single lane methodology is employed in taking containers to and from the spreader. ~ Good preventative maintenance practices on cranes should be followed to minimize crane downtime during stevedoring op- erations. Downtime in excess of ~ percent (during stevedoring hours) is unacceptable to the productivity minded stevedoring company.

87 Other Container-Handling Equipment While the focus of the stevedoring operation from a hardware perspective centers on the ship-crane relationship, there are many other container-handling devices involved that need to be con- sidered from design, operation, reliability, and preventive main- tenance standpoints. A grounded operation employing straddle carriers, transtainers, port-packers, or any combination demands attention to many of the same concerns discussed for cranes. Operator comfort, visibility, user-friendly controls, line speeds, spreaders, spreader flippers, and lighting must all be taken into consideration. SIope-sided, oversized "bath tub" chassis are de- sirable for use in a grounded operation. This type of yard chassis speeds up the process for the crane or other lifting device to place the container on the chassis. The need to position the container precisely on four small twist locks, by an operator who is 40-90 feet in the air, is eliminated. This latter process is a significant drawback to the fully wheeled (staged on street chassis) operator, for as much as 50 percent of his stevedoring lifts. In either a grounded or fully wheeled operation, a common thread is the stevedoring tractor. Productivity-minded stevedor- ing companies will benefit by careful selection of the appropriate unit, considering size, wheel base, ease of steering, operator com- fort, hydraulic fifth wheel, and convenient air-line connections. Some stevedoring companies in transtainer operations are cur- rently using high-horsepower tractors that enable one unit to pull as many as five chassis-mounted containers, the obvious benefits being a reduction in the number of trips between stack and ship, fewer tractors to be purchased and maintained, and fewer tractor drivers required. The Terminal The design of the container yard is a critical element to pro- ductivity. ~ The tendering systems should be designed to absorb the shock of ship movement, to enable the ship to be aligned parallel to the crane rails, and to be kept tightly alongside by constant tension winches that minimize movement of the vessel.

88 ~ Preplanned traffic flows, including express lanes, should be provided to allow relatively unrestricted movement between parking slots or container stacks and the shoreside cranes. . A simple parking system should be incorporated in the design for fully wheeled operations. ~ High-visibility row-number signs and pavement markings should be installed to facilitate traffic flow and to eliminate con- fusion for tractor drivers. ~ Receiving and delivery lanes should be designed for flexibil- ity so that returning empty containers, bare chassis, and bobtails are not stuck behind a long line of incorn~ng loaded containers in scale lanes. To some degree, incoming and outgoing lanes should be interchangeable so that heavy traffic flows, in one or the other direction, can be accommodated. Changeable lane directional signs and markings are required in order to divert the normal flow of traffic to and through the lanes. Adequate lighting should be provided. . Proper paving and drainage are essential to maintaining productivity, especially during inclement weather. . Overall traffic patterns between yard and ship and between street and yard should be designed and well marked to mitigate peak period congestion problems, when various operations are being conducted simultaneously. . A well-designed and properly used computer-assisted yard control program, to keep track of chassis and container loca- tions and vacant slots, will greatly assist both CY activities and stevedoring operations. The need to search for containers will be dramatically reduced, and traffic flows will be improved, if a row or stack location is always available for each container and each container is in its proper place. The Human Element We have addressed what it takes to get a properly designed ship berthed at a properly designed terminal, supplied with prop- erly designed and well-maintained container-handling equipment. These elements are already in place at most U.S. port facilities. So why can't they get better stevedoring productivity? The reader will, no doubt, note that the preceding synopsis

89 barely dealt with new (existing or future) technology. This was intentional. This industry should be actively engaged in finding ways to improve the use and productivity of existing assets, as a priority to spending huge amounts of capital to develop new technology for productivity improvement. One is not exclusive of the other, but the priority should be geared towards getting more out of what currently exists. There are literally dozens of studies going on with regard to improving stevedoring productivity. The industry is looking at rel- atively simple time and motion/industrial engineering type stud- ies, which measure everything from the arc employed in load and discharge cycles, to the time required in every component and activity involved with stevedoring, calculated into hundredths of a rn~nute. The primary finding of these studies is that U.S. ter- minals are not using their assets anywhere close to their designed capabilities. The prevalent reasons are poor planning, poor man- agement and supervision, and poor labor. From there the research departs to high technology items, including: . two-trolley cranes; chassis positioners; . electronic and laser guides between crane and vessel hatch; . acoustical wave and electronic impulse readers for tagged containers and chassis; . fully automated cranes; and . fully automated terminals. Some or all of these technological innovations may come to pass in the not-too-distant future. Few, if any, of these innovations will obviate the need for the industry to concentrate a large part of its efforts to improving the most important factor affecting pro- ductivity of existing assets—people. In its simplest form (where productivity is concerned), the human element breaks down into two basic components: management, which decides what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and how it's to be done, and labor, which performs the work to be done, in accordance with the plan devised by management. This ranges from clerical input into computers or manual forms, to driving tractors and operating cranes.

go Planning The operative letters here are "P-~-A-N." One of the fundamen- tal differences between a high-productivity and a low-productivity operation is how well the activities are planned and coordinated. Frequently, management has abdicated its planning responsibili- ties to labor, and labor is not adequately trained or motivated to do the job in the most cost-effective and efficient manner. Short interval planning is not properly accomplished, and reaction to the need to make changes is slow. Control and Management Even the best plans are subject to a myriad of changes in a fast- paced stevedoring operation. Therefore, management must have control of the situation and must promptly react to changes in order to facilitate the operation's progress, so that productivity is not adversely affected. Another facet of control that is frequently absent in stevedoring operations is good, old-fashioned discipline. When the crane is not being fed with containers because the tractor drivers are delayed in the yard somewhere (whether or not it's intentional), you'll frequently find the supervision in the office or attending to other duties. The primary duty of the supervisor ~ to supervise not to be performing paperwork or other tasks that are unrelated to ensuring a smooth, productive physical operation. An adequate number of concerned, well-trained, and motivated supervisors are essential to good production. Are your supervisors competent? Consider the following questions: ~ Do your supervisors know that management does care about productivity? Do the supervisors themselves care? . Do they plan their operation so that a foundation for con- trolled change exists? . Does the planning process enable them to anticipate most problems? . Do they have enough C`street smarts" to foresee problems and to make proactive changes before the problems occur? . Are they afraid or coerced by labor, or by the union? . Are they adequately compensated for what you expect of them, and relative to the people they supervise?

91 . Do they know "the book" (labor contract), local work rules, and results of prior arbitrations so they know what can and cannot be done? . Do you give them enough slack so that they know it's all right to make a mistake once in a while, but that they should learn from mistakes and not repeat them? . Do they communicate and coordinate with other compo- nents of the operation, e.g., CY, CFS, gate control, yard control, maintenance and repair, or the documentation department? ~ . Do they understand that you expect them to manage the situation, not simply to act as a trouble shooter, coordinator, and technical adviser? If you don't have the answers to these questions, you'd better get them because things aren't going to change until the supervi- sors are properly motivated to effect change. The bottom line is this: If you don't care, why should they? Labor We have identified the importance of the good ship, in the good terminal, serviced by good container-handling equipment, and managed by good supervisors, but we're still not getting good productivity. There's one more factor in this equation labor! The person doing the physical work is an adult human being. Human beings are subject to human nature. Human nature drives a human being to take the easiest course unless he's motivated otherwise. In any group of people there tends to be a common mix of good, poor, and in-between types. This is true of a parent and teacher association, a football team, a management group, or a labor force. Generally speaking, 10 percent excel and do their best at everything they attempt. Another 10 percent are lethargic, lazy, and incorrigible, and do as little as they possibly can to contribute. Neither extreme of this spectrum is easily changed. What makes or breaks the P.T.A., the football team, the management group, or the labor gang is the 80 percent that's in the middle. If this group is permitted to drift, human nature will take over, and it will tend to drift towards complacency in its performance. The good news is that the "80-percenters" can be affected, and they'll lean towards the high-performance side if they are properly motivated.

92 So how does one motivate a worker who thinks he works for the union and not for the company . . . who does not have steady employment with any one company, but changes jobs from one day to the next . . . whose paycheck comes from a multiemployer group and can't be identified with any one employer to whom he could possibly have some loyalty and allegiance . . . who is frequently deprived of training? As previously mentioned, the planning of an operation is critical to productivity. If the work force perceives that little planning has been done and suspects that chaos will be the order of the day, there will be little productivity. Conversely, if the operation appears to be well planned and organized, a momentum tends to build, the momentum becomes infectious, and good production typically results. Once the momentum is there, it has to be kept up. Container availability for outbound loading must be assured, and the crane must be continuously fed. Few things will destroy momentum and cause the tempo to plummet faster than a "hurry up and waits type of operation. Simply stated, all the physical impediments to productivity must be eliminated as a first step in keeping the labor properly motivated toward high performance. The onsite management must be firm, but fair and consistent in its dealings with the work force. The basic plan and neces- sary changes to the plan must be communicated to the worker. Participatory management (not management abdication) should be encouraged, so that the workers fee} as if they are a part of the operation, and fee! a sense of obligation for its proper and timely completion. Management must dispel the feeling that the worker is only a tool. Each worker must be respected and treated like a human being. When he doesn't perform and fails to heed warnings, the fair and consistent application of discipline must be present. The primary key to productivity is an inspired, motivated, well- trained work force. However, it's difficult to reach people who don't work for you consistently. What most terminal operators and stevedoring companies need is a steady work force, a nucleus of people who work for the same company every day and who are capable and willing to perform a multiplicity of tasks. This basic work force must be supplemented by skilled people from the hiring hails for peak periods.

93 Given a steady, multipurpose complement of labor, the terminal operating company or stevedoring company could: . Effectively train the people as to what needs to be done and how best to do it. . Educate the workers as to the yard layout, traffic flow pat- terns, and the general methodology employed at that particular facility. . Switch workers from one type of work to another, as the workload demands change from day to day. . Introduce a productivity related, incentive pay system that rewards workers as higher plateaus of productivity are achieved. . Give the labor force a sense of pride, self-satisfaction, and belonging that usually doesn't exist today. . Pay each worker at the highest rate for which he is qualified, regardless of the type of work performed on a given day. . Pay the steady workers directly, on a company check, instead of through an employer association. Clearly, we don't have these things today. We also have little rapport with our workers today, and it's not at all surprising considering the system under which they are employed. We don't have the flexibility and dedication we need, but we should strive to get these things in the next round of contract negotiations. U.S. companies cannot continue to afford to subsidize underproductive labor at the high wage and fringe costs that currently exist. CONCIJUSION Continued research into automation and other technological advances, in terminal operations and stevedoring, is desirable and essential. It should not, however, take place at the expense of ignoring the human factor in productivity. When we arrive at fully automated cranes, on fully automated terminals, the people will become relatively unimportant. Most indications are that such a date is far away. Until then, the prudent terminal operator and stevedoring company would be well advised to focus its primary attention toward improving the performance of front- line supervisors, as well as increasing the efficiency of the people who physically perform the work.

94 Changing the status quo will require a great deal of day-to-day management attention and a clear set of management demands to be put forward at the collective-bargaining table. Productivity Concerns in Intermodal Terminal Operations JOHN GRAY Rail intermodal in the last decade has been the prime, long- distance-service, land transportation alternative for container- shipping lines and their customers because of lower line haul transportation costs than over-the-road transportation, ease of interchangeability of container equipment, and an inherent ability to accommodate shi~size lots of containers, whereas a motor carrier has a problem taking 500 boxes at a crack. The capability of the railroads to move large amounts of cargo on relatively short notice creates unique problems within both the intermodal rail terminal and the marine terminal because everything tends to move in large chunks at a time. The result has been to force changes in terminal design and operating practices, including more flexible terminal design, changes in container- handling equipment, changes in operating procedures, and more flexible and creative labor practices. To date, five so-called intermodal container transfer facilities, which are on-dock (or near-dock) container-loading facilities for rail cars, have been constructed or are in planning in the United States. The Port of Tacoma has two facilities, one on-dock (North Yard), one off-dock (South Intermodal Terminal) . Burlington Northern's Seattle International Gateway is an off-dock facility. The Port of San Francisco's Intermodal Container Transfer Fa- cility is an on-dock operation, and the Port of I,os Angeles/Long Beach Intermodal Container Transfer Facility (ICTF), an off-dock facility, is the largest of all by far. John Gray is president of Intermodal Management Services (IMS), a terminal-operating company. Several IMS terminals serve the ocean freight industry.

9s All of these facilities have certain common characteristics. They attempt to minimize drayage by locating the rail intermodal facil- ity as close as possible to the marine facilities. They are designed to minimize the amount of chassis and containers stored at the facility. And they all employ improved freight documentation procedures, which is the key to making the facilities viable. An innovation in our Seattle and Tacoma facilities that will probably be a model for the planned new facilities in California includes common use (between marine terminals and intermodal rail terminals) of the trailer interchange report (TIR). It's silly to have a marine terminal complete a detailed TIR and then get over to the railroad and inspect the whole thing all over again after a 3-mile trip on the highway. So, at Seattle and at Tacoma, we depend upon the marine terminal-furnished TIR. We think they can do just as good a job as we can. All we do is a quick cursory visual inspection to see if there's any obvious wreck damage. We have worked with the railroads and the container-shipping lines to affect computer-to-computer transfers of freight forward- ing and billing data. When a truck shows up at the Seattle intermodal terminal we already know it's coming; we have essen- tial data in the system; and we can move the container through without any paperwork. Investing the terminal operator with control of documentation aids the centralization and automation of this function. Advance notice of empty and loaded containers prior to the arrival of a train at the intermodal terminal is very helpful. We have formalized this to provide 24-hour advance notification of the arrival of specific containers at the terminal. Our service is reliable enough to back that up. This enables the terminal operator to meet the freight with adequate resources as soon as it arrives. One of the key elements in operating rail intermodal facilities is no different than the trucking side or the marine side of the business. That is the necessity of labor agreements that are in tune with the most productive operations. Our facilities at Seattle and Tacoma and elsewhere have a number of characteristics in their labor agreements that provide a great deal of flexibility to innovate as needed. For one, they provide for a single job classification everybody gets the same pay. That eliminates all the squabbles.

96 Where there are peaks and valleys in the workload because of ship schedules, people may have to work 12 to 14 hours on 1 day and then face 2 or 3 days in which there is little to do. This creates a significant potential for injustice. In the face of this situation, we have put our key people on 40-hour work guarantees. This provides labor with the incentive to get in there and get that job done when it's needed, and it provides management with a stable core of skilled workers. We have no work rules. ~ think work rules are an inhibitor to any type of productivity at all. We have common sense, and we have an expedited grievance procedure that deals with any injustice that would be created by a system that does not have work rules. Labor productivity is emphasized in our terminals. Everybody in the terminal knows what the lifts per man-hour are, in our parlance. As we get more experienced we expect to put in certain kinds of incentive programs as well, to see if we can heighten those numbers even further, so there's an incentive for everybody to come up with ways to improve the procedures. To control the terminal, you have to control the documentation. In Seattle and Tacoma, we control the clerks. The labor and supervision for loading and unloading are critical. Our people are out there, all day every day, supervising the truckers on the job. The criterion that we've established is that all truckers have to be in and out of the facility in less than 15 minutes. In fact, in most cases they're out in less than 10 minutes. There's a lot of talk about lift equipment. We operate four facilities with six different kinds of equipment. From experience, ~ can report that the effect of lift equipment and yard design on productivity are much less than the effect of labor practices and agreements, the quality of people you have, the way they're treated, and the quality of supervision. The control of documen- tation and gate procedures are also more important than terminal design and equipment in achieving productive operations. Preplanning is an important element of productive operations. In Seattle we have terminal coordinators who work with the steamship lines, the port, and railroad to plan ahead as best as they can as to what we're going to take in each day eastbound and what we've got coming westbound, and who try to schedule the business as best as they can so that we can get good productivity

97 at the terminal. We make sure that every Toad that is accepted goes out that night. Eastbound loads are never held over. Nor do we accept more than we can handle. Cycle loading and unloading at track side is a key element. That way the trucker and the container-shipping line are assured that that chassis is going to get back to them. It's not going to get lost; it's not going to end up being dropped in a rail yard. Expedited gate procedures are also important. Computer-to- computer transfers of data, the use of a common trailer inter- change report, the use of manifests rather than individual bills— all of these cut down on the amount of actual paper that needs to be handled. Improvements in labor practices are absolutely essential. Our single job category and rate of pay make it possible for people to work as gate inspectors one day and equipment operators the next. The variety improves the quality of the work accomplished, as well as providing management flexibility. The best possible terminal layout is long tracks with maneu- vering room in between. An obstacle to improved rail-water containerized transportation is the incredible equipment imbalance. On the Pacific Coast, eastbound containers are full, westbound containers are empty. This tremendous waste of capacity has to be addressed to really improve productivity. The flood of import container traffic for auto parts is making matters even worse. Motor carrier competition for the scarce backhaul is greater now than it's ever been and will continue to increase. These areas hamper intermodal development because they have a tremendous impact on the profitability of the business. Discussion Hugh M. I`acey, Sea-I`and Service, Inc.: None of our speakers has identified a technological breakthrough that is going to improve productivity dramatically. Nor have they cried out for a massive injection of capital. Instead, they have stressed the human side of the business, the need for steady labor, better management, and better communications. This discussion was moderated by Hugh Lacey, retired vice-president of Sea-Land Service, Inc.

98 Robert Curry reminded us very succinctly that no one is in- vesting in equipment. That signals a management problem. He also talked about the need for more communication and flexible hours, more understanding of each other's problems. David Burns described the need for local labor-management coordinating com- mittees. He also talked about a neutral chassis pool and a neutral, single-facility storage yard. John Gray stressed the human side of the business. He under- scored the importance of planning as well as some nuts-and-boTts basics such as advanced notification, flexible hours, and different work rules. Robert Senecal, Metropolitan Stevedore Co.: How can the innovations in labor practices that have been suggested actu- ally be implemented? Hugh Lacey: There is no patent formula. Steady labor, flexible work rules, and straight labor each may work in particular circumstances. David Burns, Burlington Northern Railroad: Our facil- ity at Seattle is an interesting case in point. Most Burlington Northern facilities include railroad clerks who do the paperwork. The people who do the lifting on and off and the people who do the hostTing are mostly nonunion contractor employees. Manage- ment had to decide what kind of a work force to install at Seattle. Against this backdrop, the teamsters thought the terminal should be a teamsters' facility; the longshoremen thought it ought to be a longshoremen facility. In considering options, a consensus started forr~iing in manage- ment that it would be better to be union rather than nonunion at Seattle, provided that union affiliation would not deny man- agement essential flexibility to operate productively. Discussion centered on a composite work force with some union affiliation, but who were not railroad employees. Today at the Seattle In- ternational Gateway, the Brotherhood of Railroad and Airline Clerical Employees represents all the employees, who are employ- ees of the terminal operating contractor. These former railroad workers lost pay, job security, and bene- fits. What they got out of it was, in their own words, "ownership of a job. What do they mean by that? The contractor can throw them out tomorrow. With the railroad, the workers pointed out, you have all manner of guarantees and a grievance procedure.

99 Yet stringent work rules led to seniority bumping as the railroads trimmed forces and operations. With the constant bumping, job turnover was high. Job occupancy was transient. With flexible work rules, the workers feel they own their job as long as they do it right. They feel needed and appreciated. John Gray, Intermo da] Management Services, ~c.: The Seattle workers who left the railroad to work in the intermodal terminal could have opted under railroad union contracts for jobs for life, regardless of whether they worked or not. The majority of workers who switched were relatively young. They opted for productive jobs where they could contribute and take pride over a guaranteed wage. These workers have no guarantee with me, and ~ really don't have a guarantee either, because ~ operate on a 30- day canceliable contract with the railroad. Yet their productivity is excellent, as good as any facility in the country, and the morale is very, very high, because there's value to the job; they like what they're doing; they're treated like human beings. David Burns: All the Brotherhood of Railroad and Air- line Clerks could see in the railroad industry was decline. With the Seattle International Gateway, the union has increased dues- · ~ paymg members. Michael Gaffney, CorneB University: Under the single job classification arrangement, what means are there for the work force to have equitable treatment in terms of reassignment? John Gray: Everybody basically has the same seniority date, so you can't use seniority. Take away the job classification and rate of pay issues, and conflicts disappear. When conflicts about shifts or other matters do arise, we try informal methods ("Why don't the day and night workers swap shifts after 6 months?" for example). The informal methods seem to work better than rigid postings. Keith Christian, Port of Seattle: As the work force changes over time, you will get different levels of seniority. Do you think this will complicate the situation? John Gray: Most of our workers are young. They have good jobs, and have the capacity to do a lot more than they're doing now. We do about 8,500 lifts a month at that terminal. That same crowd can handle 10,000, 11,000, 12,000 lifts without any problems. This is likely to be a very stable work force.

100 BiB MongeBuzzo, Journal of Commerce: How is it pos- sible to have steady employment of longshoremen in the face of seasonal and regional fluctuations in cargo? Would the implica- tion of a steady work force be fewer workers? [. P. Robinson, American President Lines, [td.: ~ don't know if it's possible or not. The only way you can afford a steady worker is if the worker can perform more than one task. A well-trained, steady work force makes a lot of sense, for more reasons than just productivity. ~ think there's a definite emphasis on safety. Also, the guy can begin to know where everything is and how it works. But there's no magic wand to accomplishing this. It's something our industry has to go after in the context of collective bargaining. If you got all the terminal operators in Los Angeles/Long Beach together and asked if they want steady labor, there'd probably be some that say no. There has to be room for the employee to take a steady job if he wants to. There may be some terminal operators who don't want that because of fluctuations in business or whatever. William Webster, University of California at Berkeley: We've heard a lot about conditions on the West Coast. ~ haven't heard much about the East Coast. Roger Giesinger, Virginia International Terminals, Inc.: We operate three terminals in Norfolk. We are going to strive for flexibility in the next round of labor negotiations. Terminal operators need both guaranteed people as well as casual labor in order to handle surges in work. Another aspect of flexibility is longer hours to operate the terminal on a straight time basis and not on overtime. ~ think, in doing that, you create jobs. Rudy Rubio, International :Longshoremen's and Ware- housemen's Union: Labor has points of view as to how some of these issues should be addressed, which requires that manage- ment and labor together look at these problems. The agenda of this meeting provides for this by means of workshops. A more balanced view of these subjects may be contained in the reports of the workshops. Clifford Sayre, E. I. duPont de Nemours & Co.: Is the labor reduction in force situation pretty much the same on the East and West Coasts?

101 Hugh [acey: They're quite different. One of them seems to stress the status quo; the other has a great deal more flex to it. Lee Lane, Association of American Railroads: The issue of incentives for improving productivity has at least two dimen- sions, incentives to encourage individual output and incentives for output of the facility as a whole. Could someone elaborate on incentives to achieve these different aspects of productivity? John Gray: Our incentives are geared to improvements in unit productivity, and that's better than trying to pick out individuals. Anthony Petrizzo, Maersk Container Service Co.: wanted to comment on aspects of the human element. As re- gards West and East Coast differences, there is a significant age difference. Longshoremen on the East Coast average about 57- years-old as contrasted with workers a generation younger on the West Coast. There's a different educational level and a different work ethic. Years of working independently in a flexible work environment possibly mean more to the younger group. Sometimes it's helpful to look outside our own industry, to see how other industries handle the human element. We can't look just within ourselves and our own industry. Hugh Lacey: One of the things we don't do enough of is the exploring of what the other guy is doing. The attitude in our industry is, "Who cares?" Other papers in the proceedings do consider innovations tried elsewhere. As long as we're looking at a human problem, we need to look at different human approaches, because obviously ours hasn't worked so well up to now. John Gray: My company will probably implement an agree- ment similar to that in Seattle at another location, involving a large group of people with an average age of about 52. Next year I'll be able to tell you how that worked out. Some of the concepts we use follow the Japanese model, and it works. L. P. Robinson: The age of the worker is not that impor- tant. We're not talking about pushing a button on a worker's back to make the worker speed up. We're just talking about more consistent work and better planning. Another side of the human element is the quality of management supervision. We've abdicated much of that, ~ think, to labor. Asaf Ashar, Louisiana State University: Perhaps a long- term solution is to unify all the elements into one transportation company.

102 . Hugh [acey: Most of us have a tendency to survive by competing with each other. I'm a little surprised we haven't had more comments on Robert Curry's points. He projected a major crisis in a year or two because there's no capital being invested in the trucking infrastructure. Rudy Rubio: ~ don't know much about trucking, but there was something in what Mr. Curry said that made a lot of sense. My union's point of view is that if commitments are to be made by unions, then there also have to be commitments on the part of management. Management in trucking seems to be slipping away. Without management commitment, how can there be labor commitment? Hugh [acey: You can have fast trains and big yards and still not be able to move cargo in and out of the gate. Motiva- tion is all important. Some time ago, Sea-Land embarked on a product improvement-oriented self-analysis/motivation program termed "Buy Analysis. At first it was difficult to apply the concept to a service business. However, we put a tremendous amount of time and effort into the challenge. The result was about 690 projects with savings of $50 million offered up by grass- roots workers. The target all along was the first-line supervisor and the worker. We've been quite happy at the participation we've had from most of our union people, including the clerks and the machinists. We haven't had as much luck with the long- shoremen because there's no path of communication for mutual interest. We've decided to expand that concept and move toward Japanese-style quality circles. We're relying increasingly on par- ticipative management because we have found that if you have a problem, the cause and the cure are often with the first-line supervisor. Clifford Sayre: We have been discussing productivity in var- ~ous elements of the transportation system. We've been blessed in this country with an overabundance of capacity in all of the elements of the transportation system. One of the things that has a big influence on productivity is capacity utilization. Var- ious elements of our transportation system are now starting to rationalize themselves, for different reasons. At some point that is going to have an impact on the performance of the total system. Robert Curry's real message today is that we may find the pinch

103 point between capacity and productivity first in trucking, as one of the very key elements of the system. Marty Frates, Teamsters Local 70: How has deregulation affected the situation in the trucking industry? Robert Curry, California Cart age Co.: Deregulation has materially affected the industry. Six of the top 15 truck lines in the United States have been forced into employee buyouts. We're like people in the jungle; we're eating each other. When ~ grew up in this industry, you had a tariff book and you had rates. Everybody was equal. That's not the case today. I'd hate to be a traffic manager. One company may offer a 42 percent discount today. Another finds out about it and offers 43 percent the next day. The largest and strongest companies will survive. The long-haul irregular route carriers will survive also because they're specialized. The rest of the industry is not going to survive, and that's all there is to it. If you're going to survive, you'd better be a big guy or a specialist. The other crippling factor is the national insurance crisis. This industry's problems will be solved in the Tong run by attrition. Marty Frates: Deregulation of trucking has also affected safety. Trucks are no longer being maintained adequately because the revenue isn't there for that. Robert Nolan, International Terminal Operating Co., Inc.: Has any thought been given to the effect on marine terminal productivity of the lack of a regular work force on board ship? Robert Fall, Sea-Land Service, Inc.: From the ocean car- rier's perspective, the total transportation system is undergoing a very rapid evolution. In the past, we've concerned ourselves with moving freight from port to port. Today, the impetus is on intermodalism in the total transportation system. This may mean redesigning the terminal, moving it closer to a railhead, or establishing unit trains. The ocean carrier is pressuring the total system. For one thing, he's building and operating larger-capacity ships.

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Is the U.S. marine terminal on the verge of becoming a bottleneck rather than a funnel for world general cargo commerce? This volume, prepared at the request of the U.S. Maritime Administration, appraises issues pertinent to the productivity of these marine terminals, addressing such topics as the state of the art of technology and engineering design in general cargo terminals; the comparison of technology and design with that of other countries; the interrelationship of port and terminal practices; and the implications of port and terminal costs, practices, engineering design, and use of technology.

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