Improving Productivity in U.S. Marine Container Terminals (1986) / Chapter Skim
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U.S. Marine Terminal Technology and Operation
U.S. Marine Terminal Technology and Operation
Pages 104-148
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From page 104... ...
Marine Terminals FRANK NOLAN, JR. The traditional marine terminal, equipped with labor, ropenets, slings, crowbars, and hand trucks, was phased out during the 1940s as the wood pallet and forklift truck came into general use.
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From page 105... ...
, a significant contributor to R&D, has been under severe government pressure to pare expenditures in the wake of enormous budget deficits. To aid MarAd in assessing the present status of the maritime industry, the Marine Board of the National Research Council formed the Committee on Strategies to Improve R&D in the Maritime Industry, which in turn formed work groups to evaluate each segment of the industry.
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From page 106... ...
In the future, marine terminals wit} be expected to bear the cost of structural improvements as well as the cost of initial and maintenance dredging. These costs will likely be a factor in defining the least-cost route in the transport chain.
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From page 107... ...
High- and intermediate-density, yard-stacking systems have been introduced, employing straddle carriers with three-high stacking capability, rubber-tired yard gantry cranes, and railmounted yard gantry cranes. Some of these systems will permit a high level of yard automation, such as that employed by Matson at Los Angeles.
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From page 108... ...
BULK CARGO SYSTEMS Most of the technical problems uncovered in the analysis of the intermodal marine container terminal were found to be present in bulk terminals huge capital requirements, no dependable future volume to amortize investment, and curtailment of R&D funds when profits are squeezed. Enormously expensive facility expansion during the recent energy crisis is now surplus as world coal trade stumped after the crisis.
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From page 109... ...
The container terminal is the temporary repository for intransit storage of containers while notifications are being sent to Dan Rayacich is president of Rayacich Maritime Consultants.
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From page 110... ...
The operating productivity, as containers are handled and rehandled in the course of passing through the terminal, is usually stated in terms of containers handled per shift, per crane, or in terms of annual container throughput. CONTAINER-HANDLING SYSTEMS From the earliest days of containerization, not much more than 30 years ago, the pioneering American container carriers developed different container-handling systems.
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From page 111... ...
fat ~ STRADDLE SHIP CRANE CARRIER FIGURE 2 Straddle carrier container-handling system. ~~ -- ,ua~.,=~ GROUND STRADDLE STORAGE CARRIER TRUCK Currently, chassis systems are used in 46 percent of the container terminals in the United States, and 54 percent use stacking systems that are quite widely distributed among the types just discussed.
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From page 112... ...
¢~_~1 l~ 111111~11111 TRAVEL CRANE TRUCK BRIDGE GROUND SHIP CRANE . TRUCK & CHASSIS CRANE STORAGE TRUCK FIGURE 4 Bridge crane container-handling system.
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From page 113... ...
It follows that the traditional measure of productivity should be used; namely, productivity = cost/containers handled. Public Versus Private Container Terminals Notwithstanding that we consider the United States to be a bastion of free enterprise, about 88 percent of the container terminals in this country are provided by a public body, a port authority at the city or state level.
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From page 114... ...
Operations Control Center The necessary coordination and control of all container terminal activities are handled by personnel at the operations control center (OCC)
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From page 115... ...
An outbound stow plan is prepared which relates yard container locations to ship stowage positions, after which all is in readiness for the ship-Ioading operation. There is a point where a ship outbound stow plan should be stabilized especially when a terminal is handling several vessels concurrently by instituting a cutoff time, after which no further export containers should be received for that ship's sailing.
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From page 116... ...
Exiting truckers are required to show their authorization to haul away containers or equipment and that Customs requirements have been met. Ideally, gate clerks use the interactive capabilities of their computer terminals to verify container availability, to ascertain locations of containers and equipment in the yard, and to determine whether charges or assessments are to be collected.
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From page 117... ...
THROUGHPUT Throughput is the volume of container flow from shipboard, through the container terminal, and out the gate, and vice versa. If throughput per crane is used as a criterion, American container terminals would compare poorly with overseas terminals.
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From page 118... ...
Although some of the rosier growth forecast scenarios have not been realized in recent years, and the momentum of building container terminals may have gone beyond today's demand, there is a definite bright side to our current situation. American ports now have the reserve capability of absorbing a substantial increase of container volume without a large amount of additional building.
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From page 119... ...
THE EFFECT OF WORK RULES ON PRODUCTIVITY One hears a great deal these days about the need for greater technological development and mechanization in our basic industries in order to improve productivity, and for greater freedom from work rules that inhibit the most efficient use of the work force. Understandably, labor tends to resist such changes because of the resultant erosion of their members' work opportunity.
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From page 120... ...
To the port authority, the measure of productivity would be in terms of throughput per year, as port revenue is proportional to the throughput. The trucker would be concerned with truck turnaround time at the container terminal, as that would directly affect his productivity.
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From page 121... ...
The perceived resistance of labor Is often used as an excuse for lack of innovation. On numerous occasions both East and West Coast longshore labor have worked with management to foster innovation, but in some cases new technology must be seriously considered even if no reduction in labor will result.
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From page 122... ...
Confronting these impediments, the maritime industry is forging ahead to identify and evaluate emerging technologies. In the remaining pages, ~ discuss four major areas where information technology advancements, proven in other industries, are being applied in U.S.
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From page 123... ...
AUTOMATIC EQUIPMENT CONTROL In a modern marine terminal a ship may discharge and Toad 1,000 containers in a period of 24 hours. During that time there may also be 900 gate moves, 200 containers moving through the CFS, 100 containers moving into or out of maintenance, and 1,500 moves to and from parking locations in the yard.
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From page 124... ...
Automatic identification systems are available to provide the reliable equipment identification data just described. The benefits of automatic identification to the marine operators include: improved gate flow; quicker freight turnover and response time; more efficient land usage; quicker document generation; more accurate inventory control; and improved customer service.
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From page 125... ...
125 REMOTE ANTENNA \ READER CODED ITEM STAG _ ~ 7 ID# 247896 FIGURE 2 Radio frequency system components. the interrogator and transponder, do not appear to affect operation of the system.
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From page 126... ...
Another near-term system that may address equipment identification requirements is voice recognition technology (VRT)
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From page 127... ...
This advance can occur only after management has thoroughly proven the technology in the marine environment. Since 1984, U.S.-flag carriers have been evaluating the reliability and economics of automatic equipment identification through several prototypes being developed by the Cargo Handling Cooperative Program (CHCP)
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From page 128... ...
These systems would marry the identification of the equipment with the location. Such technologies include: meet; Radar employing radio waves to detect location and move~ Satellite systems~uch as Geo-Star where the satellites provide a key location coordinate to a ground-based station that analyzes the location data; ~ Infrared triangulation where three infrared beams track particular coordinates of a piece of equipment; and Talking stones microcircuit based, grid-monitored systems.
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From page 129... ...
HHLA is planning to extend the system into its stacking crane and forklift truck fleet. Europe Container Terminus uses a wireless infrared data transmission system to send container information from its central computer to straddle carriers.
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From page 130... ...
With this expansion goes an increased information flow, expansion of the work and influence of a marine clerk, and potential for a proliferation of inaccurate data. Although systems such as sophisticated container cranes and yardhandling equipment have improved the productivity of longshore work significantly, no major systems have been developed to improve the efficiency of marine clerks.
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From page 131... ...
Simple audiovisual aids are available for most courses, but there is limited use of sophisticated structured tools or any type of motivational training. As a whole, the maritime industry invests substantial amounts of resources in training.
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From page 132... ...
MATERIAL-HANDLING SYSTEMS In a recently completed study of West Coast crane operations, documented observations show considerable potential for improved technology in crane activities. Some improvements relate back to better yard operations, but other improvements can be gained by applying proven technology to the crane.
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From page 133... ...
Crane Cycle Improvement Study, unpublished report of the Cargo Handling Cooperative Program, U.S. Maritime Administration, Washington, D.C., November 1985.
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From page 134... ...
The CHOP Is developing several simulation models for the U.S.-flag carriers. Last year the CHOP developed a container terminal simulation mode!
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From page 135... ...
This fact has certainly not escaped the attention of American port interests that have both welcomed the surge of imports and worried about the lack of exports especially the West Coast marine terminal industry, which has the good fortune to be situated at one edge of the ocean that separates the manufacturing citadel of the Far East from the worId's principal consumers. What may not be so obvious, however, is the manner in which industrial organizations worldwide are attempting to mobilize their human resources to prosper (or just survive)
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From page 136... ...
marine terminal industry. To accomplish this it will be helpful to review what is taking place in other countries and in other industries.
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From page 137... ...
In the marine terminal industry, refinement of cargo-handling and information systems technologies has cut into the size of both the blue and the white collar terminal work force. In industrialized
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From page 138... ...
security guarantees have been negotiated. The marine terminal industry is a very early and dramatic example.
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From page 139... ...
members have worked under full-year minimum payment guarantees that provide up to 2,080 hours of straight-time compensation. On the West Coast, class A longshoremen also benefit from substantial income security protection, with employer assignment made through the union hiring hall.
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From page 140... ...
The expansion of container traffic and specialized gear has suggested the need for greater continuity of dock worker assignment. The "steady mane issue has haunted West Coast labor relations since its original acknowledgment in the 1960 Mechanization and Modernization Agreement.
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From page 141... ...
Given the significance of safety to the marine terminal industry, it is instructive to note the accomplishments of employee involvement in the Japanese shipbuilding industry. The Japanese have been very frank in admitting that the productivity of their shipyards during the tanker-factory era of the mid-1960s was built "on the backs of the workers." One fallout of this speedup was an unusually steep rise in the frequency and severity of accidents.
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From page 142... ...
Japanese shipbuilders give full credit for this accomplishment to the activities of shopfloor quality circles. If there are any employee involvement activities under way within the marine terminal industry, they have not been publicized.
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From page 143... ...
Previously, hourly workers were reassigned as individuals to various jobs within the yard on a day-to-day basis, with minimal responsibility and no authority. In the marine terminal industry, it appears that the trend may be in the opposite direction.
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From page 144... ...
Individuals working under these "pay for knowledge schemes are reimbursed at a rate reflecting their range of knowledge or skills, regardless of the capacity they may be working in at any particular point in time. For the marine terminal industry, multiskilling may be of value for its contribution to the composition of smaller sized gangs,
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From page 145... ...
For an incentive system to work well, it should directly reflect the productivity of the work force, not the internal financial manipulations of the firm. Gainsharing, like profit sharing, is a group incentive arrangement, but one in which concrete productivity gains, not illusory profits, are shared between shareholders and labor.
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From page 146... ...
The lesson of the Kaiser/Boilermakers case is that a gainsharing base can consist of an agreed-upon bid, rather than an historical or engineered time productivity standard. The authors know of no gainsharing application within the marine terminal industry, but it can certainly be tried where a productivity and safety baseline or bid baseline can be established.
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From page 147... ...
The most successful employee buy-outs have incorporated a high degree of employee involvement. Some firms are now sharing with their employees gains achieved through savings in health and safety costs.
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From page 148... ...
; . greater use of the potential problem-solving skills of employees (employee involvement teams)
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