Workport - Final Report - Europa

2. Executive SummaryThe WORKPORT project lasted two years from 1 January 1998 to the end ofDecember 1999 and produced eight public deliverables and several additional internalreports. Seven main contractors and one subcontractor participated in the study, from7 EU countries of which four were Universities, two were consultancy companies,one was a research centre and one a cooperation agency.The project followed a clearly specified work programme consisting of eightmain workpackages broken down into twenty-six activities. Literature reviews, Delphiand questionnaire surveys, expert meetings and workshops were employed to tacklethe project issues both at a practical as well as theoretical level. Empirical researchwas carried out at six selected case study ports.The project’s main aim was “to assess the impacts of new technology in theport work environment and to consider the application of new organisational andmanagement concepts to meet new demands for ports”.The main findings of the eight project deliverables, which are presented in thisreport, are now outlined below.New technologies in ports and their interaction with shipping.For the purpose of the project new technologies are defined as technologies that havebeen recently implemented or are expected to be implemented in the immediatefuture.In the sea ports area the new technologies influencing port operations for thepurposes of this study, have divided into five main categories: sea operations; portoperations; sea side port operations; transhipment sea-land, port operations; landside port operations; and connections to hinterland.The main new technologies identified include: Mobile communications,Global Positioning Systems, Increase in ships’ size, Vessel Traffic Services,Navigational support, Manoeuvring and collision avoidance support, AutomatedCrane Control, Automated Guided Vehicles, Automated Stacking Cranes, RoboticContainer Handling, Electronic Data Interchange, Cargo Card, Tracking andTracing, Warehouse systems, Rail transhipment systems, Barge containertranshipment systems.The new technologies listed are to a large extent container oriented, since thistype of transport shows dynamic developments and therefore has become the focus ofthis study.In the inland waterways area the new technologies have been divided intobroadly the same main categories as previously but here River operations has alsobeen added as a category. The main new technologies identified here include:Modern river sea-ships, ships suited for dangerous liquid cargoes, changes inthe infrastructure of rivers and channels, changes in ship’s size, use of ICT inbureaucratic customs procedures, Trends of seaports concentration and the necessityof inland ports as distribution centres, changes in the area of cruise and ferryoperations, creation of more port area, improvement of the sea-shore interface,combined traffic, inland ports as customer oriented logistic service centres,Adaptation of infrastructure to sea port’s requirements, Facilities to handlemultimodal traffic in the hinterland.6

For the analysis of the possible interactions between new technologies in portsand shipping the technologies have been grouped as:Ship technology: Increased ship size leads to operational problems in ports sinceappropriate infrastructure is required. Increased ship speed leads to shorter turnaroundtime, and demands on the navigational support systems. While the container is heavilystandardised, the Ro-Ro technology can use several types of load carriers (trailers,cassettes, boxes) leading to difficulties.Navigation technology: Different technologies for navigation and communications areavailable, here the systems used onboard ships must correspond to the systems usedin the ports. The development of equipment to be used onboard must match thedevelopment of equipment to be used in ports, thus utilising available resources andincreasing efficiency and safety.Communication and information systems: New information and CommunicationTechnologies (ICT) make it possible not only to exchange information concerningnavigation and traffic regulations, but also provide information on precise arrivaltimes, load plans and information about the cargo such as supplier, content, means ofcontinued transportation, final destination and receiver. With this informationavailable, the port operators can better plan and prepare the unloading andtranshipment, increasing efficiency and improving results.Port container handling: Several attempts are currently being made to increasecapacity and efficiency in port operations. One way is to automate the handling ofcontainers either from the unloading or to the loading of ships (ACC), includingground transportation (AGV, RCH) and storage (RCH, WS). Also, systems for theinward and outward flow of containers are being developed such as warehousesystems, rail transhipment systems, and barge container transhipment systems. Thesesystems will increase the flow and make loading and unloading to and from differentcarriers more efficient. So, for the ship, the turnaround time (terminal time) will bereduced.Identification of new organisation and management concepts successfully used inother industrial sectors and consideration of their transferability to the portsenvironment.The WORKPORT Consortium initially carried out a literature survey to identify themain new organisational and management concepts successfully used in otherindustrial sectors. A long list has resulted and is presented in the respectivedeliverable (WORKPORT Del. 2). Next their transferability to the port sector wasconsidered by means of a Delphi study among experts, within and outside theWORKPORT Consortium. Furthermore, the application of these concepts wasconsidered in the port case studies. The main concepts considered in this exercisewere:Lean production. Even though Lean Production is a way of organising massproduction in a cost efficient manner, many of the ideas stemming from it can beapplicable to a port e.g. Lean thinking, dependability, flexibility, waste elimination.Just in time (JIT). JIT is a reality in manufacturing industry today and ports mustadapt to this fact; if they do not, the potential for them becoming a bottleneck in thetransport chain is high, and customers of a port that does not adapt appropriately willprobably choose another route for their goods. JIT, when adopted by manufacturerscan have a big impact on the work performance in a port. The demand for rapid and7

reliable handling of cargo creates stressful working conditions and increase the risk ofaccidents among workers as well as wear and tear on goods.Kaizen. Meaning incremental, frequent, continuous improvement in all aspects ofworking life, as a concept seems to be applicable in the ports’ environment but smallgroup activities (e.g. Quality Control Circles) must be performed during normalworking hours and not on voluntary basis after normal working hours (as in itsoriginal application in Japan).Value chain. A products value chain is the series of activities that create or add to theproduct value which the customer pays for. The concept is applicable to the portenvironment but by applying it management can obtain a clear picture of thecompany’s business activities, identifying the primary and support functions of theprovided services.Total quality management (TQM) is a strategic integrated management system, whichinvolves all managers and employees using quantitfiable methods to continuouslyimprove an organisations processes, to meet and exceed customer needs, wants andexpectation. Its philosophy seems to be highly applicable in the port environment.Business Process Reengineering (BPR) is a fundamental rethinking and radicalredesign of a business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical,contemporary measures of performance, such as cost, quality, service and speed.There is no direct reason for BPR not to be applied in ports but its important to realisethat as many as 70%-80% of the companies that try to apply BPR do not succeed inre-engineering the process. The SPHERE project results, if appropriately utilised, mayreduce the risk for port applications of BPR.Virtual company. A virtual company or corporation consists of a network ofindependent organisations or professionals, each with an experience within arespective area of expertise, cooperating to achieve what none of them could possiblyachieve alone. Considering the way ports are structured and work one can find manyanalogies with the above definition but a significant difference with a virtual companyis the fact that human labour is used in ports. There is no explicit wish or intention toachieve a totally automated chain of transportation or a totally automated flow.Concerning the flow of information, though, between different actors, one can findanalogies with the virtual company concept and possibly utilise it there.Anthropocentric Production Systems (APS). The concept can be defined as forms ofadvanced, computed aided manufacturing, which are dependent upon human skills,collaborative work organisation and adapted technologies. Different obstacles havebeen defined in its application in the European industry; however, the principal ideaof letting human beings have a central role in work, and solving problems bydeveloping and using the human potential must be of high interest to ports.Learning Organisation. A learning organisation can be understood as an enterprisethat focuses on the continuous improvement of its processes, products, and services;that facilitates the learning of its members, both individually / independently and asgroups / teams; that continuously transforms itself in order to meet its strategic goals.The applicability of the Learning Organisation concept in ports has to be verifiedcarefully before its introduction. Benefits can be seen especially for periods of themanagement of technological and organisational change. Within ports it can besupposed that the efficiency of work in management and port development could beincreased by Learning Organisation concepts.Outsourcing is the replacement of internal resources of an enterprise by externalresources. In a port environment services can either be provided by public portauthority or by private port operators. In both cases outsourcing is a possible option.8

Strategic Alliances and joint ventures. Strategic Alliance /Joint Venture is a term usedto characterise structural organisation of enterprises, which join together human,financial or technical resources or know-how in a unit involving two or more partners.General socio-economic impacts of Strategic Alliances cannot be indicated. Theydepend of the characteristics of the Strategic Alliance e.g. on the kind and degree ofco-operation, on its objectives and on the organisational changes which accompany itsimplementation.Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems (OHSMS). OccupationalHealth and Safety Management Systems, OHSMS, are management frameworks,specifically tailored for the Occupational Safety and Health. In recent years severalcountries have developed national standards for the implementation of OHSMS. Theyare partly inspired by the ISO 9000 and TQM developments. The spirit of Europeanwork safety directives and their implementation has also driven the efforts in respectof this in national regulations.The cooperative Resource Management for Transport of Unit LoadsThis concept is used in order to ensure a smooth transition at the road/sea interface byestablishing procedures for operational cooperation within and between companies inthe transport area.Main trends in today’s ports and new challenges to be metWORKPORT has reviewed the factors for change in ports and the response optionsavailable, identified the future demands that the ports have to face and also consideredhow the new organisational forms can help them to meet future challenges. Theseissues are now summarised and discussed.Current status in European portsIn Europe, ports are an important part of the logistic cargo transport chain. Ports havealso changed from places of cargo exchange to functional elements of the total logisticchain. Also, the services that ports provide for the port users have expanded. Theprovisions of sufficient and appropriate warehousing and storage areas are examplesof the services provided today. Besides this, ports need to establish newcommunication systems to ensure effective loading and unloading of the ships,flexible handling of the customs activities, and safe operation with minimumenvironmental impacts.Public-Private partnerships in portsPrivatisation of ports assets is under discussion in many European countries withseaports. The role that the private sector can play in seaports differs but trends showthat many of activities carried out by municipal or state organisations are beingtransferred to private sector. There are many potential negative outcomes ifprivatisation is not implemented efficiently, since it is a radical port reform. In manycases, a public-private partnership in ports is more appropriate than total privatisationsince it can bring similar benefits to the port and its users with fewer risks of failing tomeet business and social objectives.Organisational and management changesThe need for organisational changes in ports is due to several developments. The needfor increased effectiveness is one reason, but also rapid technological developmentcreates the need for the redefinition of work methods and practices. Often the9

organisational changes affect all organisational levels; the role and tasks of linemanagement, supervisors, and the dock workers are thus redefined.Safety in portsPorts are one of the most dangerous working environments. Lost workdays due to anaccident or injury can be up to 70 % higher in ports than in other industrial sectors.There are several reasons for this. Firstly, ports are workplaces where a lot ofpotential accident sources are present. Despite increased automation, work in portss

In the sea ports area the new technologies influencing port operations for the purposes of this study, have divided into five main categories: sea operations; port operations; sea side port operations; transhipment sea-land, port operations; land side port operations; and connections to hinterland.