Transnet has done and is still meeting the necessary requirements to improve machine and personnel performance at the countrys ports, long blamed for holding back South Africas export capacity of time-sensitive cargo.
Addressing a webinar on Agriculture focusing on technologies and infrastructure needed to boost the sectors shipments, Transnet Port Terminals TPT chief executive, Jabu Mdaki, said the state-owned logistics utility was taking comfort from consistent progress in key areas.
These he identified as machines already received from various original equipment manufacturers OEMs, long-term assurances from OEMs related to spare parts supply and maintenance support, incentivising port personnel and ensuring network connectivity.
A lot of groundwork has been done, he said, and were seeing the results of that.
Mdaki said the rubber-tyred gantry cranes, straddle carriers and ship-to-shore cranes that had already landed at various ports, especially Durban and Cape Town, served as proof of the parastatals intent to overcome consistent equipment shortages experienced in the past.
OEM assurances of maintenance support formed part of Transnets commitment to bolster and sustain throughput capacity, said Mdaki.
As for the countrys often stormy weather episodes, he stressed: It is also important that were not just replacing equipment but were equipping ourselves for the new challenges we are facing.
With the inclement weather we are facing in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape, the equipment we are deploying has the technology to operate at elevated wind speed.
He said the new cranes were equipped with the latest anti-sway technology and could handle gusts of up to 90km an hour, compared with the previous 70km-threshold, beyond which port operations would be suspended.
It will buy us additional time to continue operating and be able to move product.
To encourage personnel to work more efficiently, TPT had initiated incentives that were aligned to productivity, said Mdaki.
It started in December and we have seen turnaround in terms of the morale of the people. It has been reflected by some customers and the shipping lines.
Although these incentives would have terminated at the end of this years first quarter, Transnets group exco has decided to extend the incentives, he said.
Regarding digital network reliability, Mdaki said TPT was investing in technology to upgrade the terminal operators systems, as it was well recorded what a huge impact it had on operations when connectivity-reliant services experienced down time.
Those incidences have decreased over a period of time. It has become a rare incidence that we have a network that is unavailable or that is down.
He said TPT was fully committed to succeed in its mandate meeting market demand through additional resource deployments for all-round improved capacity.
Mdaki said it was especially the case during reefer season, when South Africas agricultural sector clicked into overdrive for fruit exports.
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