Company Visit @ HIT
Company Background
Hong Kong International Terminals Limited (HIT) is a member of HPH Trust, the world's first container port business trust listed in Singapore. HIT is also a part of Hutchison Port Holdings Limited's (HPH) global network of port and logistics operations, and continues to have access to services and resources enjoyed by companies within the HPH Group.
HIT operates twelve berths at Terminals 4, 6, 7 and 9. Established in 1969, HIT has continuously set industry benchmarks for productivity, efficiency and value-added services. Using modern management techniques, state-of-the-art computer systems and award winning IT applications, HIT has become a pinnacle of industry excellence.
Ports around the World
- Africa
- America
- Asia
- Australia
- Europe
- Middle-East
- Terminal 4, 6, 7 and 9
- Terminal 8 (East & West) - Asia Container Terminals (ACT) & COSCO-HIT Terminals (CHT)
Total Logistic Management Service
(1) Planning Before Operation
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
- Speeding up communication by allowing electrical data transfer
- Reduce paperwork
- Information transfer online including:
- Export booking data
- Stowage instructions and stowage plans
- Loading/discharging container data
- Gate movement logs
- Tractor pre-advice notices & appointments
- Empty delivery & collection notices
- Terminal receipts
- Invoice
- Online customers service system
- Catering special request
- Collecting feedbacks
- Follow up customer requests
- Build up long-term, trusting, harmonious relationship
Tracking Identity Card
- Shippers can call-in their tractor information to ensure rapid turnaround
- Drivers can make appointments up to three days in advance
- Drivers use a Common Tractor Identity Card to enter and leave the terminal
- Drivers get instructions via their mobile phones on pick-up and grounding locations
- Further upgrade from message system to voicemail system, with 3 languages available (Cantonese, English and Mandarin), allowing seamless delivery process
- Smart Dual Move System enables drivers to deliver and collect, avoiding empty runs
- Increase efficiency
- Increase quality of customer service
Operations Monitoring System (OMS)
- Coordinate from Control Tower
- Real time container movement and inventory information exchange between nGen and crane operation
- Helps operators to visualize terminal operations and container stacking information
CCTV and Trunk Radio System
- Graph overview on yard operation
- Predict yard congestion so that operators can take pre-emptive action
Ship Planning System (Guider)
- Optimal sequence for discharging and loading of vessels
- Ensure stability and efficient operations
(5)Barge Operation
Barge Centre
- Provides a convenient one-stop service
Barge Identity Card System
- Strengthens terminal security
- Provides a barge platform for extending Electronic Data Interchange(EDI) links
Next Generation Terminal Management System (nGen)
- Controls the entire scope of operations at HIT
- Ship and yard planning
- Entry/Exit gate monitoring
- Equipment utilization
- Productivity and cost optimization
HIT Management System Overview
- Next Generation Terminal Management System (nGen)
- Gate Automation
- Yard Automation
- Operations Monitoring System (OMS)
- Barge Identity Card System
- Ship Planning System (Guider)
- Computer Simulation
- Radio Data System (RDS)
- Anti-Truck Lifting Protection System
- Wi-Fi Paging
- RFID
- Electronic Data Interchange and Customer Plus
- Mobile Terminal Message System
- Tractor Appointment System
- e-Billing
Agenda
The whole visit was solely guided by a staff of HIT. We were first shown with a model of the terminal. At the same time, the staff started to brief us the background and developing history of HIT. From this we learned that which terminals are owned by HIT and their correspondent capacities. The staff also shared some of the strategies that HIT is applying on operating the business. For example, to utilize the limited terminals and maximize the capacity, their strategy is to build higher containers.
After the briefing at the terminal model, the staff showed us some standing boards about Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH). We learned that HPH owned 52 ports in 26 countries. At this section, the staff mainly introduced the ports and the services provided in Hong Kong and Mainland China. He also answered most of our questions here. He made use the pictures of the standing boards to answer our questions to enhance our understanding. For example, when asking of how HIT handles dangerous goods, he immediately point to the terminal 9 of the Kwai Tsing Container Port.
The next place we visited is the control center of HIT. It is an office for monitoring the operating process of HIT. In the office, we saw a CCTV there and the staff show us what can they see and how do they use their system to control the daily operation by a video. The technology they are applying is called the Operations Monitoring System (OMS), which provides a detailed overview of terminal operations, together with the CCTV and trunk radio systems.
Lastly, we got on a tour bus and moved around the terminals. So after one hour of lecturing, we finally had a chance of site visit. Inside the bus, we saw most of the equipment and facilities that are required for the daily operation such as different kinds of cranes, the berths, the frontloaders, etc.
Q&A
1. It is important for company to be sustainable. How do you handle the policy of CSR to create a sustainable business?
A: HIT pursued an environmental program to create a sustainable business. Previously cranes were powered by diesel fuel and use up 190,000 liters diesel fuel per year. In the past 9 years, HIT converted the diesel-fuel powered cranes to be powered by electricity. HIT also develops the battery with local manufacturer to recycle energy.
Also, HIT pick school in the community that they operate usually underprivileged school, book their classrooms to have lectures.
2. How do you expand your scale of business when there are limited spaces in KWAI CHUNG? Will there be saturated one day for HIT to handle the cargo?
A: What HIT do to expand its business is using technology to speed up port’s operation, i.e. stacking of the cranes. 20 years ago, HIT have stacked the containers of 3 height, and then 4 height, Now is 6 height. So, there is more space. The extra time to consolidate the containers means HIT need a more efficient system to handle that.
In new system, HIT have developed nGen to handle the placement of containers. It ensures containers are efficiently stacked in the yard and allows us to have greater yard capacity to stack more containers.
To choose placement of containers is based on how it is going to work collectively to try making sure the least number of truck and craning movements.
There is Asian port service, which is a mid-stream operation, developed in HK to allow it to increase throughput. When smaller vessel arrives, instead of dock here, HIT can anchor them in the harbor, and small barge will come and take the containers. Over here, HIT handle barges which coming down from Pearl River Delta China, so the whole port get around 20,000 ocean-gong vessels and 65,000 barges a year. With increasing river trade of the terminals, HIT can consolidate the barges traffic before bringing here. It means HIT handle less barges and have more containers in each barges, and in the end, HIT can move more containers through the port.
3. How would you adapt or utilize the new infrastructure of the government, Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge?
A: HIT directly utilize it and that might bring more traffic into Hong Kong and make changes. Basically our direct customers are shipping lines and the traffic coming into Hong Kong over the boarder by the trucks in 1997 is dropped down. So HIT get a lot more coming products by bunch and that is how HIT utilize the facilities.
4. How would you settle the industrial relation issues, have you found out any better methods after the terminal strike last year?
A: The labour strike is about HIT’s contract labours, but unfortunately the speaker at the day of visit is not at the position that can make a comment about the strike.
5. How do you avoid errors when handling that massive amount of containers everyday?
A: The whole thing HIT do is basically moving containers to a place. Although there are human errors, the whole system is based on making sure HIT know what they are, where the things are. They are backed up in the software system. It ensures HIT don’t move the containers to a wrong place.
6. What are the contingency procedures in case of natural disaster such as adverse weather condition?
A: HIT will be shut down when there is typhoon, and also tie down the containers and key cranes
7. As there are some rumours and scandals of HIT being explosive of labours, what will HIT do to improve images and motivate the workers?
A: Refer to Q4
8. How do you enhance its competitiveness among those strong local players, e.g Shanghai, Singapore?
A: In terms of fastness and more efficient, it will be the simple answer. Hong Kong is in naturally advantage, it keeps busy such as the fact of capitaltial in China. In China, only a Chinese flag ship can move cargo from one port to another port in China. Hong Kong is one part of China and is exempted from that. The foreign ships cannot ship the cargo from Shenzhen and drop the containers in Shanghai. They need to drop off the containers in Hong Kong and pick up again in order to ship to Shanghai. Free port is another advantage of Hong Kong. Hong Kong is duty free from everything except from a small group of products such as oils, fuels and perfume. The main advantage of Hong Kong is that the terminal is very fast and efficient. The shipping line is fall behind the schedule and China can know the time. We employ more cranes and manpower to make up the loss time.
9. How do you track the cargoes to see whether there is any dangerous or illegal goods?
A: The way of tracking the cargoes to see if there are any dangerous or illegal goods was not mentioned, however they mentioned the way they handle dangerous goods. HIT assigned terminal 9 for handling dangerous cargoes and offer refrigerator container for cargoes that require temperature control.
沒有留言:
張貼留言