Ports prepare for system upgrade

TRANSNET Port Terminals officials say they have taken measures to ensure their Navis upgrade will see little or no business risk to clients or the port terminal operations.

The upgrade, from Navis version 2.3 to 2.6 will offer a number of benefits including enhanced rail functionality, improved general performance to operations, as well as improved scalability.

‘We have pulled out all stops to ensure that this upgrade is incident-free and that in the unforeseen situation when issues arise, we are able to deal with without detriment to the operations,’ said Deirdre Ackermann of Transnet Port Terminals.

With escalating pressures on global supply chain logistics, container terminals around the world need to operate at peak performance to stay competitive and maintain profitability.

‘This upgrade is the only solution that allows planning and operational staff to view, manage and control multiple terminals from a central location at the click of a button,’ says Ackermann.

The company manages 16 cargo terminal facilities across seven South African ports, with a staff compliment of over 9 000.

Its operations target four major market sectors, namely the automotive sector, containers, bulk and break bulk, organised according to their respective geographical regions.

User interface

Key enhancements available in the N4 2.6 include a refreshed planning and control user interface, robust system management and administration capabilities, tools to ease N4 migrations and improvements to electronic data interchange and gate functionality.

The system will undergo various test phases, with several already having been completed successfully.

So far user acceptance testing has been completed, along with a manual functional test of the application, and stress testing to ensure the system is robust enough to handle increased volume and demand.

The final stage of testing, which will be carried out before the system goes live, is the roll-back solution which will test that TPT are able to revert back to the existing Navis 2.3 system if needed.

R300-billion over seven years

‘Terminal staff have also been trained ahead of the switch-over and there will be TPT ‘super users’ as well as Navis engineers on site to assist while the upgrade is taking place,’ says Ackermann.

A central 24-hour ‘Command Centre’ will be set up specifically to deal with customers’ comments or feedback.

The Navis upgrade is part of TPT’s infrastructure investment strategy, which forms part of Transnet’s Market Demand Strategy (MDS).

The R300-billion, seven-year programme is aimed at investing in infrastructure, equipment skills development and systems ahead of demand.

It will be complemented by ongoing investment in the terminals, such as the introduction of tandem lift cranes for moving empties, the speeding up of transit through the gates and the modernisation of rail terminals operated by TPT in the ports.