Chips cut delays
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• Documentation hold-ups, for 'FIR operators, should sow be a thing of the past in Dover and Folkestone when Direct Trader Input (urn a cornputerised freight clearance system — becomes fully operational.
Training of 1,500 staff from all sectors of the port community is nearing completion, and according to a Dover Harbour Board spokesman, it is anticipated that some 70% of Dover's freight traffic will be cleared by Customs using computers within 90 minutes of arrival. This compares to an average clearance time at present of four hours.
Target date for the first phase of live operation is August 4, giving a period of five weeks for local tests, trials and user familiarisation.
Its operation will be introduced gradually, location by location, starting with Folkestone. This will enable each part of the system to be brought into use under controlled conditions with sufficient technical staff to handle any problems.
Once the system has been tested locally, live operation at Folkestone will start with one volunteer agent and his single unit loads, progressing to single agent groupage. Provided there are no problems, all agents in Folkestone will then come on stream, followed by all participants at Dover.
The Folkestone operation is not expected to take more than two weeks, to be followed immediately by Dover West, and finally Dover East. Drivers using the port will be told of the dangers affecting them in a revised issue of the port's Freight Drivers Guide.