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SCT gears up for the Christmas rush
Page 15
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SOUTHAMPTON Container Terminal (SCT) has been preparing for a seasonal surge in demand by increasing the number of booking slots available to operators to 130 per hour. It claims that this has enabled as many as 2,000 trucks to be serviced in a 24-hour period, breaking
records and keeping average turnaround times below 50 minutes. The apparent improvement in turnaround times and efficiency of the booking system is a world away from the chaos and frustration caused when the Vehicle Booking System (VBS) was first introduced
several years ago. Since then an improved 'VBS2. system has been launched and the port says that tailbacks have been kept to a minimum.
A recent survey by SC1' found 9 % of users thought the system was user-friendly. Clive Watkins, MD of Hants
based general haulier Lambert Brothers, says it uses the port only as part of its wider operations, but he thinks the system is excellent: "For the times we do use it we've got no complaints I would say it's been a positive move [by SC]."
The port intends to reduce the number of bookings to 120 per hour once seasonal demand drops off.