Improvement plan

3rd June 2004, Page 22

3rd June 2004

Page 22

Page 23

Page 22, 3rd June 2004 — Improvement plan

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Can new boss John Buckley resolve the delays and organisational

problems which have plagued Southampton Container Terminal?

Chris Tindall asks the man himself.

My introduction to John Buckley involves a firm handshake and the rather David Brent-esque enquiry, "How the hell are you?" But nothing else about Southampton Container Terminal's (SCT) new MD relates to the nightmarish fictional boss in The Office. In fact, Buckley might even be on the verge of changing things at the beleaguered port for the better. This statement is written with some trepida tion.The problems at SC!' have been reported exhaustively over the past couple of years and dozens of drivers have contacted CM to complain about the queues, the congestion

and the general chaos they have experienced. Unfortunately, Buckley appears to be unaware of the adverse publicity; I have to start by briefing him on CM and its readership — his clients.

Buckley says he has been on the "international scene" for 12 years; he spent 17 months in Manila before a job swap landed him here in Southampton. Some would see this role as a poisoned chalice, but not Buckley — and that's not just because he doesn't read CM: "It's a dynamic business and it's important to have energy and enthusiasm." Given what's gone before, he'll certainly need it. Fresh and faster

Buckley's vision goes beyond the innocuous-sounding vehicle booking system (VBS) derided by so many drivers. It was introduced a couple of years ago to help improve turnaround times. The port's business development director, Derek Smith, stops short of describing the system as flawed, but he does seem to be listening to the operators' arguments. VBS2 — "Son of VBS" —is phase two, with the problems of its predecessor supposedly ironed out. But Buckley is keen to talk about his own plans for improving turnaround times. "This is a big change, let's get the process right and not confuse hauliers," he says. The MD's idea essentially is to split exports from the delivery process. These containers will then be handled independently, which Buckley believes will speed up import deliveries. Transfer and storage areas will be

created for full and empty export containers and a "transfer zone" will be set up for imports.Again, a dedicated straddle fleet will focus exclusively on imports.

I ask him if he can guarantee swift turnarounds for exports. His unexpected and possibly defensive reply is to ask me to "define guarantee". He eventually answers: "We will strip them off very quickly. Some days it will be 15 minutes, but it's a damn sight quicker than it is today."

But Buckley is prepared to stick his neck out: "We believe we can improve the number of containers we deliver in a day by 50%, which is a huge difference to us. Our commitment is to give a turnaround time of less than one hour."

Does Buckley think it's fair to say truckers have lost their confidence in SCT? "I think it would be accurate to say that," he replies. "Their perception is we are lousy. We want to meet with the big hauliers and show them how it will work."

He turns the tables by asking if there is an organisation he can get in touch with to help spread the word. I suggest the FTA or RHA, which seems to interest him: "We need to get out there and let them know what we are up to."

However, he appears to contradict himself when discussing the government's recent rejection of plans to build a six-berth terminal at nearby Dibden Bay. Buckley claims not to have paid any attention to the situation or know anything about the public inquiry. But minutes later he concedes that the government's decision "came out of nowhere. We didn't expect it to be hit on the head at all." In fact he says he was "a bit shocked" by the outcome.

But when it comes to the future of SCI' he's certainly bullish, saying the port has "capital expense plans in operation. We would say there's sufficient capacity for several years. In the short to medium term there's no big impact." He declines to say if the environmentalists' concerns about Dibden were ill-founded. The notorious jams at SC!' led to many complaints about a dire lack of facilities for drivers, but Buckley's plans don't extend to extra facilities:"Trucks are going to be here and gone in 60

minutes — the problem moves elsewhere. We'll keep the loos here, but we won't be building a canteen. We need to get ahead of ourselves and get trucks out of here, let them go 20-30 miles up the road"— which is probably scant consolation if you run out of hours.

He's clearly pinning a lot on the success of this imminent overhaul. So much so that he even shrugs off any potential problems from the Working Time Directive (WTD):"If you're turning around trucks in an hour it [the WTD] will be less of a problem." Acts of man "If you tell any haulier 'you can get out of here in one-and-a-half hours' they would say that's pretty good. We're determined to do that in less than an hour." It seems the only thing that stands between Buckley, improved turnaround times and happy truckers, is the big G upstairs: "If you can handle 50% morel would think any surges can be dealt with... barring acts of God." Good luck, John — you'll need it. im