Patrick data shows lift in Port Botany performance

Asciano said that since the inception of the Patrick Port Botany working group, the terminal had exceeded several of its key operating measures consistently over a four-week period.

The performance included a number of records which had been achieved on both the landside and waterfront interfaces.

During the week commencing November 9, the Patrick terminal handled 6606 trucks with turnaround times averaging under 37 minutes.

The terminal handled 1000 more trucks and achieved a 40% improvement on turnaround times when compared with the same period last year.

"Dwell times at the terminal have also fallen as a result of consistently high levels of landside service and greater take up of 24/7 vehicle booking slots," the company said.

Average use of Sunday slots had risen more than 20% and last Sunday a record was achieved with a 90% improvement on the take-up of slots compared with the same period in 2008.

During the same four-week period the terminal performed more than 72,000 container lifts.  

"The significant improvements on the landside while handling record volumes on the wharfside is an excellent outcome for the team at Port Botany," Patrick Container Ports divisional general manager Paul Garaty said.

"The recent improvements at Port Botany are a direct result of some of the changes we have made at the terminal.

"Improved processes and working practices combined with a greater push to 24/7 operations has produced significant operating efficiencies and higher levels of customer service for all port users."

Mr Garaty said Patrick would continue to implement initiatives at its Port Botany terminal to further improve operating performance and to ensure the benchmarks were consistently maintained.

"Issues which have plagued Port Botany in the past are not insurmountable and, with industry support, Australia’s second largest container port can and will achieve world-class performance standards on both wharfside and landside interfaces," Mr Garaty said.

The Australian Trucking Association New South Wales (ATA NSW) welcomed the efforts resulting from the new management initiative at Port Botany.

However ATA NSW container sub-committee chairman Mike Moylan said he hoped that the performance turnaround would not be short-lived.

Mr Moylan urged caution over the Patrick figures, saying that the increased container movements had taken place at a time when Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showed an 18% fall in container throughput at the port and suggested that many of the movements might fall outside normal statistical parameters and may have involved empty container park moves.

Mr Moylan said comparisons with the same period last year should be seen in the context of the 4km queues and five-hour waits that had occurred at times for trucks using the terminal in the last few years.

He added that the Sunday figures came after Patrick had ceased operations between 1pm on Saturday and 2pm on Sunday but had still charged storage for that time.