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IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY OF CARIBBEAN PORTS
IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY OF CARIBBEAN PORTS
If you think training is
expensive, try ignorance
 By
Fritz Pinnock
The twentieth century was the age of
machines; the twenty-first century will be the age of people (Kanter
cited in Kermally, 2006).
Globalisation, empowerment, cross
functional teams, downsizing, learning organisation and knowledge
workers are changing the way of life of managers and the way they manage
people (Kermally, 2006).
The shipping industry has become a prime example of
a globalized industry now attached loosely to national sovereignties. Shipping
differs from other examples of global business, such as fast food chains and the
auto companies, in that the physical capital is itself movable in a way a burger
kiosk or car manufacturing plant is not. However, from the Caribbean perspective
the largest investment is in port infrastructures, which are totally immobile.
From a first world perspective, when referring to
the shipping industry, lines are portrayed as the industry. This article focuses
on Caribbean ports and their productivity. Rather than the hardware of
infrastructure and cranes I will look at the soft side; the harnessing of human
resources.
The traditional approach to Caribbean port
productivity is to focus on upgrading equipment instead of a holistic
integration of equipment, technology and labour. Due to advancement in
technology and in particular information technology, Caribbean ports are now
under pressure to put more emphasis on “soft skills” and less on “brute force”
for stevedores training. Studies in Europe, for example, have shown that
training and development of the human element can improve port productivity for
as much as 20%.
In the Caribbean, handling charges, including
insurance and transport, is 30% higher than the world average. In addition,
container handling tariffs in the Caribbean are either opaque or hidden and
inevitably trigger heavy cross-subsidization. The latter not only leads to a
disconnect between the actual costs incurred in handling the containers and
tariffs levels charged but, more significantly, promotes inefficiency and
excessive tariffs levels. This therefore suggests that improving training and
development of port workers in the Caribbean must be a top priority both in the
short and medium to long term.
Certification, a priority
The top five Global port operators now controlling
over 70% of world port throughput, have made the matter of certification and
standardisation of port workers a priority. The Caribbean, in an attempt to
compete and to remain relevant, has no choice but to also make this initiative
their focus. The Caribbean Maritime institute (CMI) for example, was recently
approved and accredited by the National Council on Technical, Vocational
Education and Training (NCTVET) as the only such entity serving the maritime
transportation sector in the Caribbean. CMI is currently developing Caribbean
Vocational Qualification (CVQ) Standards for stevedores and other port workers.
Barbados and Jamaica are the first two countries in the Caribbean to pioneer the
training and development of stevedores and port workers to facilitate
improvement and efficiency of their ports workers. It is imperative that
stevedores be considered a vital part of the asset base of the shipping industry
and not treated as a major expense item.
In the Caribbean, training has been generally
treated on an ad hoc basis, as opposed to being approached from a strategic
perspective affecting overall productivity. It is placed on the wrong side of
the Balance Sheet. In other words, it is treated as increasing cost as opposed
to enhancing the human capital.
Today, the human capital is the single largest asset
the Caribbean possesses and if harnessed properly, can be positioned as a major
competitive advantage. Planned upgrade in physical assets should be done in
keeping pace with technology and the capacity of the workforce.
Cost and Benefits of Training
Training is too often viewed as purely a monetary
cost, a drain on the “bottom line”. The benefits are often ignored because they
can be difficult to identify and quantify in financial terms. A broader, more
reflective, consideration of training leads to the identification of a range of
none monetary benefits, many of which have influences on productivity as well as
important aspects of people’s lives. The argument that training is just an
expense is countered by the argument that not to engage training is even more
expensive. As the old saying goes, “if you think training is expensive, try
ignorance”.
Training is inextricably linked with life beyond the
work place. In evaluating and balancing the costs and benefits of training, the
social and individual factors must be considered.
- 2009, April 8.
Fritz Pinnock is Executive Director
of the Caribbean Maritime Institute.
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