Ready to Take a Turn

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#Beschäftigte & Sicherheit|  5 Min.

Ready to Take a Turn

A Guiding Star for an Improved Customer Focus: The New PortOffice Concept is Banking on Central Coordination, Collaboration, and Flexibility

Harald Ludwig climbs up on one of the cranes with us, to focus our view towards the particularities of the Seaport of Brake: Here at the mouth of the River Weser, on this quay of some 2.5 km in length, is where the transport modes water, rail, and road come together. There is no better place to show just what the Port of Brake means to the branch manager: Port is Life. To ensure that this diverse operation is in ‘shipshape’ condition and can weather any storms in the future, Harald Ludwig and his team have initiated the project “PortOffice 2020”.

Brake, with its diverse and powerful infrastructure, is considered a ‘niche port’, a port that through its multi-functional alignment has found its place and function between the large European allround ports. However, the niche does not come without a challenge. The challenge to know what the market demands and to make offers that no one else can make. There is, for instance, the handling of smaller quantities of cargo: “Not every shipper has large enough cargo amounts to fill up a whole ship” Harald Ludwig explains. 

Brake, in addition to its strength in the handling of dry bulk cargo and large quantity breakbulk, is also known for the fact that large ocean-going vessels that may be on a liner route to America, for instance, sometimes make a stopover there, and pick up smaller quantities. “In my experience, we are reinventing the Port of Brake every ten years. We have to be flexible and able, to quickly know the market's demands and therefore, we are broadly positioned. That is our edge.”
 

 

Flexibility is also the core principle that Harald Ludwig will further develop with his team in pursuit of the goal to maintain a high degree of customer satisfaction.  The new PortOffice concept at our branch Brake envisions the creation of a department-transcending position at the port's Command Center from 2021 onward, where all transport issues converge. “We would like to be able to better coordinate the different areas, and by that, I mean the modes of transport, i.e., ships, trains, and roads. Our Port Command Center in Brake must function like a central switchboard, like a guiding star.”

In a port setting with 120 employees, what seems natural and matter-of-fact, resembles more a comprehensive, complete turnaround, and it culminates in a real change management.  “Currently, there are different departments for each mode of transport, and then there's the Engineering & Technical department that takes care of construction sites, for instance. Our customers have multiple contacts, depending on the issue, such as ships’ calls, truck transports, or rail consignments. We want to dissolve this and bring the different responsibilities together in a department-transcending manner.” 
The developed novel organization system envisions that there will be this newly created position at the Port Command Center with the traditional name “Mariner-in-Chief”. He or she takes care of the individual operational requests, coordinates the commensurate tasks, and maintains the dialog with the customer.


And we will also require more flexibility from the colleagues at the Technical Service department “In a seaport setting you never know what tasks lie ahead tomorrow. It is a rare event that a ship arrives exactly as scheduled. But it is just not possible to keep all kinds of specialists on hand for every situation that we may encounter. That's why we are counting on the willingness of each individual in our company to cooperate with other trades and to cross-train in other disciplines.”

 

 

Since the planned change will mean a huge step for many of our colleagues, Deputy Branch Manager Ms. Franziska Walther is supporting the plan with a communications campaign. The new concept will also carry a name: “PortOffice 2020”. With the help of a port-wide roadshow, both managers will pay a visit to every area, every work group.
At the end of this roadshow, all employees will be fully informed and in tune with the new cooperation.

“Here in Brake, we have undergone many changes in the past. And even this time, I am optimistic that we will succeed”, Harald Ludwig describes the team spirit at the Port of Brake. In his opinion, it takes maneuverability and flexibility to achieve sustainability throughout the port operation:
On the other hand, it's about streamlined synergies between our resources, more safety, and more self-initiative and responsibility within the team. We would also like to engage with younger colleagues that may have different requirements when it comes to teamwork, participation, and leadership.”
 

 

 

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