APM Terminals Tangier sets gold standard for efficiency

As the saying goes, if you want something done, ask a busy person. That holds true of APM Terminals’ aspiration to be the World’s Best Terminal company. To support its goal of lifting the standard of efficiency, it has charted the progress of its global terminals over the past year. While almost all terminals saw major improvements, one – Africa’s third busiest container terminal – came out on top.

APM Terminals Tangier (TC1) racked up an impressive list of efficiency gains this year, including a 9.3% saving in port hours (on top of an already exceptional improvement the previous year), improving the total cost per move (by more than any other terminal in the group), and increasing crane moves per hour (CMPH) by 9%. Most importantly, safety at the terminal remained top of the scale, along with employee engagement and customer satisfaction.

The efficiency gains seen in the past year have been attributed to the terminal’s quick adoption of APM Terminals’ transformative Way of Working, which draws on LEAN business principles.

Principled progress

APM Terminals CEO, Keith Svendsen, on congratulating the terminal on its achievements, said TC1 has “consistently embodied the principles I hold dear…They don't just maintain standards; they push boundaries in Safety, Quality, Delivery, and Cost. Their spirit of collaboration and ambition is evident,” he said, adding that the terminal has “set the gold standard.”

Jack Craig, Chief Operations Officer, said the terminal’s outstanding success was due to the collaboration, alignment, and engagement of the team. “They have excelled throughout the year but most impressive is the commitment to continued improvement,” he said, adding that the lessons will be implemented throughout the APM Terminals portfolio.

Rewarding event

Leadership at APM Terminals will congratulate the TC1 team in person in September at the company’s ‘Terminal of the Year’ event. The annual awards rank terminals by criteria including safety, customer Net Promoter Scores (Customer Satisfaction), operational and financial performance, uptake of the APM Terminals Way of Working, and overall engagement.

Keld Pedersen, Managing Director TC1 said: “Our teams have proven that, if we are willing to quickly change our way of thinking and doing things, then we are on track to become the world’s best terminal operator – by far! Continuous improvements in both safety, customer happiness and our operational performance combined with much more motivated employees both in the frontline and in the office have just been an amazing journey so far, and I am very proud to be part of this.”