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July Stats Show Record-breaking Usage
of the Premier Appointment System™at
West Coast Container Terminals
August
28, 2004 - In July, 98 percent of non-rail import containers
at Hanjin Shipping's Pier T Long Beach Container Terminal,
operated by Total Terminals International (TTI), were picked
up by truckers making appointments using the Premier Appointment
System™ (PAS), a fully integrated software enhancement of
industry-leading Web site VoyagerTrack® and the most utilized
appointment system in the North America.
July's figures demonstrated a 61 percent
increase in the PAS usage from May and a 13 percent increase
from June. VoyagerTrack's Web site now averages more than
one hit a second, when equated to business hours, and recently
reached new highs of more than 80,000 per week for an individual
terminal. Since its initial 1997 deployment, the site has
consistently recorded dramatically increased usage, with 2004
running 55 percent higher than 2003, which was 94 percent
higher than 2002 usage.
Steve Longbotham, MTC vice president -
customer technology, attributes part of the tremendous response
to the value users experience from the system's ease of use,
aid in handling issues quickly and increased predictability
of terminal activity levels.
According to Longbotham there is an enormous
amount of increased information available to all parties as
the PAS is monitored around the clock. Trucking companies
can see the number of available appointments corresponding
to their containers' position in the yard and can sequence
their total container picks ups accordingly. One such trucking
customer is AA Transport, Inc., located in Gardena, Calif.
"VoyagerTrack's PAS system speeds
up our business," said Marcella Alcala, customer service
and dispatch for AA Transport. "Drivers are getting through
the terminal faster, without having to go to the trouble window.
We can check availability before going to pick up the containers.
We don't have to waste time being on hold to check it. If
there is a problem, VoyagerTrack e-mails us the problem ticket
so we don't have to call to get the ticket number and find
out what is wrong. We can start taking care of the problem
immediately."
At the TTI Hanjin terminal in Long Beach,
where an average of two-thirds of appointments are made the
previous day, the terminal can assist the day operation by
selectively pre-mounting containers from heavily scheduled
areas at night, thereby increasing the dayside capacity. The
facility currently runs weekly "hoot" third shifts,
opening the gates at 2 a.m. on the flex plan, with the transtainers
beginning operations at 3 a.m. The day shift starts at 7 a.m.
on the flex option, which creates a shift change at 7:30 a.m.
TTI has a full-service Saturday gate. Sunday gates are available
per steamship lines' request.
"Appointments allow us to pre-mount
containers for truckers using the PAS enhancement. This combination
of services has resulted in a 40 percent drop in overall turn
time on decked import loads from April, when the appointment
system was not being utilized as it was designed," TTI
Terminal Manager Mark Milburn said. "By matching available
appointments more exactly to transtainer productivity, we
are ensuring those with appointments are serviced appropriately.
In the coming months, we will focus on export containers and
in-gate empties to further reduce trucker turn times. Receiving
advanced appointments for these container moves will allow
TTI to order proper staffing to enable a dramatic reduction
in turn times and delays, currently being experienced throughout
the waterfront."
Logistics 2000 of Carson, Calif., uses
the PAS at three Southern California container terminals.
"We use VoyagerTrack's Premier Appointment
System for picking up Yang Ming, Evergreen, China Shipping,
Hanjin and Lloyd Triestino containers," Traffic Manager
Rony Velasquez told us. "I make appointments 99 percent
of the time. PAS is the best appointment system. I would rather
use PAS than other systems, like eModal. PAS is faster and
more accurate. I really like the ability to make the appointment
as close as a half-hour in advance. This important ability
saves time. My drivers can return an empty and then pick up
a full on the same trip and not waste momentum."
Velasquez said he likes the flexibility
and expanded options to customize VoyagerTrack's Event Notification
feature. He said he can customize his notification reports
by attaching to each container number the customer name, destination,
and other particulars as references so when he receives the
e-mail notification, "it tells a lot about where the
container is going."
VoyagerTrack was developed by Embarcadero
Systems Corp. under the direction of Marine Terminals Corp.
The PAS software enhancement was deployed by MTC in conjunction
with three of its joint-venture partners operating in the
Port of Long Beach (Total Terminals Int'l-TTI); the Port of
Los Angeles (Seaside Transportation Services-STS and West
Basin Container Terminal-WBCT); and the Port of Oakland (TTI
and STS), and its software provider ESC.
PAS went live in compliance with The Lowenthal
Law, the California truck-idling law that fines terminal operators
for any truck made to wait in line longer than 30 minutes.
However, avoidance of possible truck-idling fines played only
a minor role in the creation of PAS. Total Terminals, Long
Beach, elected to implement the appointment system even though
its terminal did not need relief from the possible fines because
it qualifies for the extended-hours exemption (70 hours a
week in So. Calif.).
Terminals and associated shipping lines
currently using the PAS are Ben E. Nutter Container Terminal-Oakland
(Evergreen, Wan Hai. Lloyd Triestino, Hatsu Marine); Total
Terminals Int'l-Oakland (Hanjin Shipping, Yang Ming, Sinotrans);
Seaside Transportation Services-Los Angeles (Evergreen, Lloyd
Triestino, Hatsu Marine; Total Terminals International - Long
Beach (Hanjin Shipping, Sinotrans); and West Basin Container
Terminal, Los Angeles (China Shipping, Wan Hai, Yang Ming);
and, through vessel sharing agreements with the above-mentioned
carriers, CMA-CGM, COSCO, K Line and Zim.
Longbotham believes PAS is the only appointment
system on the West Coast that allows appointments to be made
by either a Web site or a touch-tone telephone Voice Response
Unit (VRU). For those without Internet access or preferring
to use the telephone, there is VoyagerVoice™. This VRU system
requires only a touch-tone phone to make inquiries about import
containers, export bookings and requests for Event Notification.
Those interested in VoyagerVoice may call 888-744-7682 or
go to www.voyagertrack.com
for a listing of individual facility VRU telephone numbers.
A current listing of all available VoyagerTrack Web sites
can be obtained at www.voyagertrack.com
or via www.mtcorp.com by going
to the "Container Tracking" drop-down menu on the
left side.
About Embarcadero Systems Corporation
Embarcadero Systems
Corporation, located in the San Francisco Bay Area, specializes
in the development and implementation of advanced software
and security solutions for the transportation industry through
its four business units comprised of: Professional Services,
System Integration, Software Solutions, and Technology Services.
ESC is a full service information systems supplier providing:
mission-critical business analyses, leading edge application
designs, disciplined IT deployments, 24x7 technical support,
and reliable data center application hosting services. The
ESC family of products includes VinTelligent™ for vehicle
terminal management, VASTAC® for facility security and access
control, VoyagerTrack® for cargo status and availability,
Premier Appointment System™ to improve gate efficiency and
trucker scheduling, webTAMS® for real-time steamship cargo
management and status, and CATOS, for highly integrated marine
and intermodal terminal management and operations.
Bryant Bell
Tel: +1-510-749-7495
Fax: +1510-267-3695
E-Mail: bryantb@esystem.com
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