PIER 1 CONTAINER TERMINAL MAKES HISTORY BY APPOINTING FEMALE RTG OPERATORS

May 3, 2007
Author: Lunga Ngcobo

South African Port Operation’s Pier 1 Container Terminal has made history by being the first terminal in the world to employ female Rubber-Tyred Gantry (RTG) operators.

Pier 1 Container Terminal which was temporarily closed in December last year to accelerate a R2-billion plan to establish Pier 1 as a high performance container terminal will reopen in May.

The drive by SAPO, a core division of Transnet is intended to create additional capacity, ensure readiness before the peak period and ultimately handle 720,000 TEU's by the end of 2007.

The acceleration plan is in line with SAPO’s strategic objective of creating capacity before demand and will be achieved by capacity migration which includes enhancing infrastructure, superstructure, recruitment and training.

When operations resume at the end of the first phase later this month, Pier 1 will start up with one berth, 2 ship-to-shore (STS) gantry cranes and 6 RTG cranes. Among the RTG operators are seven women.

The RTG female operators include:
1. Rachel Samuels – a mother of three who previously studied bookkeeping and computers and decided she wanted a completely different career;
2. Charlotte Mgobhozi – a qualified carpenter and single mother is determined to prove to her male colleagues that she is more than capable of operating a massive machine like the RTG;
3. Precious Bengu – a single woman who studied electrical engineering at a technical college and loves the idea that she is able to do her job just as well as her male colleagues;
4. Sthembile Ngcece – an IT graduate whose friend introduced her to the maritime industry and has overcome a fear of heights to become an RTG operator;
5. Ntombesikolo Bangiso – a single mother of two children who previously ran a small public telephone business and was looking for a stable and exciting career opportunity,
6. Nompumelelo Duma – a former Telkom technician who lived in London for 2 years before coming back to KZN to try out a challenging and meaningful job;
7. Priscilla Dlomo – an electrical engineer graduate who wanted to pursue a career in the maritime industry.

Trained by a team of Sri Lankan experts, the team of 42 RTG operators and 15 STS operators has undergone extensive academic classroom and practical training on the new equipment over three months.

Specially constructed training grounds and situations were simulated at Pier 1 terminal to ensure that the operators received the best possible hands-on experience under the watchful eye of the Sri Lankan experts.

This is the first time SAPO is utilizing the RTG operations and the equipment is the first of its kind in SA, with ergonomic features to enhance comfort and productivity.

The RTG is an impressive 25.1 metres wide (or seven lanes wide i.e. across six containers and one lane for a truck) and 26 metres high.

It has numerous benefits namely the driver’s cabin is extremely hi-tech featuring a computerised system that is able to detect its own faults.

In addition it has been designed to take into account the operator’s comfort and ergonomic consideration as it has an air conditioner and heater installed.

Sri Lankan trainer Errol Ryan said: “We have trained RTG operators in India, Sri Lanka and Dubai and this is the first time we have heard of female RTG operators in the world.

“I was very concerned when I saw the female names but after the training I can safely say that the women have performed, in some instances, better than the men.

“This is definitely a world first and SAPO must be congratulated for giving their female employees this opportunity. SAPO is making history.”

RTG operator Priscilla Dlomo, 20 who has just completed her training says: “This is a great accomplishment for me. I studied electrical engineering through a technical college but I couldn’t get a job and when I saw the advertisement looking for drivers for Pier 1, I thought I could do this.

“But when I saw the RTG and its size I was very anxious. My parents were also not very happy when I told them about the RTG and what I would be doing - now I have their full support.”

Dlomo said she realised that many of her male counterparts thought that she was not capable of doing the job and was delighted to be able to show these people that women could accomplish “most anything”.

By the end of August 2007, the terminal will have 3 berths, 5 STS cranes and 12 RTGs. An additional 6 RTGs and 1 STS crane will be delivered at the end of 2007. The terminal has already received 33 tractor trailers, 2 Reach Stackers and 2 Empty Container Haulers (ECH).