May 20, 2021 [Container Mag] – Hamburg Port Consulting (HPC) has delivered an assessment study on Puerto Mejillones in Chile, aiming to optimise the terminal operations and strengthen the port’s resilience.
The project covers the operational process flow, infrastructure, equipment and maintenance as well as IT landscape of the port, which is located on the Bay of Mejillones, 65 km north of the city of Antofagasta.
The port is a key terminal for solid and liquid bulk cargoes such as copper concentrate, clinker, lead, tin, sulphur and sulphuric acid, providing specialised logistics services for the logistics chain of the Antofagasta region, particularly supporting its mining industry.
Handling mineral concentrates requires specialised infrastructure with high environmental standards to protect human health, the environment and operations.
To maintain these standards and adapt them to the growing needs of future-proof terminal operations, Puerto Mejillones commissioned HPC to conduct an assessment study.
José Sáenz P, CEO at Puerto Mejillones, stated: “Following our holistic port planning concept, the further development of our terminals must also be oriented towards the growing needs of the region.
“With the help of the assessment, we strive for actionable clarity to check our development strategy for its effectiveness – in the short and long term. In this way, we want to sufficiently and safely ensure the continuity of operations over the next 25 years.”
Pablo Bowen, associate partner at HPC, who is responsible for the Latin America and Caribbean region, said that designing a strategic roadmap would help the port to adopt high industry standards and adapt them to future needs.
The assessment aims to identify opportunities for improvement in maintenance management as well as potential to increase the performance and sustainability of the operations.
Based on a multidisciplinary and holistic approach, HPC examined operational and maintenance processes, evaluating their alignment and effectiveness with the business strategy, overall equipment effectiveness, the performance and quality of production, KPIs as well as the civil infrastructure, governance and IT systems.
HPC collaborated with two companies based in Hamburg, Sellhorn Ingenieurgesellschaft for the civil and port infrastructure review and BSPartner as experts for liquid and dry bulk, as well as with the local partner Akroscan for extensive site inspections and measurements.
As a result of the first project phase, HPC was able to develop a list of more than 60 recommendations that lead to short-, medium- and long-term improvements in operational safety and higher productivity.
Bowen added: “The assessment of the terminal operations was challenging due to travel restrictions imposed by Covid-19.
“Thanks to the excellent and trustful cooperation with the port’s team as well as our partners, we were able to carry out a full survey remotely and on-site, not only propose recommendations but also accompany quick wins into the first phase of implementation.”
The consulting firm will further support the port in the next phase, outlining detailed plans for the implementation of long-term improvement measures based on the study results from the inventory.
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