PORT ST. MAARTEN – Additional staff members working at Port St. Maarten Cargo Operations recently completed training with one hundred per cent passing grade in the maintenance and full-operations of the container crane spreader, an essential piece of equipment used for lifting shipping containers and unitized cargo at a ports freight handling operations.
The training was carried out by Bromma Engineer Neftaly Rodriquez. Brommer is the world leader in crane spreaders. In more than 50 years of continuous operations, Bromma has delivered crane spreaders to 500 terminals in 90 nations on six continents, and Bromma spreaders are in service today at 99 out of the world’s largest 100 container ports.
Following the announcement of the successful passing grade Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport & Telecommunication Stuart Johnson said he was delighted with the Port Management’s continued effort to improve the skills of its staff.
Port St. Maarten’s Cargo Operations maintenance team received certification in proactive maintenance of the spreaders. The training also included a number of crane operators to ensure that they have a full all-inclusive understanding of the spreader and its intricacies.
“As an educator for several years, I have always maintained that the only way for our people to become successful leaders is through education, training and retraining of the staff,” said Johnson.
He said the training of our human resources especially at our key Port of entry, Port St. Maarten, is essential in order for the country to maintain its hub function within the Northeastern Caribbean for container handling.
“A well-trained team lifts productivity and keeps us at the forefront. I commend Port St. Maarten Management for their foresight in ensuring that we remain innovative in our thinking in order to meet the needs and demands of our port stakeholders and customers,” Johnson said.
He said, “The quality of work and level of service St. Maarten produces will not only improve the bottom line for local companies, but it will be critical for St. Maarten as the Caribbean tourism market becomes more competitive.”
“We must be able to say, not just that we can offer a certain service in any industry, but that we provide the best quality service as well,” said Johnson.
Johnson also extended congratulations to the Team at Port St. Maarten and encouraged them to keep striving for excellence in their professions.
Port St. Maarten Management said that it is a known fact that spreaders due to their intensifying role in ensuring the safe and efficient loading and discharging of containers, require special care and a robust maintenance program that ensure and maintain a high performance level, and moves per hour for vessel operations at the cargo berths.
“As vessel turnaround time is one of the key KPI’s (Key Performance Indicator) in order to maintain relevance in the industry and ensuring our operational excellence platform is intact, a continued investment in the ports human resources will ensure the aforementioned especially as we expand our transshipment hub footprint.
“It also ensures an effective service to continue to aid in the rebuilding effort of our country with project cargo that will continue to arrive over the next two or more years as various hospitality properties and critical infrastructure projects commence with construction.
“The training is part of the ports phased human resource training and skillset development program leading to the launching of the training outpost for the Region. We are in the process of creating a pool of expertise who can train our own people here, but also train others from abroad.
“Over the years we have been having difficulty finding qualified maintenance support for our specialized Mobile Harbour Cranes. So, what we did is find individuals with principle skillsets in electrical and mechanical work but with the intention to train them from zero to hero where crane maintenance is concerned and to date, we have been very successful with this venture.
“We look at it as a human capital investment for the long haul and also upping the specialized skillsets of our locals in this field. We take this opportunity once again to congratulate our staff who took part with a 100 per cent passing grade,” Port St. Maarten Management said on Wednesday.
Port St. Maarten’s ongoing mission is to improve the port’s operations excellence platform. This has always been the mantra of Port St. Maarten and is a key component leading to the training outpost activities.
The training outpost will lead to the certification of persons working in the logistics field such as heavy equipment operators, stevedoring activities, and other port-container related operations, and will also be used as a catalyst to use St. Maarten as a centralized training hub on a regional and international level.
PHOTO CUTLINE: The proud Port St. Maarten maintenance team and crane operators who successfully completed their training carried out by Bromma Engineer Neftaly Rodriquez.
