CONtROL ROOM COOL
>>
the hit Control tower – tradition
and teChnology
This Control Room is not like other ones.
Most control rooms evoke the science
fiction of today or the more antiquated
perception of a 1960’s vision of the
future. But not this Control Room. Its next
generation award-winning proprietary
terminal management software is artfully
concealed in a veneer of the past.
Walking into the Hongkong International
Terminals’ (HIT) control room that oversees
11 million plus TEU movements a year is
like walking into a posh seaside restaurant.
Polished oak with hints of brass evoke a
maritime history. All that’s missing is a ship’s
wheel and ropes on the wall for decoration.
The atmosphere is intent, but not tense;
quiet, but not sombre. Franco Ning, Assistant
General Manager – Operations, was
Sphere’s
guide into one of the world’s busiest container
terminal control rooms.
Changing of the guard
The maritime industry is often characterised
as being populated by hoary old men of
the sea. This Control Room did not reveal
that. There were some lifers, including Mr
YipWing-tat (Duty Officer, Control and
Planning) who has been with HIT for 30
years, and he shared his wisdomwith us.
Franco himself has been with HIT for over
20 years. They did not look it – must be
something in the seaside air that keeps them
youthful. But the rest of the staff looked
young. Intense, purposeful – and young.
Franco explained that there was a time
when most of the people who came in
had worked on ships or perhaps with the
agents who render port services. On-the-
job training or vocational, more practical
education, was the norm. Back in the old
days, they were experts in planning the
‘movements’ – deciding which ship came
in where, what cranes and trucks needed
to be deployed and how containers were
stacked on board ships. They mastered the
quickly changing technology needed to stay
competitive in a fast moving business.
Now, things are different. Many new trainees
in the Control Room are fromHong Kong
Polytechnic University, encouraged by
their professors to be there. One young
lady that
Sphere
met, Janet Wong, had
studied Industrial Engineering and Logistics
Management. Her professor had encouraged
her to take a post with HIT – “My teacher
loves HIT!” – and had promoted the firm
heavily as an employer of choice. She has
mastered the skills of a ship planner and is
in a trainee phase to go back out to the front
lines where the action is, radio in hand.
teChnology driven
She will need to work with the seamless
technology platform run by the proprietary
terminal operating system nGen (next
Generation). This modular, scalable system
has been adopted inwhole or in part by various
new and acquired ports in the HPH network
around the world. It has won awards from
institutions as venerable as the Smithsonian
Institute – and is never released to outside
firms. “It is our competitive edge!” exclaimed
Jeannie Chiu, Manager, Group Corporate
Affairs, during a tour of the operations, aghast
at the idea that anyone else could possibly
have their hands on it.
hongkong international terminals
SpHere
#34
2013
22
