The following information has been provided by the Customs Brokers and Forwarders Council of Australia:
“Representatives from the Customs Brokers and Forwarders Council of Australia Inc. (CBFCA) attended a Port Botany Landside Improvement Strategy (PBLIS) Road Taskforce meeting on 21 July, 2011. The CBFCA noted improvements in operational performance since PBLIS implementation on 28 February, 2011, which appeared to be in line with data presented by the Sydney Ports Corporation (SPC).
SPC will soon be making adjustments to the PBLIS Mandatory Standards to further refine operational arrangements. Details of these changes and an overall progress report will be provided to members in the near future in the form of a formal SPC PBLIS Newsletter. In the interim, the following information may be of interest as a summary of the main issues emerging from the most recent meeting:
Truck Tracking System
SPC have completed installation of a sophisticated Truck Tracking System. Upon implementation, it will be used to measure Truck Turnaround Times (TTT) from when trucks join any queue (rather than a stevedore measurement from the terminal gate) as well as port departure and waiting times. 280 carriers are registered with a total of 2113 tags fitted to vehicles. Testing is currently taking place and will be ready for a go live by September 2011. Actual implementation will be delayed until early 2012 to coincide with the introduction of other PBLIS regulations.
Operational Performance System
The CBFCA provided feedback that the compliance verification is excessive for members and transport operators in reconciling stevedore invoices against operational data. SPC and stevedores claimed that through close collaboration, invoicing accuracy is continually improving. SPC will soon be releasing a “user friendly” web based reporting tool which will give all registered stakeholders real time access to information to assist in checking invoice accuracy.
Truck Marshalling Area
As outlined in NSWNF 2011/070, SPC have identified a site for a Truck Marshalling area (TMA) at 15 Bumborah Point Road (adjacent to the CEF (the Customs Examination Facility where container x-rays are performed)). SPC anticipate that construction will commence in October 2011 and will be operational in early 2012. Upon implementation, PBLIS “early arrival” penalties will commence to deter truck arrival at the stevedore gate prior to commencement of the booked time zone. Trucks will be permitted to wait at the TMA up to one hour before their allocated zone. Further flexibility will be offered to country carriers in the use of the TMA.
Unforeseen events
Criteria for stevedores declaring an “Unforeseen Event”, particularly as it relates to IT outages, will be tightened with a revision to the PBLIS Mandatory Standards. At the request of the CBFCA, SPC will maintain real time details of all “reviewed” and “pending review” unforeseen events on their web site. Operational arrangements and associated definitions will also be a focus in dealing with trucks in the terminal during a time of an Unforeseen Event.”
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