Posts in category: News

By the Communication Area

With the objective of promoting the preparedness for possible disasters. The Meteor Popular Exercise 2019 was developed, taking into account the need of reducing vulnerabilities prior to the beginning of the cyclonic season.

According to Luis Álvarez Soto, specialist in Security and Protection who attend Defense in the company, the day began with a training to the guard operation of the Coordination and Control center, in the application of notices to the Command and Support groups of the Terminal.

 Among the practical activities carry out to mitigate vulnerabilities and the reduction of risks in the different areas, they stand out ´´the cleaning of the drainage network and the register of the river network, the protection of the risk areas, the fixing of the equipment that operates outdoor, and the extraction of containers to depots of the national economy´ ´he specified.

At the same time, ´´the Command Group point out the measures in the preparation and response stages, included in the Disaster Reduction Plan, based on the update of the risk assessment and its economic impact´´.

Also, a practical lashing exercise of container in stowage took place in the yard, the evaluation of the effectiveness of the measures taken for the sealing of the underground conduits and the electrical joints, and the determination of others based on the prevention and preparation of the staff. Also, the emergency generator sets were checked and verified.

Por Área de Comunicación

Looking for new forms of expression, through the implicit beauty that are in the small landscapes, the charm that is behind the discovery of each detail, the essences  that comes from a flower, for instance the romerillos that were the reason for the inspiration of the artist of the plastic Oniel Rodríguez López. 

´´ They are seemingly insignificant flowers, but when you see them up close or paint them- in my case, in large dimensions-, you realize the beauty that is in them, they come out to meet you´´, says the young painter from Mariel, regarding to the opening of the personal exhibition ´´Pequeños Paisajes´´ (Small Lanscapes´´), which give a peculiar hallmark to the corridor of the General Service Building of our terminal. The sample consists of six pieces, in wich the acrylic on canvas technique is used, in formats of 100 X 80 y130 x 100 cm.   

Since 2010, Oniel –who works in our center-develops this theme. First he turned to realism, and then he worked on the manufactured paper, trying the textures offered by this support and giving free reins to the transparencies and to the unfinished, as small sketches.

 Subsequently, he has combined the previous periods, with carefree backgrounds, without taking into account each of the details, but highlighting the figure of the romerillo flower, creating in this way a greater contrast. Nowadays he combines two passions that captivate him, he adds to the romerillos his love for diving, as a symbiosis between two apparently distant themes that surely will impregnate a unique nuance in his next creations.

By the Communication Area

Regarding the artistic creation, from different views, the Martí dreamer is presented, the man with fiery word, the Cuban, the poet who rediscovers himself among landscapes… and now some centuries later from his departure, he continuous being our apostle, source of inspiration for the letters, the painting, the sculpture, among other manifestations.

Sharing the validity of its legacy, members of the Mariel Plastic Collective and also of the provincial Uneac, joined together to leave capture between canvases and cardboards, the lines that reveal the vision from which the most universal of the Cubans is conceived. As a result of, the collective exhibition Marti and me, was inaugurated, which is a tribute by the young people of the Container Terminal, to the prolific writer, on the 124^th anniversary of his fall in combat.

Eleven pieces made with several techniques, in various formats, comprises the exhibition, which until next 9^th may will occupy the corridor of the Internal Services Building – turned into ´´ Art Gallery´´-, converging in the same space works of 10 artists (most of them, people from Mariel). In this way, the discovery of new of new looks at our national hero is invited, as well as some facets that distinguished his short but fruitful existence.

   ´´ The sacralization of icons of Cuban history is widely discussed and more in these contemporary times, but in our province there is not much formal evidences of collective projects with this issue. For this reason, this exhibition, besides of being a tribute to this great man, is an invitation to continue creating”, commented the artist Gerlys Álvarez Chacón.

During the opening of the expo we had the presence of two of its architects: Nemesio Omar Lafferté Galvez and Oniel Rodríguez López, who shared some motivations of the creative process that led them to leave a mark on the vast iconography that has been based on this man of thought, guide and example for dissimilar generations of Cubans.

For the first time, our Training Center assumed the certification of port longshoremen. From March 25 until April 12, at the terminal’s daily work, 13 new candidates were incorporated, as part of the necessary theoretical and practical preparation, in order to achieve the expected results.

“From the very moment of homologation of the center, by the Cuban Registry of Shipping, and its approval by the Ministry of Education, we set out to certify the main specialties that allow performance within the port enclosure area. In that sense, a program for the preparation of longshoremen was designed, activity which third companies had undertaken for the time being,” said Mario Luis Morales Lima, teaching secretary of the center.

The program comprises 120 hours, and among its objectives it is important to master aspects related to the establishment of the methodology to be followed for the execution of the operations of unloading and loading of vessels, boats and naval devices docked along TC Mariel berth, reception and delivery of containers by railways, as well as consolidation, deconsolidation, and other complementary services.

During the course development, there intervened six specialists pertaining to the areas of Safety and Health at Work, Environment and Quality, Operations, and Human Resources; an instructor, and the officer of Protection of Ships and Port Facilities.

“It consists of a multidisciplinary program –conformed by members of the center in collaboration with the Project Group-, taking into account the criteria of specialists in the Operation Area and experts in the activity. The procedures and work instructions of the processes in which a stevedore intervenes, was taken as the basis of the study material”; Morales Lima added.

“We want to go beyond the preparation of these specialties, that is, to design programs for middle managers (yard and dock chiefs, brigade and stowage supervisors), based on the interest of the Operations Department to form a stock that guarantees the quality in the execution of the processes, and the successful transit in the career plan conceived for the training of the personnel”.

By the communication Area

With its her first berth at this deep-water port, the X-PRESS MAKALU became the largest loading and unloading container vessel that has arrived at TC Mariel, just over five years after the start of our operations.

 “The boat dates from 2008, she corresponds to the IBS service, she has a length of 210.91 meters, and her breadth and draft are 32.25 and 12 m, respectively. Her load capacity is 2,714 TEUs”, stated Alejandro Rafael Lastayo Fajardo, Head of Planning.

This vessel from Cartagena and with Port Cortés as port of destiny, had an unloading operation of 828 containers and1001 of loading operation, he said.  

Her operation lasted 38 hours, with 1.69 of crane insensitive, and a performance of 28.86 movements per hour. The next arrival is estimated for April 20^th, 16 days after her first arrival.

The “premiere” on the web of an application for real-time tracking of productive indicators of operations, is a fact in our terminal, since mid-February. More than a year ago, a team of professionals worked on its development, and steps are being taken in that direction.

In this regard, we share with the engineer Dennis Arce López, specialist of the Development and Project Management Group, of TC Mariel. At first, it is necessary to know how the idea arises? “The Department of Operations raises the need to have a tool that shows in a single view, a summary of the state of operations, making use of the indicators used by PSA, and thus contributing to better decision making.

“We had the idea of ​​what we wanted, and it is concrete to see a similar application, during a visit to the Sines terminal in Portugal. At that time we had already designed the view of a mobile application, but the access of users to the data was not yet possible, “he says.

Also, there was a web page, with general reports on the production of the terminal, prepared by specialists from the Infocommunications Directorate, “which arose from a different perspective, from a different distribution of contents, visualizing the processes by separated”.

With a greater clarity of what we wanted to achieve and with reference guidelines, a work team integrated by the Project Development and Management Group, with the collaboration of representatives from the Port Operations and Operations Planning areas, and with the technical support of the Infocommunications Directorate, in July of 2017 he gave himself the task of giving life to the Dashops.

Last December it was possible for the first time access, and then began to correct the errors, until finally reached a stability in service, in February, and still work to achieve other improvements.

“At this moment, you only have access from the terminal, by both ways: computer or mobile”, specifies, meanwhile, adds that “we intend that in the future it can be accessed from any part of the world, with defined users and having in account for the required authentication and security measures … Shift Operative Managers, Planning Managers, and ship planners are the ones who currently use it the most “.

Regarding the main advantages that this website considers, it states that “when you have a single point, with a quick view, the status of operations, allows you to define where you should correct the difficulties presented. You can also analyze trends in the behavior of the day, fluctuations in the performance of teams …

“Information is important to show, so that whoever sees it can understand it quickly. We appeal to the use of images and graphics, without forgetting the numbers, but giving preponderance to the former, with a more linear approach, for a better understanding.

“If you give a lot of information, you misinform. The idea is to provide those aspects that you need in the first instance. We also intend to address the processes in greater depth, in other views. “

In this way, using key elements, contribute to a better understanding of the contents, facilitating the use of a tool that will surely be very useful in the necessary follow-up of the development of determining processes in our terminal.

With satisfactory results, the first stage of preparation of gantry crane lift operators (30 and 50 tons), from the Multipurpose Terminal of Santiago de Cuba, was completed, as reported by Pablo E. Prieto, deputy director of the Training Center.

“We had received the request to collaborate on the training of 25 operators from the employment stock, out of which 14 were subsequently selected,” he points out.

A visit to TC Mariel took place at first instance, as part of the process, where they were able to get acquainted with port equipments. With the contest of instructors of our Training Center, Arnaldo Ávila and Leocóride Castro, the theoretical part was organized in Santiago’s terminal and, once completed; the practical training stage took place in the port of Havana, on German cranes, very similar to the ones under construction in China.

Being the cranes set up in Santiago, the aforementioned instructors participated in the commissioning. “After undertaking the corresponding training, the first seven crane operators were certified by an integral commission, while another group continued the training with the designated instructor of the newly certified group,” adds Prieto.  

Said commission was also composed of Mr. Federico Carlos, Mrs. Patricia Beato, Mr. Francisco García, Mr. Reidel Blanco and Mr. Raúl Hernández as well as, some specialists and technicians of Occupational Health and Safety department, from Santiago de Cuba, also joined.

Exchanging experiences, based on the appropriation of good practices for a better performance, we shared during three working sessions with executives of Human Resources and Press, of PSA International, in the region of the Americas.

From the previous application of the HBDI (Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument) -a system designed to measure and describe the preferences of thought, developed by William “Ned” Herrmann-, we were able to know details of this tool and had the opportunity to find an answer to concerns about the subject.

The participants highlighted the value of this mechanism in the creation of work teams, taking into account the objectives pursued. “Knowing ourselves, and the rest of the people with whom we interact, makes the way to communicate is more effective, and therefore, superior results,” said Denys Sacha, one of the representatives of PSA.

How do the messages reach people, according to the preferences of thought? He questioned and emphasized “the importance of having in a business communication characteristics of each quadrant of the brain (rational, pragmatic, emotional, and experimental) , so that it causes the desired effect on the target audience. “

With the presence of leaders from terminal areas, during the development of another meeting, Tao of Coaching methods were offered, which show possible ways or paths for the necessary preparation exercise, at different levels.

An introduction to PSA, through a corporate video and the approach to the main characteristics of the company, opened the way for the second session, also nuanced by the approach to a series of initiatives and activities that develop with the workers’ contest. They also learned details of the actions undertaken in TC Mariel, pursuing similar purposes.

“PSA continues to expand around the world and has 40 business units in five regions. We focus on people, and the exchange of knowledge and experiences, to achieve global comprehensiveness, “said Caroline Germaine Alfred, another representative of this important facilitator of international trade.

The tools for organizational development, the evolution of the competencies required in the different positions, the good practices in the automation of the processes, the talent framework for the development of Human Resources, the opinion polls of the personnel, and the notes for improve the work climate, they constituted other of the subjects tackled.

They also shared programs that they undertake in order to positively converge several generations, promote the exchange of personnel between regions, execute individual development and succession plans, achieve interrelation with universities, among other proposals.

The last day focused on communication and the involvement of staff in it. In this sense, Caroline referred to the platforms used to transmit information of various kinds, the campaigns developed, the messages of thanks to the staff, the communication events, and the actions that promote the bond with families.

He also offered some suggestions to prevent stress and the so-called occupational diseases, and talked about the information packages designed for new staff, the breakfast sessions with topics that motivate the collective debate, the exchanges of workers between departments, the work carried out to promote the generation of ideas, and the empowerment of voluntary groups.

Mariana Jorge, another of the executives, made reference to how some of these experiences are also carried out in Argentina and Panama. After the exchanges, the invitation to do some of these practices is still open – always adapting them to each context – and to perfect existing ones.

On January 27, the Mariel S. A. Container Terminal arrived at its first five-year period.

Aware of the importance played in the economic progress of the country, of the decisive role as an essential part of the Mariel Special Development Zone, and the mission of achieving results at the height of a logistics center of importance in the regional context, a representation of the 521 workers that make up this great team converged in the same space to celebrate the start of operations.

“I look back and think, is this possible? Did we get here with five years? At the beginning we asked ourselves: how are we going to insert ourselves in the world maritime map? … well, we achieve it, thanks to the efforts of you, the collaborators and our clients. Many already know that there is a modern port in Cuba and a terminal that meets their needs. We are proud to be the first user of the ZEDM, to be part of a very important piece of infrastructure for the country, serving the shipping companies and the most prestigious import and export clients in the world “, assured Charles Alistair Baker, CEO of the company.

In the name of the new generations, Claudia Valdés, a specialist in port activities, congratulated “those who gave name and form to this work, those who started it by imposing themselves before difficulties and barriers to materialize a dream … those who work to make the terminal an international benchmark, to turn it into the port of transshipment of the Americas “. Meanwhile, Damián Druyat, operator of gantry cranes and union representative, emphasized the confidence in the future, and the desire to be more useful and productive.

During the meeting, which was attended by Ana Teresa Igarza, general director of the Office of the ZEDM, as well as representatives of entities that have accompanied the center in this period, recognized the work of 66 workers highlighted during the past year. Also, the political organizations present highlighted the work of the terminal, and José Leonardo Sosa, its deputy director, received a recognition dedicated to the center on the occasion of this anniversary, from José Raúl Ortuzar, first executive vice president of Almacenes Universales, a company which belongs to the company and that this January 28 fulfilled two and a half decades of founded.

“When we see the work done, its evolution and continuous development, we can affirm that they have made possible an entity of some commercial and labor prestige … Continue developing directions such as the assimilation of technology and operational processes, automated systems, efficient use of the means of loading and unloading, and the care and conservation of the work technique, “said Nelson Murcia, vice president of Human Resources, Almacenes Universales.

TC Mariel is managed by PSA International, of Singapore, a world leader in port operations. It has a modern infrastructure and equipment, designed to operate Neo-Panamax vessels.