Union 'nervous' about Ports of Auckland automation after two machines go rogue
Friday, 13 August 2021
A union says it is “nervous” about Ports of Auckland’s plans to restart its automation system for unloading freight containers after it was placed on pause for two months because of safety concerns.
In June, a robotic straddle carrier lost control and slammed a container into a stack of others.
This followed an incident in November when another large machine went rogue and toppled over a retainer wall.
Ports of Auckland said in a statement the pause allowed time to “re-evaluate and reset” the project.
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“The safety risk has been fixed, and we are now ready to restart with a revised implementation plan,” it said.
The Maritime Union's Auckland Local 13 secretary Russell Mayn said he was not “fully confident” in the Ports’ ability to safely deliver this.
“It would be fair to say we are nervous.”
The undertaking had been “poorly monitored and poorly done”, he said.
“Now we're in 2021 and a huge amount of money has been spent on an automation program that today hasn't delivered.
“What happens if it fails and the whole port grinds to a halt again?” Mayn said.
The Ports of Auckland has been criticised after three fatalities in recent years.
Delays in cargo traffic resulted in one major shipping company temporarily skipping the ports. Chief executive Tony Gibson eventually resigned after the release of a damning health and safety report.
A review of the automation project found it was “realistic and achievable” for it to go live by late March 2022, the Ports said.
“This timing could impact existing import volume demand and the peak export season and cause further supply chain disruption.
“For this reason, we won’t give a go-live date until later in the project. If we feel that going live in March would jeopardise the 2022 export season, we will delay it.”
The company has previously said automation would help improve its freight capacity, without the need for any more harbour reclamation.
“Unlike other, larger ports, Auckland doesn’t have space to build a new automated terminal off-line and then turn it on when complete. We are having to automate our terminal while still operating, making it a more complex project.”
But Mayn disputed the claims automation would improve efficiency.
“We would take to task anyone that said automation can improve the productivity of the Ports of Auckland. At best this is misleading. And, at worst, [it is] just misinformation,” he said.
He added the union was sceptical about any form of artificial intelligence, whether it be automated ports, boats or trucks.
“It removes the ability of workers and their families to earn a living, and we don't see a future in this.”
The project would be implemented in four stages, with the first to “start shortly”, the company said.
Each stage has milestones which must be met before the project could progress to the next, with each being based on “safety, reliability, productivity, and operational readiness”, it said.
“Safety is paramount.”