Capturing the Right Delay at the Source Helped Reduce Crane Idling by 16%

Private Seaport in India·India

Business ExcellenceIT & AutomationPeople & Process

Key Impact

“A streamlined 3x3 touch interface simplified crane delay logging and reduced crane idling delays by 16%”

Context & Background

Crane productivity is a critical driver of vessel-handling performance at a seaport. Even relatively small periods of crane inactivity can affect vessel turnaround, resource utilisation and overall operating efficiency. The port was recording operational delays, but the mechanism was largely paper-based. More importantly, the person recording the delay was generally on the ground, while the crane operator - the person closest to the actual event - remained inside the crane cabin.

Key Challenges

1Crane operators sat inside the crane cabin, high above the jetty. When an interruption occurred, the operator needed to select the reason for the delay.

2The available screen interface presented hundreds of possible delay codes, making code selection tedious and time consuming. In practice, operators often selected generic categories such as miscellaneous delay or other operational delay.

3Without reliable cause-level information, management ended up with recorded delays that were technically complete, but operationally unhelpful for root-cause analysis and corrective action.

Work Executed

Analysed historical delay logs to identify the operational reasons that accounted for the vast majority of interruptions

Separated high-frequency delays from rare edge cases and ancillary activities

Redesigned the crane HMI screen around a clean 3x3 touch grid of the most common delay reasons

Placed the 9 most frequent operational causes within immediate reach of the operator in the cabin

Standardised delay categorisation and kept less frequent causes accessible through a secondary hierarchy

Integrated digital event capture into operational reporting systems

Value Delivered

The interface change dramatically reduced the operational effort required by the crane operator to log interruptions accurately. By making the correct code the easiest code to select, the intervention improved the accuracy of delay capture, reduced unhelpful miscellaneous classifications, gave engineering and operations trustworthy delay data, and delivered a 16% reduction in operational delays and crane idling.

Key Assignment Components

#Port Operations#Crane Productivity#HMI Interface#Operator Experience#Downtime Diagnosis#Delay Analysis#Touch Screen#Root Cause Analysis

Includes work undertaken by team members as part of assignments / employment.

Facing a similar challenge?