The Hindu Business Line : `Value engineering vital for improving port operations'

The Visakhapatnam Port Trust Chairman, Mr. K. Ratna Kishore, having a word with the Chief Inspector of Dock Safety, Mr S.K. Saxena, at a workshop on `Competent persons in Visakhapatnam'. Also seen is Director, Dock Safety division, Mr S.K. Dutta.

Visakhapatnam , Jan. 20

VALUE engineering is imperative, as the Japanese and North Korean experience has proved, to supply the Indian ports with the best possible gear and make them competitive, Mr K. Ratna Kishore, Chairman of Visakhapatnam Port, has said.

He was speaking at the inaugural session of the two-day workshop for `Competent Persons', organised by the Directorate-General Factory Advice Service and Labour Institutes , Mumbai, which began here on Monday.

Mr Kishore said the ports should have access to the best equipment and in outsourcing support services the major ports should exercise great caution, as they cannot shun vicarious responsibility, should any accident occur. He said eternal vigilance was required to prevent accidents in ports and the skills of the personnel should be constantly upgraded in view of the ever-increasing sophistication in technologies. He said Visakhapatnam, as the leading port in the country, was striving to set the right example by adopting the best practices and sourcing the best components. "It is our endeavour to make Vizag the preferred port,'' he said.

Mr S.K. Saxena, Director-General of FASLI and the Chief Inspector of Dock Safety, who presided over the inaugural session, said the seminar would discuss various issues related to providing quality service in Indian ports on a par with international standards. The latest developments in the manufacture, testing and examination of lifting appliances, associated gears, wire ropes and containers would also be discussed during the two days.

A press release issued by the organisers on the occasion says that various lifting appliances and associated gears form the backbone of port operations and the statutes stipulate that the testing of the gear should be done only by an approved `Competent Person'.