Germanischer Lloyd, the German ship classification society, and New York's Global Institute of Logistics, have launched container terminal auditing programme called the Container Terminal Quality Indicator (CTQI).
Before securing a CTQI audit, a container terminal must first implement a management system with a continuous improvement programme, after which auditors will assess terminal performance, looking at equipment quality, age of cranes, operational standards, including the opening hours of the road gate as well as intermodal and inland waterway connections, reported American Shipper.
The terminals themselves will determine how much information they release as "all certified figures and achieved benchmarks will only be disclosed in a confidential annex to the certificate".
The standards system will give shippers a means to judge terminals that best suit their needs and supply chain strategies, said a statement from its sponsors.
"There has never before been such a standard providing globally defined figures," said Wilhelm Loskot, head of shipping and logistics at Germanischer Lloyd Certification. "CTQI is the simplest way possible to achieve a common language for evaluating container terminals on a worldwide base. This provides the benchmark for a continuous improvement of container terminal performance worldwide."
Before securing a CTQI audit, a container terminal must first implement a management system with a continuous improvement programme, after which auditors will assess terminal performance, looking at equipment quality, age of cranes, operational standards, including the opening hours of the road gate as well as intermodal and inland waterway connections, reported American Shipper.
The terminals themselves will determine how much information they release as "all certified figures and achieved benchmarks will only be disclosed in a confidential annex to the certificate".
The standards system will give shippers a means to judge terminals that best suit their needs and supply chain strategies, said a statement from its sponsors.
"There has never before been such a standard providing globally defined figures," said Wilhelm Loskot, head of shipping and logistics at Germanischer Lloyd Certification. "CTQI is the simplest way possible to achieve a common language for evaluating container terminals on a worldwide base. This provides the benchmark for a continuous improvement of container terminal performance worldwide."