Issue link: http://digital.nexsitepublishing.com/i/1065449
with a new, modern terminal operating software system (TOS). TOS is geared toward accelerating gate operations and reducing gate-lane transaction times. With the TOS in place, terminal employees now work from an indoor gate-control center, more efficiently and safely, interacting with truck drivers from kiosks via communication handsets and cameras. This operation is also paperless, which reduces gate-lane transaction times. The technology ultimately allows trucking partners to access and depart Crowley's terminal faster, avoid costly penalties and make more trips per day, putting cargo into the hands of customers faster. At Isla Grande for example, it used to take a trucker about 45 minutes to bring a container into the terminal (ingate). Today with TOS, it is only 12 minutes. Time spent at gate kiosks used to average six to seven minutes, and now it's less than one minute. And gate-to-gate turn times are now averaging only 30 minutes. "With the transformation of the way we now handle and move cargo at our San Juan terminal, we are now delivering and dispatching cargo 50 percent faster than before," said Jose "Pache" Ayala, vice president, Puerto Rico services, based in San Juan. Likewise, in Jacksonville, gate turn times are down 39 percent to an average of 17 minutes. "This huge investment has combined industry-leading modernizations in ship technology, terminal operations and facilities to create a world-class supply chain between the mainland and Puerto Rico," said Crowley Vice President Tucker Gilliam, who oversaw the Commitment Class projects. "These improvements ensure a total commitment to transporting and delivering cargo to customers safely and reliably for years to come." Connections Magazine, Issue 18 19 History is made: Watch the evolution of Crowley's El Coquí.