Comprehensive assessment of governance, processes, infrastructure, IT and cargo handling equipment in successful collaboration with partners

HPC Hamburg Port Consulting, the logistics consultancy providing management consulting and software solutions for ports, sea and inland terminals as well as intermodal rail, was awarded a contract to deliver a comprehensive assessment study looking into the operational process flow, infrastructure, equipment and maintenance as well as IT landscape of Puerto Mejillones, Chile, to assist the client in strengthening operational resilience and optimising its terminal operations.

Located on the Bay of Mejillones, 65 km north of the city of Antofagasta, Puerto Mejillones is a major terminal for solid and liquid bulk cargoes such as copper concentrate, clinker, lead, tin, sulphur and sulphuric acid. Furthermore, the port provides specialised services for the entire port logistics chain of the Antofagasta region. Since its commissioning in 1996, Puerto Mejillones has become a vital strategic partner for the mining industry of the region.

Handling mineral concentrates requires specialised infrastructure with high environmental standards to protect human health, the environment, and operations. To maintain these high standards and continuously adapt them to the growing needs of future-proof terminal operations, Puerto Mejillones commissioned HPC to conduct an assessment study.

“Following our holistic port planning concept, the further development of our terminals must also be oriented towards the growing needs of the region”, said José Sáenz P., CEO at Puerto Mejillones. “With the help of the assessment, we strive for actionable clarity to check our development strategy for its effectiveness – in the short and long term. In this way, we want to sufficiently and safely ensure the continuity of operations over the next 25 years.”

“HPC appreciates the trust of the team of Puerto Mejillones and the great teamwork to design the strategic roadmap”, said Pablo Bowen, Associate Partner at HPC and responsible for the Latin America and Caribbean region. “It allows the client to adopt high industry standards and continuously adapt them to the growing needs of future-proof Puerto Mejillones.”

The assessment aimed to identify opportunities for improvement in maintenance management as well as potential to increase the performance and sustainability of the operations. Based on a multidisciplinary and holistic approach, HPC examined operational and maintenance processes, evaluating their alignment and effectiveness with the business strategy, overall equipment effectiveness, the performance and quality of production, KPIs  as well as the civil infrastructure, governance and IT systems.

To do that, HPC has teamed up with two companies based in Hamburg, Sellhorn Ingenieurgesellschaft for the civil and port infrastructure review and BSPartner as experts for liquid and dry bulk, as well as with the local partner Akroscan for extensive site inspections and measurements. As a result of the first project phase, HPC was able to develop a list of more than 60 recommendations that lead to short-, medium- and long-term improvements in operational safety and higher productivity.

“The assessment of the terminal operations was challenging due to travel restrictions imposed by Covid-19,” added Bowen. “Thanks to the excellent and trustful cooperation with the port’s team as well as our partners, we were able to carry out a full survey remotely and on-site, not only propose recommendations but also accompany quick wins into the first phase of implementation.”

HPC will further support the port in the next phase, outlining detailed plans for the implementation of long-term improvement measures based on the study results from the inventory.

Operational assessment is one of the key consultancy services HPC offers to ports and terminals. In more than 600 projects, HPC has advised on comprehensive optimisation strategies for ports and terminals around the globe and has also supported the implementation of most of these strategies. In the Latin American market, HPC has already successfully realised more than 100 projects in total.