Processing and Analysis of Ship-to-Shore Gantry Crane Operator Performance Curves in Container Terminals

Abstract

To describe the performance of skilled operators in the transport sector, curves are used that relate quality of performance to operator arousal level. Though performance assessment has a long history in the aviation and aerospace industries, the use of performance curves is relatively recent in the transport sector.
The rapid advances in technology accompanied by the demand for highly skilled workers also in port operations have resulted in the need for analytical tools geared to enhancing operator performance, reducing fatigue levels and hence the possibility of accidents involving personal injury occurring.
This paper concerns the analysis of performance curves obtained for a ship-to-shore gantry crane operator in a container transhipment terminal: The curves have been plotted for four work shifts and allow to identify the most critical phases in terms of time on shift, in relation to the task performed. The results of the analysis indicate that curve specification for particular job tasks should be done using a simulator, that is able to represent the entire spectrum of operating conditions, including atypical and the less common ones.