Crane simulator star attraction at port

Napier Port's $5 million administration centre was opened by Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce yesterday.

Port chairman Alasdair MacLeod said it was the first time in the port's history that corporate, operations, engineering and marine departments shared the same building.

It would foster teamwork and support the strategic goal of fostering "a more engaged, innovative and connected workforce to ensure it's well placed to handle the region's growing cargo base and remain central New Zealand's leading port", he said.

The new building replaces the earthquake-prone administration and operations buildings and allows a greater footprint for shipping container operations.

The building opening was also the launch of New Zealand's only mobile harbour crane simulator, which gave an exact replica of the port and its cranes.

It has the ability to simulate various conditions such as time of day, wind speeds and ocean swells.

"The simulator means the port can see in a safer and more controlled environment how potential crane operators will perform, MacLeod said.

"It has cut down the selection-process timeframe by about 90 per cent - the team know very quickly if someone has the right skills and eye-hand coordination for the job - and we don't need to send operators overseas where they previously went for training.

"We expect other efficiency gains, such as an improvement in crane rates through operators being able to practise on a regular basis and using it to practise more difficult scenarios," he says.

The simulator, housed in a shipping container and costing almost $1 million, is available to ports' staff in New Zealand and overseas.

Previously Napier Port staff travelled to Belgium for simulator training.

The number of containers handled by Napier Port increased 16.5 per cent last year and almost 80 per cent over the previous 10, making it the fourth-largest container terminal in New Zealand.