How Southampton turned reward to opening in 10 weeks
Upon contract reward, on October 28th, the Southampton terminal team began preparing the new EPC, which at the time was an empty warehouse, with only a few power outlets. Here’s how the Southampton team managed to open the terminal’s equipment processing center (EPC) in just 10 weeks.
The site had not been used for three years and required significant work, including installing power lines, compressors, shelving, and new office facilities. In addition, new power outlets were installed and placed at more ideal spots in terms of the operations.
The offices were initially in poor condition and needed refurbishment, including addressing mold and a new washdown area.
Just 10 weeks later, the Southampton team managed to make the site operationally ready just before the first units arrived on 20. January.
The team has worked tirelessly to turn what seemed quite impossible, possible. They’ve really soldiered on throughout the past weeks and managed to keep the pressure on contractors, getting the right documentation in place and ensuring the staff had time to learn,General Manager
Teamwork makes the dream work
To prepare the team, staff from Zebrugge, who had previously tendered the customer, provided initial guidance and training, including a week-long visit to cover key tasks such as painting, decals, and plate changes.
Furthermore, the customer sent two older units for practical training, so the staff could train ahead of the opening which was just weeks ahead. The training covered areas such as painting and decals, which is removing and putting on stickers and changing number plates.
From that whole setup, I’m very proud of the whole team. They’ve learned and absorbed so much in very short time to turn this whole operation around,General Manager
HR worked with the Zeebrugge team to develop job descriptions and recruit staff before operations began. Seven functional groups— operations, Health, Safety, Environment and Quality (HSEQ), legal, IT, finance, HR, and others—held structured meetings to track and deliver on project milestones.
HSEQ translated and adapted Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) from Zeebrugge, converting them into English and updating them as needed for the UK context. This was a significant task, but prior experience helped streamline the process.
The location of the terminal, close to the container port, reduced transport costs. The site also offered improved security compared to previous sites and provided space for future expansion and centralization of business activities such as SKD (semi knockdown) operations.
The launch was supported by teams from Customer Growth, Product, Development & Contracting, HR, IT, Finance, as well as the operations team, with training assistance from Zeebrugge.
