Inclusive approach for Sanderson

Teamwork is the key ingredient to running the Fremantle port, one of the State’s most important pieces of infrastructure and a crucial component in the maintenance of Western Australia’s important trade status, according to CEO Kerry Sanderson.

In her thirteen years in the job at Fremantle Ports Mrs Sanderson has overseen the facility’s development to the successful business it is today.

The port operation, currently embracing Cockburn Sound, currently ranks about fourth of the country’s five major ports, with more than $15 billion worth of trade passing through it each year.

It has been effectively commercialised, is highly profitable – last year announcing a $12.4 million after-tax profit, almost 50 per cent higher than the profit target – and is expanding.

However the port’s strong status today did not come about overnight.

Before Mrs Sanderson came on board in 1991 the port was inefficient, losing money and, like most major ports around Australia of the time, was a tough industrial relations environment.

Despite the turnaround Mrs Sanderson is reluctant to take sole responsibility and cites teamwork as the key reason for the growth.

“I played an important role in leading that, but at the same time it couldn’t have happened without the staff. It’s very much a team effort, and also it couldn’t have happened without the customers,” Mrs Sanderson said.

A willingness to assist exporters led Mrs Sanderson to take on the role at the port.

Following her appointment the port underwent significant commercial and industrial restructuring.

The workforce has now been downsized by almost 75 per cent since 1990 with many port functions now contracted out.

The waterfront reforms in the 1990s, which signalled a new approach to employment at ports, have also played a big role making Australian ports more competitive.

“When I came to Fremantle Ports … there was a big loss situation and there was a need very much to work out the new direction and to work out how all of the staff were aligned in that new direction,” Mrs Sanderson said.

She said there was a three-pronged approach to Fremantle’s development. In her first four years Mrs Sanderson worked with a number of players to set up the commercialisation model, which was eventually put into legislation in 1999.

“It is a good framework because it allows us to work with the customers in a much better way because you are on the same terms,” she said.

Some of those customers include major businesses such as Alcoa, BP, P&O, Patricks and Co-operative Bulk Handling, Brambles, United Farmers and Anaconda Nickel. Currently under way is a $30.3 million upgrade to port bulk handling infrastructure, which will service Rio Tinto subsidiary, HiSmelt’s pig iron plant.

Over the same period the port’s focus has shifted more to its customers as well as long-term planning.

But while Fremantle Ports has faced significant challenges there remains unfinished business, something Mrs Sanderson intends to work on for the next five or so years.

Although there have been offers from the more lucrative private sector, Mrs Sanderson, who sits on a number of boards, said the sense of reward at the port was of greater importance to her.

“I have been approached at various times … but I am very committed to what I am doing here and I think sometimes you get a real reward for being in it for the long term,” she said.

The current challenge is to maintain the customer focus at Fremantle Ports, and to make sure the “right thing is done by the State’s exporters”.

Two important issues facing the port today are security and its inner harbour operations.

Tenders close this week for a planned $24 million re-jig to the inner harbour’s supporting rail infrastructure at Victoria Quay.

The changes are designed to improve the efficiency of rail and the port by allowing for trains to carry more cargo. Also, trains from regional areas will be given direct access to the port.

Planning has also started on an overflow container terminal at the outer harbour, valued between $400 million and $500 million, for when the inner harbour operations reach capacity in about 10 years.

Security is another big issue at the port. This week (from July 1) a new $2 million security plan will be implemented to comply with tough new Federal legislation in response to growing fears of global terrorism.

And while security is expected to be in order by July 1, Mrs Sanderson said concern remained about individual ship’s security.