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Richards Bay Coal Terminal

One of the 10 finalists for the 27th annual National Productivity Awards 2006

Extract from: The Star, Business Report
28 November 2006

Richards Bay Coal Terminal is the largest export coal terminal in the world. Established in 1976 with an original capacity of 12 million tons per annum, it has grown into an advanced 24-hour operation exporting more than 68 million tons of coal a year to buyers around the world.

To improve productivity more focus was placed on the engagement of employees, on the alignment with the organisation’s vision, mission and values, and on company measures. This was achieved through the introduction of Mission Directed Work Teams. Today, 96 percent of the 37 work teams are rated as world class.

Labour productivity has increased from 63.4 tons in 1999 to 69.8 tons in 2006. The company sets overall targets based on throughput, safety, cost per ton and savings per ton. There has been a decrease in downtime from approximately 52 minutes per 10 000 tons in 1996 to approximately 15 minute per 10 000 tons to date. Each department has a financial element in its scorecard and this is cascaded down to the teams where possible.