APM Terminals and Cargo Service have implemented a common Emergency Response Team at the Port of Aarhus in partnership with Dansikring. The arrangement ensures quick and professional response and assistance in case of injuries, and helps to prevent vandalism, fires, accidents and environmental incidents.
Even the fiercest of competitors can have common interests. Cargo Service and APM Terminals are two container terminal operators that conduct activities side by side at the Port of Aarhus, the latter as part of the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group. Both handle 800-1,000 shipping containers every day and both manage terminals equivalent in size to a hundred soccer fields. But when it comes to safety and security, the competition comes to an end.
APM Terminals and Cargo Service have together with Dansikring established a common security partnership and command centre, where security staffs from Dansikring work to protect against fire, accidents and unwanted guests. They also inspect dangerous goods, monitor access to the sites, provide first aid in case of accidents, transport guests, maintain safety equipment and much more. The common security solution has existed more than one year and has improved security, and saved costs for both companies.
“We have common interests in security, and practically share the same address. There are clear benefits in joining forces to save costs and improve security together,” Kim Høyberg Andersen, Head of Security for APM Terminals at the Port of Aarhus, says.
“We have both been placed under tighter regulatory requirements, which are now as strict as those applying to a company such as Cheminova. Deciding to join forces was therefore an obvious solution, “Per Bøch Andersen, Head of Security at Cargo Service, adds.
The first crucial minutes
The security staff work 24 hours a day, and in case of incidents they generally arrive at the scene within two minutes. They know where the biggest values are located and where there are dangerous goods and vulnerable areas, and are therefore able to limit any damages. On five occasions in the past nine months the “Emergency Response Guards” have assisted in workplace accidents and cases of illness, as they were the first to respond to the scene providing first aid.
The guards notice if someone has forgotten to shut a gas cylinder at the welding works or forgotten to turn of the electricity. And they notice oil spillage and leakage. If anything happens, the guards know the terminal area well and are able to guide rescue workers directly to the scene of the incident.
When a fire erupted in an oil tank used by Westway Terminals at the Port of Aarhus in summer 2008, Dansikring’s Emergency Response Guards from Cargo Service and APM Terminals were the first to arrive, even though the tank is located in a different part of the port. Unfortunately, the fire, which was very fierce at the time upon arrival turned out to be the worst in 50 years, and the smoke could be seen from a distance of 70 km.
“I don’t think such a fire could happen at the terminal! The guards from Dansikring arrive in the first crucial minutes and. You can prevent a lot of things if you have the right equipment and training, and Dansikring’s guards certainly do,” Kim Høyberg Andersen says.
“We save management resources by outsourcing these tasks to Dansikring, and our experience clearly shows that you can create good security solutions if you put your mind to it,” Per Bøch Anderson from Cargo Service says.