16
SPACE
B
obCatheyhasmorethan3,000,000
sq. metres of space at his disposal.
Everyminute, containers arrive that
have to be stored in the right place. And
every minute, containers have to be loaded
onto rail, road or back onto ships and space
is made available again. ‘I have to think
aboutwheretheshipsarescheduledtoberth
and consider stowage plans and transporta-
tion routes,’ says Bob,mug of coffee inhand.
Incoming and outgoing containers, the
storage space required, the position of
cranes and shunting routes all have to be
precisely planned. Not an inch or minute is
wasted. A small mistake could cost the port
a fortune. Bob likes his job. ‘Planning is in
myblood,’hesayswithachuckle.Hethinks
that managing a port can be compared to
everyday kitchen use. The quantity and
kinds of goods that go into a kitchen; what
you need often; what you don’t need; and
where you put everything so that you can
easily reach it. Good storage space manage-
ment depends on the space available and on
good storage solutions. Bob knows what
he’s talking about. But when it came down
to buying a new kitchen, his wife was in
charge. ‘She insisted on pull-outs in the
whole kitchen,’ he says with a mischievous
smile. ‘NowI knowwhy.Wework fromtop
to bottom when handling goods, too. It’s a
lot easier and you’ve got an overview of
everything.’ She also got her way with the
size of the pull-outs. Pull-outs that use the
full depthof the furniture naturally provide
more storage space. Just like loading a con-
tainer. You fill up the entire container. ‘It’s
probably more complex than in a kitchen,’
he says, mulling things over, ‘but the tasks
are very similar.’
Bob Cathey is a wharfinger at the Port of Oakland,
California,
one of the largest container handling
ports in the world
. A wharfinger’s challenges are
similar to those encountered in everyday kitchen
use: Make the most of the space available!
Every
inch
counts!
‘Port managers and kitchen buyers
ask themselves the same question:
How can I make the best possible
use of the space available?’
EVERY INCH COUNTS
Every inch is put to optimal use
at the Port of Oakland
kitchen inspirations
