“I was pleasantly surprised with the decision of the management which was open-minded

about career development of staff within the company and allowed me to grow

with the company by meeting my request

He was proud working as a welder – a job he came to love it after being at it for nearly 18 years. But there was something that kept telling him it was time he tried to build on his success not merely a good welder but as a disciplined worker.
 
He was always meticulous going about his job – he knew the care and quality needed to weld two rivets could sometimes mean life and death. He knew he had the discipline and enthusiasm to take on greater responsibility but also secure a job that paid him better. But Abdul Rahim Abd Malik was above all, a loyal employee.
 
Summoning his courage one day he approached the management somewhat apprehensively but quietly confident for a change of job.
 
He had often heard that the management was a caring and a benevolent. What better way now that to find out for himself if this was indeed true.
 
Could he be offered an opportunity to become a quay crane driver? Rahim ventured to ask.
 
The rest was history
Now, every morning, Abdul Rahim, with the other quay crane drivers’ at Northport check the roster on
the white board at the CY to begin his duty.
 
The roster lists tells him which crane he is going to handle for the day and on what shift he has been slotted in. He has been doing that now for nearly 6 years and is very much part of his life that he has come to enjoy it.
 
The 49 year-old father of four begins his work at 8.30 am, if he is in the morning shift.
 
He takes the crane lift to reach the cabin some 40 metres above the sea level.
 
“In those days we had to climb up the staircase of crane before reaching the driver’s cabin, which was about a full five minutes,” said Rahim.
 
“I miss the morning walks, which allows to test my fitness level and helps in warming-up before I enter my cabin,” added Rahim.
 
Rahim said once he is in the cabin of the crane, he gets instructions from the stowage controller below. “I will boom down the gantry crane and get ready to pick-up the containers. The stowage controller controls my daily work and I follow his instruction closely to load or unload containers from the ship,” he said.
 
“It is a well paid job. Besides basic pay the management has in place good incentives package. The first 15 moves of the shift are for the company and the remaining is given to drivers as incentive for us to work fast,” Rahim said. Rahim however, stressed the quay crane driver’s alone cannot ensure fast discharge or loading of boxes. It is teamwork too.
 
“The link between stowage controller, quay crane driver, prime movers, and straddle carriers must be
well coordinated. If everything moves smoothly I may even reach up to 45 moves per hour, which is considered in par with industry standards,” noted Abdul Rahim. Any delay in the chain will slow down the entire process and affect the productivity of the day.
 
“It is not easy to get the momentum and once you are there, every body must be able to cope and execute their task efficiently and effectively,” he said.
 
“Any hiccups in the flow will not only affect my earning but also the productivity level of the shift and overall performance of the port,” said Rahim.
 
“I believe that’s why our management is constantly emphasizing on Team Work for high productivity and better quality service,” said Rahim.
 
Unlike other jobs, quay crane drivers are only required five hours of driving work due to the nature of the job to avoid fatigue.
 
Upon completion of first five hours, a one-hour break is given and than the drivers are required to complete the remaining three hours by driving forklift, straddle carriers or other land based mechanical equipment.
 
Rahim finds his work interesting and challenging because he has to use his skills and expertise to handle the quay cranes.
 
“I have handled smaller ships of less than 500 TEUs up to the world biggest carrier (Shanghai Express with 7,500 TEUs) that berthed at Northport recently,” said Rahim proudly of his achievements.
 
Recalling his early days in the port, Rahim said he joined Port Klang Authority as a welder in 1976.
 
“After 18 years of working experience in welding field I could not see any future. I was desperately looking for an alternative and found the quay crane driving interesting and would be a good career move,” he recalled.
 
He said although opportunities were available at other ports he decided to stay put at Northport and request a transfer from the welding section to drivers’ section.
 
“I was pleasantly surprised with the decision of the management which was open-minded about career development of staff within the company and allowed me to grow with the company by meeting my request,” he said.
 
“That was the turning point in my life,” said the happy Rahim.