The Ormeggiatori and Barcaioli Group collaborates with the Escola in “Formati al Porto

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The director of the Ormeggiatori e Barcaioli di Civitavecchia group, Angelo Bonomo, together with the director of the Escola Europea Eduard Rodés have signed a tri-annual collaboration agreement for the Formati al Porto project, guaranteeing the availability of guided maritime tours of the Port of Civitavecchia.

The new project Formati al Porto, strongly supported by the Ports of Rome (dall’AdSP del Mar Tirreno Centro Settentrionale) and the Escola, aims to bring today’s students and future professionals, closer to the knowledge of the professions of the logistics sector, with a particular focus on maritime and intermodal transport.

Today the logistical positioning of the port of Civitavecchia, both in terms of territorial and socio-economic aspects, must take infrastructural measures, offer competitive services and, above all, invest in the human factor: as a well-prepared logistical community, capable of facing future challenges and strategically placing Civitavecchia at the forefront of the logistical activity of the Mediterranean, is paramount.

The main goal of Formati al Porto is to get in touch with the community, discover port activities and to learn about the characteristics of port-related professions directlty from the individuals immersed in the sector. Students will explore the infrastructures, facilities and operations directly. In addition, the project will improve the alignment between the qualifications required by the companies and the skills offered by the local education system.

The Ormeggiatori Group (specialising in mooring activities) has always worked to safeguard the safety of navigation, port facilities, the environment and human lives, ensuring the smooth running of traffic within the port area. The cooperation agreement signed with the Escola cements the Group’s commitment to ensure the smooth conduct of guided maritime tours within the port area of Civitavecchia.

The Escola Europea has previous experience with this type of programme. A pre-cursor – the Forma’t al Port project – was launched in 2014 in Barcelona. The initiative was a success and after the first three years the agreements with sponsors and partners were renewed at the beginning of 2018 for another three years with more educational centers willing to participate.

The courses is taught by experts and professionals from the Italian and Spanish sectors, ensuring that the participants receive high quality educational contents. The teaching team for Formati al Porto is yet to be confirmed, but it will be composed of representatives of companies and institutions directly involved in the management of short sea shipping activiites in Italy.

The course, in addition to being able to count on the support of the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, has the support of important associations in the sector, including: Assoporti, Confitarma, Assassatori.

The pilot Formati al Porto course is scheduled to take place in the autumn 2019.

A full list of the Escola’s courses and their programmes can be found here: https://escolaeuropea.eu/training/.

The Escola Europea completes the first semester of course with the Summer School in Port Operations

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With the arrival of summer, the Escola ended its activities in the first semester of 2019. The past few months have been very busy for the training centre, providing specialised training to both students and professionals in the sector.

During these 6 months, more than 1100 students from Europe, Latin America and North Africa have attended 28 courses to receive training in maritime and rail intermodality, temperature-controlled supply chains and port operations.

During the first two weeks of July, the Escola has welcomed professionals and students of different nationalities to the Summer School in Port Operations. The course consisted of two weeks, each with a specific focus: the first on services to vessels and the second on freight operations in ports.

The training, in addition to including practical workshops to different places in the port of Barcelona, such as visits to the control tower, the border inspection point, the tugboat facilities, as well as terminals for each type of merchandise, has allowed participants to uncover the theories that underpin the dynamics of the port community and its operations from the perspective of terminals, cargo and agents.

The participants became familiar with the services offered to ships, port security protocols, customs procedures, and risk management of dangerous products and emergencies. They have also been introduced to the environmental aspects of port area management so that they can begin to consider the qualities of the port of the future.

The faculty comprised experts from the port community of Barcelona, including members of private companies, such as port terminals, and representatives of public institutions, such as the port authority or customs.

Fore more information you can check out the course page https://escolaeuropea.eu/courses/port-operations/.

The Escola prepares a new edition of the course MOST Italy dedicated to Italian professionals

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MOST Italy is a training course for professionals that the Escola Europea – Intermodal Transport offers exclusively to the members of Italian logistics and transport sector.

This year’s edition, the fifth in a row, will last four days and will be held on board of a Grimaldi Lines Ro-Pax vessel, a leading company specialising in short sea shipping services that connect the Italian peninsula to the port of Barcelona.

The course is aimed exclusively at professionals of varying profiles: logistics operators, shipping agencies, port authorities and relevant institutions in the sector. The objective of the training is to introduce the participants to the key elements needed to build efficient supply chains, which can incorporate the motorways of the sea as a sustainable alternative to land transport, and as a crucial element of the intermodal turn. In addition to lectures offering theoretical knowledge, the course offers workshops and visits that allow participants to experience and directly observe intermodal operations.

To complement the study, networking activities will be organised to facilitate the development and exchange of contacts details between professionals and experts in the national sector. It is the relationships that are created during the course that make it a unique experience, as one of the participants of the 2018 edition explained: “The organization of the course is impeccable. I hope to be able to attend more courses in the coming years, to increase my network of knowledge, deepen my studies and find new incentives to improve and continue to grow”.

The training is given by experts and professionals from the Italian and Spanish sectors, ensuring that the participants receive high quality educational content. The teaching team will be composed of representatives of companies and institutions directly involved in the management of short sea shipping in Italy: port authorities, shipping companies and the Mediterranean Motorway Network.

The course, in addition to being able to count on the support of the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, has the support of important associations in the sector, including: Assoporti, Confitarma, Assarmatori and ALIS (Associazione Logistica dell’Intermodalità Sostenibile). One of the main objectives of ALIS, which has united more than 400 companies, is to promote intermodality as a logistical solution perfectly combining the philosophy that moves and inspires the Escola in its training activities.

A list of all the courses for professionals offered by the Escola  with the relevant programmes can be found here:

https://escolaeuropea.eu/training/professional-courses/.

Forma't al Port agreement signing

Port of Barcelona and the Escola continue to bet on local students and the Forma’t al Port programme

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On the 19th of June, Núria Burguera, Director of Institutional Relations and Communication at the Port of Barcelona, and Eduard Rodés, Director of the Escola Europea, renewed their collaboration agreement wherein the Port of Barcelona reaffirmed its position as a strategic sponsor of the Forma’t al Port programme.

The programme, promoted by the Port of Barcelona itself and sponsored by the Diputació de Barcelona, the Ajuntament de Barcelona, the Escola Europea, and sector associations and companies, continues to be a reference point for local training for students in the transport and logistics and international trade training cycles and, more recently, for students of university degrees in logistics and maritime business, nautical and maritime transport, marine technologies and systems engineering and naval technologies.

Forma’t al Port, through which the port community is opened to students, has already witnessed record participation figures in 2019: 520 students have been able to get to know the Port of Barcelona and its business community through the courses.

The programme will continue in the months of October and November with three Management courses, with Genoa as their destination.

Forma’t al Port encourages the incorporation of students through dual training schemes in companies from the sector, with the ultimate goal of helping to prepare a future logistics community capable of overcoming the strategic challenges of the Catalan region.

For more information, you can visit the programmes dedicated website www.escolaeuropea.eu/format or by writing to: info@escolaeuropea.eu.

The Escola at the 2019 SIL Exhibition

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This year the Escola Europea Intermodal Transport will once again participate in the International Logistics Exhibition (SIL Barcelona), the annual logistics fair held in Barcelona. This year the fair will take place from the 26th to the 28th of June in the Montjuïc Exhibition Centre of the Barcelona’s Exhibition Centre in Plaza España.

This year, the Escola will participate quite actively, by not only attending  the Exhibition itself, but also by contributing to the ALACAT Congress and to the MedaLogistics Summit.

Within the general framework of the fair, Marta Miquel, Chief Business Officer of the Escola, will present the institution’s new educational offer in the SIL Agora, by providing a brief explanation of the topics that the Escola currently covers in its courses, on the 26th of June at 13:30h.

That same day, members of the Escola will organise a dynamic and interactive game of FunTraders in the stand of the Port of Barcelona; a game of international trade will make it possible for the participants to discover the dynamis of the sector from a fun point of view. The game will take place on the 26th of July at 16:00h.

On the second day of the Fair, Eduard Rodés, the Director of the Escola, will serve as a moderator during the round-table discussion on “People First: Qualified Human Capital, Towards a Competitive & Resource Efficient Transport System”, with the aim of reinforcing the idea that human capital is necessary for an efficient and effective development of the logistics and port sectors. The round table will take place on the 27th of June at 12:00h.

During this same event, Raquel Nunes, responsible for training and promotion at the Escola, will present the SailNet programme dedicated to young shipping agents, to promote the exchange of knowledge and experience among members of the sector. This presentation will take place in the framework of EBSOMED, on the 27th of June at 16:00h.

Meanwhile, Marta Miquel will moderate a round-table discussion at the ALACAT Congress, which will bring together several international actors. The table called “Training in logistics in a 4.0 world” will be held on the 27th of June at 12:30h.

To finish the three days of the fair, Eduard Rodés will participate as a speaker in the delivery of training diplomas to students who have completed the advanced degree in Logistics and Transport in Catalonia this year.

Throughout the three days of the fair, the Escola will be present at the stand of the Port of Barcelona, located at D406. Come and visit us!

The Escola Europea trains professionals in port-railway operations

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After the successes obtained in the past editions of the SURCO series, the Escola has once again held the SURCO Operations I course for Spanish professionals, which offers introductory training in matters of rail-port and intermodal railway logistics.

The course took place from the 10th to the 12th of June in Barcelona. Designed for professionals from freight transport companies, freight forwarders and import and export companies, the course offers an analysis of the different elements necessary to carry out efficient intermodal transport solutions (rail and sea). This month companies such as Inditex, Repsol, Inovyn, the ports of Huelva and Bilbao, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, Marcotran and Ocidenave sent participants to partake in the training.

During the three days, the course participants had the opportunity to see the infrastructures and equipment used in the rail-port connections and to have contact with operators that currently manage these types of operations. The theoretical classes covered maritime-rail transport and logistics, railway services necessary for the transport of goods and railway terminals in ports. The training also offered a detailed analysis of the current situation of Spanish ports in terms of infrastructures, characteristics of the railway networks and service areas.

To complement the theoretical classes, the course offered practical visits to the Port of Barcelona (Hutchison BEST semi-automatic container terminal, AUTOTERMINAL vehicle terminal and ICL solid bulk terminal); a visit to the CAN TUNIS complex, and in particular to the sorting terminal and logistic operator LOGISTAINER; and a visit to ADIF’s integrated traffic control centre.

SURCO Operations I was carried out with the collaboration of the Port of Barcelona, Puertos del Estado, Adif, Autoterminal, FGC Ferrocarrils, ICL, the Hutchison BEST terminal, Transportes Portuarios, Go Transport and Transportes Tomàs.

The Escola commits to work together with YoungShip organisations of Europe

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On the 7th of June 2019, the director of the Escola Europea Eduard Rodés met with co-founders of the YoungShip organisations of Spain, Italy, Portugal and France to discuss fruitful and economic collaboration between the institution and the young professionals associations. The youth associations, represented by Javier Mendés (Spain), Raquel Nunes (Portugal, and Ansam Okbanir respectively, visited the Escola’s headquarters to attend the joint conference of YoungShip France & Spain titled “The Cruise Industry in the Mediterranean: Challenges and Opportunities”.

The signature of the agreement constitutes the kick-off of a new partnership that will help to bring together the three youth associations in training projects in order to prepare, train and educate young people on the policy of promoting intermodality, as supported by the EU. YoungShip is an international non-profit association that provides a voice for all young people in the maritime sector. YoungShip International has a clear role to play in engaging, inspiring and working with the industry to promote bright young minds in the maritime industry for the development of future progress.

More specifically, during the meeting, the parties agreed to work together to offer courses and training, as developed by the Escola, at a discounted price to members of the YoungShip family in Portugal, France, Italy and Spain. The Escola would work together to prepare, train and educate young people to the policy of promoting intermodality promoted by the EU.

Under the agreement the Escola would also hold a training and networking course every 2 years between the members of the YoungShip’s members at an international level. The courses, though also focused on the intermodal transport of goods, would count with the customisation of contents by YoungShip’s organisers, and would provide ample opportunities for networking and professional collaborations. On their part, the YoungShip organisations agreed to promote and support the training offers of the courses that the Escola offers among their member bases, both by increasing the institution’s visibility on their respective websites and through the design and development of specialised courses in the field of intermodal logistics chains, facilitating the participation of their technical staff in the preparation of the contents and the holding of workshops.

The agreement will be valid for a period of 36 months and, depending on the rate of success, will have the possibility to be extended on an annual basis thereafter.

For more information about the YoungShip’s organisations, you can visit the website: http://www.youngship.com/departments/ and search for the participating countries.

The ARETÉ AURUM awarded posthumously to Doctor Aldo Grimaldi

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On the 25th of May the ARETÉ AURUM award ceremony was held, awarded posthumously to Doctor Aldo Grimaldi. The ceremony took place at the headquarters of the Port Authority of Barcelona. The award was presented by Mercè Conesa, the President of both the Escola Europea and the Port of Barcelona, and was collected by Isabella Grimaldi, the daughter of Doctor Grimaldi. Participating in the ceremony were Eduard Rodés, director of the Escola, Valerio Esposito, GNV representative in Spain, and other members of the Grimaldi family.

The Executive Committee of the Escola Europea – Intermodal Transport, held in Barcelona on the 4th of April, unanimously took the decision to grant the ARETÉ AURUM award posthumously to Aldo Grimaldi in appreciation for his decisive contribution to the successful development of short sea shipping and the motorways of the sea in the Trans-European Transport Network and, as a founding member on behalf of Grandi Navi Veloci, to the success of the Escola.

The Escola grants the ARETÉ AURUM to people whose attitude and actions have decisive contributions to the creation and growth of our institution. Joaquín Coello (2016), José Anselmo Laranjeira (2016) and Sixte Cambra (2018) have received this distinction in the past.

 

#DidYouKnow – Short guide on packaging and security

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In this article for #DidYouKnow we think about the packaging and security of consolidated shipments (groupage). The question we aim to answer is how the should the boxes be transported? Several factors are the key to ensure the safe arrival of the goods at their destinations. These include:

– Packing: Packing must be made and manufactured “to measure” to avoid potential movements of the goods inside the wooden boxes.

– Handling: It is very important to pay special attention to the markings on the boxes, which contain information for correct handling.

– Storage: The conditions and duration of storage should be adequate to avoid any potential damage to the box, which could result in the damage of some (if not all) of the goods stored within.

– Transport: The packaging must be conditioned for the type of transport used.

Alongside these factors, the actual transport of our goods needs to be considered when planning the packaging of our goods. This can be sub-divided into the different transport modes:

  • Maritime:If the packaging is going to travel by sea, its destination, the type of container in which it will travel and the main components of the merchandise need to be taken into consideration prior to the packaging.We must bear in mind that the merchandise will be subjected to high levels of humidity, condensation and salinity. Therefore, for this type of transport, and in particular when dealing with goods that comprise electrical components, it is wise to use VCI protections, which release a series of micro particles that adhere to the goods and help reduce the risk of oxidation. Though mitigating the risks, these protections can’t fully guarantee the avoidance of moisture.Another common protection used by industry professionals is the use of barrier protections. These include the placing of a cover of an aluminum complex applied to a vacuum next to desiccant salts. This creates a microclimate within the cover, which allows the cargo to withstand pressure changes and avoids oxidation or corrosion of the goods within.
  • Air:The packaging that travels by air is subject to sudden changes in temperatures, condensation and humidity. As such, the protections used within packaging mimic those used in maritime transport (see above).
  • RoadGenerally, ground transportation does not call for specific protection unless the goods themselves, the warehouses visiting on the route, or the places visited during the transport journey call for it. Therefore, the packaging of road transport goods needs to be considered on an individual basis.

In all of the three cases listed above, lashing of the packaging needs to be considered. Lashing the merchandise ensures that it is completely immobilised. The goal is to prevent possible damages to the goods caused by blows, rubbing, displacements or overturns during transport.

Lashing of goods

Lashing is a very important in ensuring that goods arrive in perfect conditions at their destinations. What is lashing? It refers to the immobilising and attaching of the merchandise to the container, ship or truck.

There are no restrictions – all types of cargo can be lashed, whether they will be transported by air, sea or land.

It is called for whenever there is some free space between the cargo and the container. Lashing is done by means of slings and tensioners or airbags; this further depends on the characteristics and needs of the merchandise.

Occasionally, wood reinforcements can be used to stabilise the load and make the lashing safer. For example, vehicle transport can require standard lashing that consists of a sling system or mixed lashing (which uses standard lashing with an added wooden ring around the wheels for greater protection).

Both packing and lashing are key for the correct transport of consolidated loads. If they are not done correctly, they can cause accidents and result in (potentially very pricy) damages in the transport of goods. The packaged goods need to travel in the best possible conditions for content protection and load security, ensuring that the products arrive in pristine states at their destinations.

If you want to know more about packaging in consolidated transport, check out our upcoming course on Groupage and Consolidation Centres scheduled for the 17-19 of June 2019.

Written by:

  • Beatriz Jiménez, Servicios Recipe TM2, S.A.
Tempearture Controlled Supply Chains

The first edition of the Temperature Controlled Supply Chains Technical course ends with great success

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In the second quarter of 2019 the Escola Europea – Intermodal Transport began to implement the scheduled technical courses of the year. The courses, aimed at professionals active in the logistics- port sector, began with the first edition of the “Temperature Controlled Supply Chains” course, which took place between the 6th and the 9th of May.

The course covered concepts associated with cold supply chains. Encompassing details of the common practices in planning and execution of said supply chains, the course made it possible for the participants to discover each of the steps required in these transport operations. A special focus was given to intermodal processes as well. Course contents included the distribution of temperature-controlled products (warehousing, manoeuvring and transport) through distribution networks (suppliers, service providers and clients) in accordance with their specified temperature conditions. Visits to Mercabarna (the wholesale market of Barcelona), a container terminal, an importer/distributor storage facility, a container depot, and the Border Inspection Point accompanied the theory.

In this first edition, the Port of Barcelona, Mercabarna, Barcelona Container Depot Service, Caudete Logística, Grimaldi Lines, Maritime Terminal of Zaragoza, Maersk, Frimercat, Cultivar and Martico collaborated with the Escola in the development of contents and visits. The participants comprised a dozen professionals from the transport and logistics sectors, coming from companies such as: JCV Shipping & Solutions, Noatum Maritime, COSCO Shipping, Total Freight, Saice, Agility, Arola, Dallant and Solport.

Álvaro Sánchez, a Mediterraean Reefer Specialist and a presenter in the course, stated the following about the experience: “It is a young course that can meet the knowledge needs and concerns of all participants in the cold chain and create an awareness of good practices in the handling of cargo transported under controlled temperature conditions. The combination of theory and technical visits (terminal, Depot, warehouses …) makes it even more interesting. “

In the coming months the Escola Europea will carry out the remaining technical courses of the year including: training in rail-port intermodality SURCO Operations I, from the 10th to 12th of June; training in Groupage and Consolidation Centres, between the 17th and 19th of June; and the Summer School in Port Operations, with a focus on Vessels and Cargo, from the 1st to the 5th and 8th to 12th respectively.