J S Chao, Manager of APL’s Maintenance and Repair Shop, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. J S Chao is the Manager of APL’s busiest Maintenance and Repair (M&R) shop in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. We conducted this interview via email.   How long have you been in M&R?   I joined the M&R department over 12 years ago. Originally, I worked in the APL Keelung terminal (north port of Taiwan) and relocated to Kaohsiung M&R last October.   What are the most frequent kind of problems you deal with in M&R? Arranging the work schedule. Every day we have to deal with other departments and our leader decides the work priority, for example, what type/size container should be repaired first and what type/size container can wait a little while. Arranging equipment preventive maintenance. Some equipment does not meet the preventive maintenance schedule so we have to deal with the driver or other departments to plan this. How quickly are containers repaired?   The average is two hours per container. In fact, the condition of every damaged container is different. Some damaged container’s condition is very small, such as a pin hole, panel dent, or a crack. We call this minor damage. Some damaged container’s condition is very serious, such as a broken corner post, structural damage or destroyed. We call this major damage. Normally, 75% of damage is minor & 25% of damage is major damage.   How do containers get damaged? Natural corrosion Traffic accident Handling negligence Cargo moving in container Other What is the average life of a container?   For aluminum container — 20 years. For steel container — 15 years   Tell me about a typical day in M&R?   First I view emails to understand any emergency or urgent cases that should be handled as 1st priority. Then I review yesterday’s productivity report & terminal operation daily report to plan our work schedule, then communicate with the supervisor or foreman before making the final work schedule. I supervise & monitor all work to ensure everything is running smooth. I resolve any problems the mechanics may encounter. Through email or phone, I also contact other APL locations to help resolve their problems because Kaohsiung is the largest M&R shop in APL. I print out cost reports to analyze expenses & find out if the unit cost is in control or not. I check yesterday’s work orders to understand mechanic performance. I review and make approval for the purchase and ordering of parts. I check M&R shop environment and safety condition. And I review today’s productivity & discuss with related person.   What is the most interesting story you have about M&R life?   Once upon a time, one inbound reefer (refrigerated) container machine was damaged. We repaired it immediately. We spent about 2 hours fixing it but the consignee wondered if the commodity inside had been impacted & asked that we open the container door to survey the cargo. We opened the door and found that all of the cargo was in good condition but we can’t close the door again because the original loading port had over-stuffed the cargo in this container. So, the consignee agreed to move 24 cartons of cargo out so that we can easily close the door. In normal conditions, the 24 cartons would have to declare to Customs. When we opened the cartons, we found out that the cargo was ice cream & it was going to melt before Customs could arrive at the site. To avoid stains in our M&R shop & terminal yard, the consignee begged us to eat as much ice cream as we can — 27 cartons equals 72 gallons of ice cream!! Everybody ate so much ice cream at that time that half of our mechanics took sick leave the next day because of belly aches!!   What do you like most/least about your job? I can talk with many people every day & we can share our interesting things. I don’t like M&R shop noise. Too much noise in M&R. Do you have any advise for K-12?   Every work has it’s fun. Try to find it out & enjoy it, then life should be very interesting.   Home Journey Log Trade Topics People Profiles Index Ask the Eagle