SA/NT Divisional Report

In 2023 South Australia experienced multiple sell out events during the year. It started with a really insightful tour of the Flinders Ports Holdings Container Terminal in quarter 1, followed by a factory tour of the Schneider Electric Manufacturing and Distribution facility in quarter 2 and most recently a tour of SA Water’s Desalination Plant.

Flinders Ports

A special thank you to Hannah Davis and Michelle English for helping orchestrate this tour.

The Flinders Port Holdings group is the leading privatelyowned port operator in South Australia, handling the vast majority of the state’s international imports and exports each year. Established in 2001 it has associated assets and licenses for the operation of Port Adelaide and six regional ports across South Australia (Port Lincoln, Port Pirie, Thevenard, Port Giles, Wallaroo and Klein Point).

They offer a wide range of port related services, which include pilotage, hydrographic survey and marine control services, as well as operation of South Australia’s sole container terminal, landside stevedoring and supply chain, warehousing and logistics services. They also provide services to three other commercial ports in South Australia on behalf of third parties at Whyalla, Port Bonython and Ardrossan.

Their vision is to connect South Australia to the world and they play an important role in facilitating economic growth in South Australia by providing vital linkages to global export markets for South Australian farmers, manufacturers and miners, as well as access to essential imports for consumers and producers.

SCLAA members and guests were treated to a presentation providing an overview of the business, followed by a delicious morning tea. After that we set off by bus to the Container Terminal, where we were able to witness first-hand and up close the movement of containers from ship to dock. The tour provided 2 real take aways for me and they were firstly just how fast the containers move on the crane, estimated at 4 to 5 metres per second. The second was how fast the analytics planners need to move in order to determine the strategy required for unloading, rearranging and loading containers on and off the ships. The process needs to consider factors to ensure efficient movement, minimum handling, weight transition on the boat to prevent listing and timing of outbound movements from the terminal. What an exciting job these planners have, when often they are given only days to make these complicated assessments.

Flinders Ports Container Terminal is about to undergo major upgrades with new technology and assets. We cannot wait to see what they will offer the State of South Australia in the years to come.

Schneider Electric

A special thank you to Damian Allen for helping to organise this tour and to our guest speaker Max Giudici who provided significant insights into how Schneider Electric is managing their supply chain post-Covid19 pandemic and thanks to Anandaraj Selvaraj for the plant tour.

Again, the tour of this manufacturing facility and an overview of the business was well received by everyone who attended. People were able to witness what a world class manufacturing and office environment looks like. Several years ago, the business upgraded office facilities to provide a true workplace of the future, with open space work environments and highly connected meeting rooms and conference facilities for employees, customers and suppliers.

It has also been applying Industry 4.0 initiatives throughout the plant to ensure their manufacturing in Australia remains relevant and provides their customers with world class lead-times to thousands of unique products. We saw the application of machine learning for scheduling of moulding activities, collaborative robots that remove risks related to repetitive strain injuries, and automated guided vehicles that have allowed the operation to reduce lead-time to customers for Made to Order products to below 4 days. Amazing!!

Our members and guests were able to witness digital systems “Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure” suite of software that does everything from real-time monitoring of plant equipment, cloud data analytics for optimizing energy management across multiple sites and the application of IndoSoft software for the management of quality and engineering information throughout the plant during manufacturing. Feedback from our visitors was that their application of digital technology to manage manufacturing and sustainability of operations is second to none. No wonder Gartner rate Schneider Electric as the #1 Supply Chain company on Earth!!

What another great tour we were able to offer.

SA Water Desalination Plant

Finally, we visited the Desalination Plant for Adelaide and special thank you to Jade Cornish for showing us the facility. What another extremely interesting operation here in South Australia. By the end of 2024, SA Water aims to achieve net zero emissions and operate their base load requirements on 100% renewable energy. It’s mind-blowing to witness the incredible technology and innovation behind the scenes.

They have two 25 million litre tanks that they can fill six times a day. These are feeders into the Happy Valley systems that deliver water to the Adelaide area. SA as a state uses about 220 Giga Litres per annum and the desalination plant has the capacity to deliver 100 Giga Litres per annum if needed. An important insurance policy for continuity of supply to our state. As we all know, our supply chains need to not only be able to deliver “when it’s summer sailing”, but critical supply chains need to be able to deliver “from the eye of the storm”.

They also highlighted that at the other end of their operations is waste water treatment and the only thing that can be processed when flushed down the dunny is toilet paper. We were amazed at what they have found flushed down the dunny at their waste water treatment facilities North of Adelaide. Everything from keys and matchbox cars, to toothbrushes and lego!!

Here are some more key takeaways from our tour:

• Currently operating at 5% capacity:

If the plant was to operate at 100% capacity, it would have the capability to supply almost 50% of South Australia’s drinking water. That’s an incredible accomplishment of engineering and sustainability!

• 370,000 solar panels:

The plant boasts approximately 370,000 solar panels across its sites, contributing to a more sustainable and eco-friendly operations, well on their way to the 2024 vision for 100% renewable energy driving their operations.

• 1L of sea water into 1/2L of drinking water:

The efficiency of this desalination process is impressive. For every litre of seawater processed, they produce a remarkable 1/2 litre of clean drinking water. A true testament to responsible water management! With pressures of up to 70 Bar during the process. 30 dedicated staff on site:

Behind all this technology, at any given time, there are 30 staff members on-site, working diligently to provide South Australia with essential drinking water.

It’s inspiring to see the SA Water’s team’s commitment to sustainability, innovation, and such efforts in action to ensure a reliable water supply to the community! Thank you for sharing it with us SA Water.

Brett McGowran SA/NT State President brett.mcgowran@sclaa.com.au