| The core mission of the Panama Canal Authority is to provide round-the-clock safe and expeditious passage for vessels transiting the Panama Canal from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, or vice versa. To provide this service effectively various resources must be employed, among which are the towing locomotive at the three (3) sets of locks, tugboats and skilled employees. As any business facing competition from viable alternatives, these resources must be provided and managed as cost-effectively as possible.;The purpose of this study is to examine tugboat operations, in general, and the additional costs caused by crew overtime, in particular, to determine practical methods that will lead to lowering operating costs of this service. It is to be noted here that in looking for ways to favorably affect operating costs, the researcher concentrates on that portion of crew costs caused by working additional hours (i.e. overtime), particularly the additional hours caused by incoming crews relieving outgoing crews which, had completed their standard duty time of eight hours per day. The reason for concentrating on this portion of overtime generated is that it was noted early in the investigation that overtime generated by relieving of crews on tugs in operation represented the single-most significant cause (approximately 80%) of this expense.;To arrive at conclusions and provide reasonable recommendations, the researcher examined the most important causes of relief overtime, such as: (a) Location of the reporting station for all crews; (b) Standard crew reporting times; (c) Location of operating tugboats at the moment incoming crews are reporting to work; (d) Transportation of incoming crews to places in the Canal where tugboats are located; and (e) The historical demand for tug services at the times of crew relief. |
