Days before Hurricane Laura stormed the coast between Louisiana and Texas with sustained winds up to 150 miles per hour, Port Houston maintenance workers busily went about the task of protecting assets and securing facilities from the much-anticipated stiff winds. This is necessary anytime a storm as ferocious as Hurricane Laura enters the gulf and threatens the gulf coast’s biggest container facility. While Hurricane Laura spared Houston this time, this was a big wake-up call for what may come.

Hurricane season runs from June 1st through November 30th, keeping the port on high alert for several months. Port Houston though is always ready to spring into action under the leadership of Roger Guenther, Port Houston Executive Director.

“This [Hurricane Laura] was a massive storm and we were really fortunate to miss major damage in our region, but we were prepared,” Roger Guenther wrote in an email to employees after the hurricane made landfall. “I am extremely pleased with the coordination of our Emergency Management Team and all of our employees working together to protect our Port employees and assets during preparation.”

Though the work that goes into preparing for a major storm is time-consuming, Hurricane Laura made us even better prepared for future events, Guenther noted.

The true backbone for running smoothly during these critical situations are our Emergency Management and Operations teams. Just like when COVID-19 hit earlier this year, both teams have essential personnel that work the front lines of our terminals making sure the port is prepped in case of a catastrophe.

The Operations team handles most of the heavy lifting and prepping at port terminals. They are responsible for gathering and replacing all emergency supplies, stacking loaded containers in an orderly and strategic fashion, organizing cranes to function as barriers, and making sure all portable buildings are properly secured. In addition, they secure all terminal equipment, fill extra drums with fuel, lubricants, water, and hydraulic fluids for use after the storm, board up all windows, and keep all transportation vehicles supplied with fuel (boats, cars, vans, trucks, etc.).

The Port Houston Emergency Management team, part of the Port Security and Emergency Operations (PSEO) division, works closely with the U.S. Coast Guard in keeping the Houston Ship Channel safe. Port Houston Emergency Manager Colin Rizzo said one of his greatest fears is that a hurricane could hit the port and damage crucial infrastructure like ship-to-shore cranes at the container terminals, which could take a months to repair or replace.

“You can’t take these huge cranes down and hide them from the wind,” Rizzo said. “The maintenance department does a great job of tying them down.”

When there are potentially big storms looming, the National Hurricane Center updates the storm tracks morning and night, and Port Houston monitors those updates, Rizzo noted. The Emergency Management team then weighs matters carefully, conferencing daily with Port Houston chiefs, and other local jurisdictions, taking note of what actions other agencies are taking. Once the storm is less than 24 hours from impacting the area the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is activated. The EOC is staffed around the clock until the hurricane threat passes.

Though most of the work goes into prep, the recovery process can be tireless depending on the amount of damage caused. The potential for such serious damage keeps the Port Houston Office of Emergency Management officials ever vigilant. The Coast Guard, Port Officials, Emergency Management, Operations, and Port Executives all do various assessments to determine the amount of damage that may have occurred.

While hurricanes pose the greatest threats to property and life, tropical storms and depressions can also be devastating. It’s important for us to prepare before storms arrive, clean-up damages in the area, and help our community recover from these destructive storms.

The post How Port Houston Preps for Hurricane Season appeared first on Port Houston.

Caption: Quintin Reynolds

It takes a lot of hands to move cargo across Port Houston’s docks, including the maintenance staff, who support Port Houston’s equipment and assets. One of the essential Port employees working on the front lines throughout the COVID-19 pandemic is Quintin Reynolds, a maintenance foreman at the Barbours Cut Container Terminal, who recently received recognition for 45 years of service at Port Houston.

Reynolds and his department is responsible for maintaining daily equipment readiness for 15 ship-to-shore (STS) cranes at the facility. These cranes are some of the Port’s critical operational assets and are the primary maritime industry equipment for loading and unloading containers. The job can be challenging – the number one goal of the maintenance department is to keep downtime at the terminal to a minimum. In this high tempo work environment, Port Houston strives to maintain a 15-minute repair rate and 99 percent crane uptime.

It’s a job Reynolds takes seriously. “Being an essential employee during these unprecedented times is an honor. Maintenance plays a vital role in operations at Port Houston to keep our supply chains moving,” said Reynolds.

In his 45 years of experience working for Port Houston, he’s never experienced a world-wide situation like COVID-19, he noted. “It’s a severe concern, and Port Houston has quickly mitigated the potential issues and allowed for business to continue under these circumstances,” said Reynolds. “I’m proud to be a part of this team and contribute to the greater community that relies on us.”

Reynolds joined the Port in 1975 as a laborer assigned to the Public Grain Elevator and advanced up the ladder quickly in the maintenance department to become a millwright. After 17 years at the Turning Basin terminal, he moved to the Barbours Cut Container Terminal and has been there ever since. During his career at Port Houston, Reynolds has participated in 13 container crane inspection trips to Asia, where the equipment is built. He has had the opportunity to see the cranes constructed, from the time they were pieces of steel plate to when they became finished products and were loaded for transport to Houston.

His son Bodie is also a foreman in the maintenance department at the Barbours Cut Container Terminal. “It is a father’s dream to watch my son evolve into a position that most aspire and do not obtain until several years of service,” said Reynolds. “It’s exciting to see my son follow in my footsteps.”

Reynolds was recognized at the January Port Commission meeting by Executive Director Roger Guenther and the Port Commission for his years of dedicated service. “I enjoy my work because it is not a routine job and no two days are the same,” he said. “Being a Port Houston employee means a lot to me. My job at the Port has given me a good income to provide for my family. Serving the Port for 45 years is by far one of my greatest achievements in my lifetime.”

The post Keeping the Cranes Running: Port Houston Maintenance Veteran and Essential Worker Recognized for 45 Years of Service appeared first on Port Houston.

Port Houston held a small business forum focused on doing business with the port’s maintenance services team Sept. 27.

Senior Director of Maintenance Paulo Soares shared some of the port’s best practices and procedures for procuring operations and equipment-focused contracts.

The port’s maintenance department is responsible for the purchase, support and repair of terminal equipment, docks and container yards, including major assets like ship-to-shore and rubber-tired gantry cranes.

“We practice safe and reliable maintenance work to exceed our customer’s needs,” said Soares, who noted that a good number of port contracts are awarded to small businesses.

The port also complies with safety and environmental policies, which all contractors must follow as well.

Port Houston’s small business and education outreach department was on site to provide information about other upcoming events and business opportunities. The event was held at the port's executive building. 

To get more information about Port Houston’s Small Business Program and a listing of procurement opportunities, please visit porthouston.com. 

The port’s next small business industry-specific forum will be held on Oct. 10 and will feature Port Houston’s environmental affairs team. 

The post Opportunities for Small Businesses are Endless at Port Houston appeared first on Port Houston.