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JFM
13,3

Using lean principles to drive

operational improvements in
intermodal container facilities

266

A conceptual framework

Received 28 September 2014

Revised 12 November 2014
Accepted 17 January 2015

Peter Olesen
Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering,
Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

Daryl Powell
Department of Production and Quality Engineering,
Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

Hans-Henrik Hvolby
Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering,
Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark, and

Kym Fraser
Barbara Hardy Institute, University of South Australia,
Tusmore, Australia
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of lean principles to drive operational
improvements in intermodal container facilities. Intermodal terminals have an important role in todays
globally complex supply networks. In the case of bottleneck-derived terminalization, operational issues
such as achieving effective material flow remains a significant and common challenge. To assist with
such challenges, the paper develops a conceptual framework built on the principles of lean.
Design/methodology/approach In this paper, a theory-building approach is adopted and a lean
terminalization framework developed by combining aspects of lean- and intermodal transport theory
with practical insights. The framework was developed in conjunction with two intermodal container
facilities within the Scandinavian region.
Findings The conceptual framework demonstrates how lean approaches can be used to identify
improvement areas, as well as to develop solutions for improved material flow in the context of
intermodal transport operations. The framework can be used to guide the lean implementation process
in small to medium intermodal container facilities.
Research limitations/implications The development of the framework represents the first stage
of a two-stage project. The second stage will involve implementing and empirically testing the
framework in the practical settings of the two-case facilities.

Journal of Facilities Management

Vol. 13 No. 3, 2015
pp. 266-281
Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1472-5967
DOI 10.1108/JFM-09-2014-0030

This research was made possible by The SINTEF project PROFIT, which has been financed by
the Research Council of Norway, The ViaNord Project, which has been financed by the Danish
Economic Growth Fund and the European Regional Development Fund, The Port of Aalborg and
Aalborg University for funding the PhD project. Further, gratitude should be given to Erik Gran
from SINTEF for valuable input and information.

Practical implications Lean is a philosophical approach that consists of a set of principles that
drive organizations to continually add value to their operations. The application of lean practices
enhances necessary process steps and eliminates those that fail to add value, thereby improving
material flow and performance.
Social implications Improving the operational efficiency and effectiveness of container terminals
out not only assists the profitability of the facilities but also has flow-on benefits for stakeholders,
external customers, consumers and the environment.
Originality/value Lean has been successfully applied in manufacturing because the 1990s, and
though it has also found relevance in a number of other industries, applications of lean within the
intermodal transport sector is limited.
Keywords Conceptual, Lean principles, Container facilities, Framework, Intermodal, Practical cases
Paper type Conceptual paper

1. Introduction
Intermodal facilities and their related activities are increasingly seen as agents of added
value within supply chains (Rodrigue et al., 2013). In their seminal work, Rodrigue and
Notteboom (2009) introduce the concept of terminalization of supply chains, and
distinguish between bottleneck-derived and warehouse-derived terminalization. In the
case of bottleneck-derived terminalization, operational issues such as storage space,
port call frequency and gate access are often areas for bottlenecks, thereby impeding
the effective performance and efficiency of the terminal and its facilities. As such, the
effective flow of containers and information across the terminal can be hindered by a
number of challenges, including communication issues between external and internal
players, the coordination of internal movements and storage of containers, and the
uneven arrival of trucks/containers at the terminal with subsequent result of trucks
waiting in queues and poor utilization of terminal resources and facilities. A
contemporary method successfully used to reduce the effects of bottlenecks is lean
principles (Dirnberger and Barkan, 2007; Loyd et al., 2009). Lean thinking was
developed in the automotive manufacturing industry to address similar flow-related
challenges, and has been successfully applied in the manufacturing sector since the
1990s. The focus of this paper is to demonstrate a lean framework which can offer
solutions to address the flow-related challenges inherent to the bottleneck-derived
terminalization concept. This is of particular importance for small to medium ports and
terminals that lack the necessary power to influence other parts of the supply chain.
A number of studies have considered the role of intermodal terminal operations
within a greater context (i.e. the macro-level); for example, the lean supply chain
(Bekovnik and Twrdy, 2011), as well as the role of ports in supply chain management
(Carbone and Martino, 2003) and value chains (Notteboom and Rodrigue, 2005). This
study will focus on the development and application of lean practices at the micro-level
of terminal operations to resolve operational challenges associated with material and
information flow. Although Marlow and Paixo Casaca (2003) propose a set of
performance measures to support lean ports and the deployment of total quality
management systems and Paixo Casaca (2005) evaluates the impact of simulation on
lean ports, there remains a lack of an overarching framework for lean applied in
small-to-medium-sized intermodal terminal operations. Therefore, the aim of this paper
is to develop a framework, referred to as lean terminalization, which identifies the most
fundamental and critical elements of lean that should be applied in the context of

Intermodal
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268

bottleneck-derived terminalization to improve the flow of goods and materials across

the intermodal facilities. To guide the development of such a framework, the following
research question is purposed: How can lean thinking be applied to improve material
flow in the context of bottleneck-derived terminalization?.
2. Theoretical background
This section describes intermodal facilities as our context for investigation, and
discusses the origins of lean and the developments of lean thinking in the direction of
terminalization.
2.1 Intermodal facilities
The official definition of intermodal transport produced by the United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) is:
[] the movement of goods in one and the same load unit or road vehicle, which uses
successively two or more modes of transport, without moving the goods themselves when
changing modes (Vrenken, 2011).

Today, most continental transport is handled by heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) that have
a business-to-business transport pattern. Intermodal transport consists of at least
business-to-hub-to-hub-to-business, where the hub could be a port or rail terminal, for
example. In this configuration, the lead time of non-HGV transport will be significantly
higher (Macharis and Bontekoning, 2004). However, rail and ship are significantly
cheaper per kilometre, which provides a leverage point where time and cost can be
compared.
Intermodal transport fulfils an important role on the European transport scene
(Vrenken, 2011) because of its use of standard load units or unitized cargo, which
typically are transported by sea as well as road, inland waterways and rail. This has a
clear benefit with respect to process time when changing from one transport mode to the
other because the container is moved rather than the cargo; so, seen from the view of
customer value, intermodal transport is an effective choice (Alessandri et al., 2009). For
the most part, containers are sent fully loaded between a supplier and a customer;
however, sometimes cargo from one supplier is not enough to fill a container and,
therefore, it is sent to a cross-docking facility that consolidates the cargo for container
shipment or distributes the content of the container to the different customers. These
situations are known to involve either bottleneck-derived or warehouse-derived
terminalization, as described by Rodrigue and Notteboom (2009). Bottleneck-derived
terminalization means that either the capacity or quality of operation is a delaying link
at the terminal, resulting in time lost that is not value adding. Warehouse-derived
terminalization is the opposite, where the intermodal logistics hub is used to enhance
customer support and service, adding value to the customer experience. The warehouse
works as a central distribution centre for a region, reducing inventory in the hinterland
region and providing better delivery time, as the overseas transport is removed from the
hinterlands customer experience.
The terminalization concept is therefore very relevant when discussing lean in the
context of intermodal container facilities. It is important to establish knowledge
regarding what type of activities take place at the hub before deciding on which
processes should be analysed in terms of value and non-value adding. Therefore, the
lean philosophy should be a natural addition to intermodal terminals, as the purpose of

lean is to minimize wasteful actions. Making intermodal terminals more effective and
efficient and enhancing value-adding operations is essential to moving ever increasing
amounts of cargo.
The ideal setup for an intermodal terminal would be where the different transport
modes each have a dedicated area that is designed to load and unload as quickly and
effectively as possible. An example could be a shipping port with ship, train and HGV
access, where the ideal situation would be to put the different transport modes together
where relevant. For example:
Ship terminal: Direct access for HGVs and train, where it is possible to load and
unload directly to and from the ship.
Rail terminal: Exchange between HGV and train. Containers going to a ship are
collected and transferred to the ship terminal. HGVs drive directly to the track
where the train is parked.

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container
facilities
269

2.2 Lean principles

Lean as a concept is based on the principles and working processes of the Toyota
Production System, and in its simplest terms can be described as the elimination of
waste (Liker, 2004). Lean is often defined in terms of the five lean principles of Womack
and Jones (1996):
[] precisely specify value by specific product; identify the value stream for each product;
make value flow without interruptions; let the customer pull value from the producer; and
pursue perfection (see Figure 1).

Though these lean principles are very much manufacturing-centric, the philosophy and
working practices associated with lean are nowadays being applied to many industries
and environments other than the high-volume manufacture of discrete parts in the
automotive industry. For example, not only has lean been applied to other branches of
manufacturing, such as the process industry (King, 2009), but also to health care
(Hadfield, 2006); public services (Sarkar, 2007); product development (Karlsson and

Figure 1.
The five key
principles of lean

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270

hlstrm, 1996); construction (Alarcn, 1997); and to varying degrees, after-sales

services (Sarkar, 2007).
Using the lean framework (Figure 1) as an overarching guide, a set of defined
elements applicable to reducing the effect of bottleneck-derived terminalization needs to
be explored. However, to apply lean thinking in an out-of-context environment such as
intermodal terminal operations, this paper draws on documented applications outside of
the manufacturing domain. Schroer et al. (2008) developed a conceptual framework to
evaluate the effective operations of intermodal terminals. Mahfouz and Arisha (2009)
discussed ways to improve service delivery of seaports. Rondinelli and Berry (2000)
explored the management of interactions within multi-modal transportation systems.
Song and Panayides (2008) investigated the integration and competitiveness of supply
chains in intermodal terminals. Dirnberger and Barkan (2007) explored lean methods to
manage bottlenecks and improve the performance of railroad terminals. Loyd et al.
(2009) applied lean principles to improve seaport operations. To further our
understanding of lean elements in applications outside of terminal operations, the
following areas were also analysed: lean services (Surez-Barraza et al., 2012), lean
software development (Staats et al., 2011) and lean healthcare (Radnor et al., 2012). From
these various studies, it was determined the following five elements would be key to
driving bottleneck improvements in intermodal container facilities.
(1) Elimination of waste (Liker, 2004): As value is defined exclusively from the point
of view of the customer, elimination of waste becomes the central theme of lean
production.
(2) Standardization (Ohno, 1988): Standardization leads to stable processes by
removing variability.
(3) Visualization (Hirano et al., 1995): Essential information is communicated
visually to those who need it. Discrepancies and deviations from standard
targets are immediately obvious.
(4) Synchronized flow (Womack and Jones, 1996): In lean production, processes
should be linked and coordinated so as to achieve synchronized flow. The speed
at which processes flow is regulated so that supply and demand can be brought
into alignment.
(5) Continuous improvement (Imai, 1986): A lean company continuously strives for
perfection, improving standards to reduce and eliminate all wastes in the
process. The concept of Kaizen (Japanese for continuous incremental
improvement) was developed to encourage workers to continuously improve
their working methods, contributing to the fight for waste elimination.
The identification of these key elements provides a direct focus and link to
implementing lean principles in intermodal container facilities. With the benefit of
previous studies, it is clear that standardization of procedures and processes within
terminals will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of operations. Allowing
information to be visualized and verified by all stakeholders will quickly identify
potential mistakes with regards to container pickup and/or loading location/times.
Synchronizing arrivals/pickups and operations throughout terminal will reduce
bottlenecks and better maximize resources. Addressing these issues will lead to the
elimination of many wasteful activities, which currently occur within the case facilities.

3. Cases: intermodal container facilities

In an effort to improve the flow of goods and services throughout Europe, the European
Union, through its Regional Development Fund, has commissioned a number of joint
ventures between research institutions and regional organizations. These collaboration
partnerships are developed to help overcome known supply chain impediments by directly
linking researchers with practitioners in the field. The two case facilities being explored in
this paper were identified as suffering from similar bottleneck-derived terminalization,
which reduced the efficiency and effectiveness of their intermodal container operations. Both
facilities are located within the Skagerrak region of northern Europe.
The research being undertaken in this paper is the first phase of a two-stage project. This
paper represents the first stage, being to identify areas of improvement and develop a
lean-based framework for intermodal container facilities. In conjunction with senior
management and lean teams from the two separate facilities, a conceptual framework is
developed based on lean principles to reduce waste and bottlenecks within intermodal
operations. The second stage, which is currently underway, is to implement the framework
and determine its success rate over the next two years. It has long been accepted that case
studies are an ideal methodological platform to develop and test theory, such as the
conceptual framework being presented in this paper (Eisenhardt, 1989; Yin, 2014). The two
case facilities represented in this paper are discussed in detail below.
3.1 Alnabru freight facilities, Norway
Alnabru terminal is an intermodal freight terminal that is located at Alnabru in Oslo,
Norway. It has been in operation since 1907, and in 2008, the terminal was rebuilt to
increase capacity. In a proposal for the National Transport Plan 2010-2019, Avinor et al.
(2008) emphasized that it is of national interest to create conditions for efficient terminal
operations at Alnabru terminal. The Norwegian National Rail Administration wants to
increase the capacity of the rail network, and to improve operational efficiency. Alnabru
terminal is currently run by a single terminal operator, CargoNet, and several train
operators and freight distributors use the terminal.
Lean was considered as a prime strategy to improve the operational efficiency of
Alnabru terminal, and to start the process, a lean team was established at the terminal.
The team consisted of representatives from the terminal operator CargoNet and
representatives of each of the freight distributors Schenker, Bring and Posten. Two of
the authors of this paper were also involved in the lean process at Alnabru. After
discussions on the fundamentals of lean principles, the team chose to apply a lean
change methodology similar to that of the Industry Forum MasterClass Process
Improvement Activity (see Bateman and David (2002) for a detailed description of this
approach). Such a methodology uses the plan do checkact (PDCA) cycle (Deming,
1986) as a platform for diagnostic activity to identify improvement areas and to suggest
countermeasures that will improve operational performance. Following this
methodology, a total of three lean diagnostic workshops were held at Alnabru terminal
to investigate the potential application of lean practices to improve the current state of
intermodal terminal operations.
During the first workshop, following a processflow mapping activity for the arrival
of trucks at the terminal, the gate-in process was quickly identified as a bottleneck and
an obvious area for improvement. The gate-in operation showed excessive variation in
processing time, which was due to a lack of a standard communication mechanism. For

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example, few drivers were prepared with a printed ticket when they arrived at the gate
(clearly showing container number, train number, vehicle registration number, etc.),
while many drivers had identification numbers scribbled on the back of their hands.
There were also difficulties in communication with foreign drivers due to language
issues. Therefore, it was suggested that the use of a standardized communication
solution would reduce the variation in processing time at the gate-in process. It was
suggested that this could take the shape of a basic printed card in its simplest form, or it
could be a printed barcode with scanning equipment at the gate, or it could even be a
full-blown automatic radio frequency identification (RFID) solution that uses electronic
tags for automatic identification and access to the terminal (though this would possibly
raise several issues regarding international standards). The variation at gate-in was also
due in part to a lack of standard working procedures, for example, the ad hoc re-booking
of containers onto earlier or later trains, as well as the process for customs clearance.
Here, it was suggested that standardized operations could also be applied to improve the
current state. Standardized operations, or standard work, is often used in lean to control,
reduce and eliminate variation in processes (Shingo, 1989). By creating standard work
processes on the gate-in process, the variation in this process can be significantly
reduced and properly controlled.
A second diagnostic workshop at Alnabru analyzed the resource utilization of the
various lift equipment at the terminal, including cranes, reach trucks and forklift trucks.
It became apparent that there was no real system for coordinating the lift equipment,
and was identified that standard work could also be applied to improve the level of
coordination between the lift equipment operators. It was also suggested that there was
possibly an issue with the arrival times and arrival rates of the containers to be loaded
onto the trains. For example, though certain trains have a two-hour loading window, it
was suggested that few containers arrived at the start of the window and many at the
end, rather than a stable rate of arrival. In such situations, it can have a detrimental
effect on the utilization of lifting equipment, which in turn affects both the quality of the
service and the levels of safety. Therefore, a third workshop was carried out to examine
the variation in arrival of containers.
Though the results of the third workshop did not confirm the original suggestion that
most containers arrive at the end of the loading window, it was shown that there was
definite variation in container arrivals (see Figure 2). As such, it was recommended that
the terminal consider another fundamental lean practice, known as production levelling,
or Heijunka (Jones, 2006; Shingo, 1989). Toyota Production System makes use of a
mechanism called Heijunka to enable synchronized flow and to level out production to a
stable rate, known as takt-time, or the rate of customer demand. Strategic inventory
points, known as supermarkets, are used to absorb any variations in demand over the
short-term (long-term variations are smoothed out using demand levelling at a higher
level of the planning hierarchy). As a result of the third workshop, it was suggested that
level production can be applied at Alnabru not only to enable synchronized flow of
goods, but also to better coordinate and synchronize the lift equipment.
3.2 Aalborg port facilities, Demark
The container terminal in Aalborg was originally created to only handle traffic to and
from Greenland, as Aalborg is the official import/export port for Greenland. Over time,
the terminal has expanded its operations to include traffic to other container ports in

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273
Figure 2.
Container arrivals at
Alnabru terminal
during the loading
period for Train
5,733

Europe. Recently, the terminal further expanded its operations with another weekly
departure to Rotterdam to a total of two weekly departures.
The terminal management has recently commenced planning for a major
improvement strategy, which includes launching a large-scale lean project in the
terminal, as well as the possibility of introducing a new terminal operating system. As
was the case at Alnabru, a lean project team was established, and after a number of
consultation sessions, management expressed the desire for a conceptual framework
to guide the improvement process at the facility. Therefore, the aim of the lean project
team was to identify problem areas (bottlenecks) and eliminate waste to improve the
efficiency of the terminal. It was agreed that a framework for lean terminalization would
be key to understanding required improvements while defining the projects aims and
outcomes.
There are three main operational areas in the Aalborg terminal: the dock where the
container ships are loaded and unloaded, the gate-in through which the trucks arrive
and the container storage area. To service these different operations, there are three
types of handling equipment that are used in the terminal: the gantry crane, reach
stackers and terminal tractors. The terminal tractor services the gantry crane by
transporting containers from the terminal storage area and receiving containers from
the ship. The reach stackers service the terminal storage area. There are typically two
tractors and two reach stackers involved in this operation. At the gate where trucks
arrive from the hinterland, the reach stackers take the containers from the trucks and
place these in the storage area, and also load containers onto trucks when required.
There are typically three reach stackers in this process. The operator on the gate handles
the incoming trucks and calls for a stacker to service the trucks, and is also responsible
for the storage area. A terminal foreman handles the loading and unloading of ships,
together with the ships captain. The activities in the terminal are illustrated in Figure 3,
which shows the typical flow of a container. The process begins when a container
arrives, either by ship or truck. Though in theory the flow appears very linear, when a
container is placed in the inventory, it can be subject to a number of cycles of rework.
This is because it may be necessary to move containers to retrieve other containers that

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Terminal
Move container inside storage

Dockside
Crane
Pick/place

Tractor wait

Tractor
Deliver/
Recieve

Tractor
Move

Stacker
Pick/Place

Stacker
Move

Stacker
Pick/Place

Truck
Deliver/
Recieve

Stacker
Pick/Place

Stacker
Move

Stacker
Pick/Place

Storage

274
Gateside

Figure 3.
Flow of the terminal
operations

Truck arrive/
depart

Truck wait/
register

Source: Olesen et al. (2012)

are located underneath or behind them. This is symbolized by the arrow move
container inside storage.
A major issue identified during the consultation period is the need for a
standardization process. One such area is the need to develop a standardized method for
the operation of container stackers working inside the container storage area, from
picking the container in the storage area to delivering it to the gantry crane or gate. In
this operation, two stackers service two tractors in the storage area, and the tractors
continuously drive a circular route (milk run) from the storage area to the quayside
where the gantry crane loads or unloads the ship. It is believed that the adoption of a
standardized milk run will significantly improve the efficiency of this operation.
However, the flow of information between the different functions is not currently
standardized, which introduces a number of added problems. To solve this issue,
standardization of communications is strongly recommended by utilizing information
and communication technology (ICT). For example, the company currently uses both a
manual (walkie talkie) method and an old mainframe system for controlling and
allocating work to the stackers. Which method is used depends on the type of operations.
In addition, the loading and unloading of the ship is overseen by the production
manager, who stands on the deck of the container ship and calls out the container
numbers to be loaded/unloaded from a printed list. To improve this process, it is
suggested that a standardization process is a must, especially in terms of an applied
communication mechanism and the use of ICT (Goh and Fraser, 2012). One suggestion
is a screen or electronic display unit fitted in each vehicle, which displays relevant
information about the current and next orders. In fact, each of the stackers currently has
a built-in monitor but is not in operation because information is currently not
standardized or formalized.
As with Alnabru, discussions also focused on the issue of levelling, in an attempt
to overcome the unlevel flow of containers to and from the terminal on the landside
of the port. It was recognized that part of the levelling problem was due to a lack of
effective standardization, particularly concerning standardized information flow.
The logistics companies that operate the trucks receive orders to send or deliver
containers from customers and suppliers often many days (if not weeks) in advance.
Furthermore, the ship manifest also includes the majority of these containers before
they even arrive at the port. If this information became more actively available
within the terminal, it would be possible to agree on fixed slot times with the logistic

companies to create a level schedule for the container arrivals. As it is now, trucks
often arrive close to deadline for a loading ship or at certain peak periods during the
day, creating overburden (mura) in some instances and a lack of activity at other
times. This results in unevenness (muri) and affects the overall utilization of
resources and thereby the cost of operation.
Another important area discussed at both the case facilities was the need to
implement an effective continuous improvement strategy. It was agreed that any such
initiatives involving continuous improvement must include all areas of the facilities and
employees must have a sense of ownership of the scheme and receive enhancement/
benefit from any improvements. However, it was discussed that earlier initiatives have
had limited impact on improving the effectiveness of the terminal, and it is believed that
progress with continuous improvement has been hindered by the lack of
standardization. Without first establishing a set of standard working practices, it is very
difficult to foster successful improvement (Ohno, 1988). It was also recognized that the
process is also hampered due to the vast array of key performance indicators (KPIs) in
use, making it difficult to understand and analyse current terminal performance. The
daily meetings are also complicated due to a lack of understanding of all processes by
many of the workers. To enhance the continuous improvement process, it was clear from
both facilities that the initial energy must be spent on the standardization of working
methods, in particular the information flow and the process flow at the gate and in the
terminal storage areas.
Along with the key issues such as standardization and levelling, the lean teams
highlighted a number of other important points which need to be considered:
Identify more closely the current internal transport routines and performance
(planning, efficiency, internal and external customer waiting times, etc.).
Extended collaboration with customers regarding container collection.
Optimizing back-end operations based on planned collection time.
Simplify and align the current high quantity of conflicting KPIs.
4. A framework for lean terminalization
Having explored the literature regarding lean principles and intermodal terminals, and
undertaken two exploratory case studies to investigate potential areas for applying lean
practices, the following presents a framework to assist the facilitation of lean
terminalization (see Figure 4). The framework consists of four fundamental principles to
enable the improved material flow in intermodal facilities: waste elimination,
standardization, levelling and continuous improvement. These four elements need to be
underpinned by ICT to provide relevant information and effective communication
channels.
4.1 Waste elimination
Central to the framework is the concept of waste elimination. To address the elimination
of waste within a lean terminalization perspective, the concepts of muda, mura and muri
(Ohno, 1988) should be considered in more detail.
Muda is the Japanese term for waste, and is often described in terms of the seven
wastes: transportation, inventory, motion, waiting, overproduction, over-processing
and defects. In lean manufacturing, it is suggested that the complete elimination of these

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Figure 4.
A framework for lean
terminalisation

wastes can improve operating efficiency by a large margin (Ohno, 1988). However, some
of these wastes are difficult to translate into the perspective of terminalization, for
example, transportation is the very reason for operation for the terminals, and the
terminal operator is also often paid to hold inventory for the customer
(warehouse-derived terminalization); thus, inventory can be seen as a value-adding
process rather than a waste.
Also, by concentrating on these seven types of waste, mura and muri are often
overlooked. In terms of definition, mura is the Japanese term for inconsistency, which
means unevenness in operations; and muri is the Japanese term for unreasonableness, or
overburdening of people and/or resources. Therefore, it is suggested that mura and muri
are perhaps more applicable to intermodal operations than the seven types of waste

which stem from the manufacturing environment, each of which are addressed by
applying levelling.
4.2 Standardization
Ohno (1988) suggests that insufficient standardization creates muda, mura and muri.
One of the main reasons for applying standardization, seen in both the scientific
literature and from empirical findings, is to reduce variability in the processes, with
particular reference to process cycle times. To reduce and eliminate variation in
intermodal terminal operations, we suggest the application of standard work. As was
stated previously, standard work is applied in lean both to reduce variation in processes
and to encourage continuous improvement (Imai, 1986; Shingo, 1989).
The framework also includes the specification of a standard communication method
within the standardization construct. In the case of Alnabru terminal, it was specified
that a standardized communication mechanism is required to reduce the variation in
processing time at the gate-in process. It was suggested that a mechanism was required
that can provide the authorization for entry of the containers into the terminal. This
means that the driver should have at least a pre-printed ticket, which clearly shows
critical information such as the order number, container number and vehicle registration
number. Other potential media for this type of standardized communication mechanism
were also identified, including barcodes and RFID solutions.
Visualization is also a key theme within lean (Bicheno and Holweg, 2009), and it is
suggested that it should be effectively integrated with an organizations efforts for
standardization. For example, standard work procedures should by located at the point
of use in a visible manner, so that they are always up-to-date. Also, by making important
information instantly visible, there is no time wasted in hunting for the information.
4.3 Levelling
It has been shown that internal variability in processes leads to unevenness in
operations. It also often results in the overburdening of workers. In the case of the
Alnabru terminal, it was believed that some of the internal variability would be resolved
by applying standard work practices. However, there is also external variability present
when it comes to loading and unloading of the trains. Production levelling (Heijunka) is
applied in lean to resolve the arrival variability and to create more synchronized
material flow (Shingo, 1989; Jones, 2006). Therefore, it is recommended that levelling be
applied within both terminals to create a more level schedule. A possible solution here is
to distinguish between front-end and back-end operations, where front-end operations
involve unloading and loading of trucks/arriving containers (external), and back-end
operations involve the loading and unloading of containers that are already on-site
(internal). At Alnabru terminal, it is believed that by making more use of the depot
function (back-end operations), the loading and unloading operations could be suitably
levelled, thus contributing to more effective, synchronized flow. Such an outcome
explains how external variability can be resolved by applying levelling.
4.4 Continuous improvement
The final element of the framework is continuous improvement. The Kaizen concept
(Imai, 1986) has been developed and applied successfully at many organizations so as to
encourage workers to contribute toward continuous incremental improvements in their
daily activities. By applying the PDCA cycle (Deming, 1986) to encourage systematic

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improvement of intermodal terminal operations, basic process mapping tools and root
cause analysis can be used to arrive at suitable countermeasures that contribute to
increased value-adding activities.
To summarize, the adoption of the developed framework will allow a terminal operator to
achieve improved flow of materials and information through the terminal. Firstly, the initial
formulation of standard operating procedures and standardized communication channels,
particularly through the use of visual methods for the simplification and formalization of
processes, will provide the essential basis for continuous improvement activities. Likewise,
through applying levelling mechanisms such as using allocated timeslots for deliveries and
collections, unevenness and overburden can be eliminated from the terminal operations,
and resources can be utilized much more effectively. Here, we distinguish between front-end
and back-end, where front-end concerns the servicing of trucks, trains and/or ships, and
back-end operations primarily considers operations in the terminal storage areas. Finally, by
instilling a culture of continuous improvement through the deployment of a continuous
improvement program (e.g. a suggestion scheme), and by training employees in the process
of effective problem solving (e.g. PDCA), the terminal operator can be confident to gain a
positive impact in terms of reduced waste, reductions in critical path lead time, and improved
customer service levels and schedule adherence (e.g. high performance in on-time, in-full
shipments). The realization of each of these elements will contribute to improved flow in the
terminal, and will ideally be established through a number of formal improvement projects
organized by cross-functional teams of employees within facilities.
5. Conclusion
The aim of this paper was to investigate the application of lean practices to improve
material flow within intermodal terminals and to develop an overarching framework for
Lean terminalization. Through the use of literature and two exploratory case studies a
conceptual framework was constructed, and this in turn, provided the solutions to the
research question How can lean thinking be applied to improve material flow in the
context of bottleneck-derived terminalization?.
The paper assert that the two most fundamental components of lean in the context of
terminalization are standardization and levelling, with a central focus on the elimination
of waste (muda, mura and muri) through the adoption of a continuous improvement
culture. Firstly, standardization can be applied to operational processes to reduce
variation, thus contributing to improved material flow and reduction of processing time.
Secondly, although Marlow and Paixo Casaca (2003) suggest that lean ports are only
good at things over which they have control, the exploratory case studies also showed
how lean terminals can implement countermeasures to reduce (at least to some extent)
the detrimental effects of external variation through the use of production levelling
techniques that were originally developed in lean manufacturing.
In todays mature European intermodal transport sector, the application of ICT is
essential for well-functioning transport supply chains (Goh and Fraser, 2012; Laihonen
et al., 2012), but traditional ways (e.g. paper documents) is still common, with operators
identifying the corresponding load unit by means of an identification code printed on a
ticket. This procedure is labour-intensive and costly, error-prone and contains a high
risk of holding up the transport process, particularly at busy transport hubs. Zahari et al.
(2010) asserts that from an internal perspective, the application of the latest ICT is a
priority and critical for ongoing success. Therefore, applying ICT such as RFID

technology will improve the process. RFID is an evolution of the bar code system, which
is today widely used in managing logistics networks. The advantage of RFID over
barcoding is that information can be transmitted over distance by means of radio
signals with no need for human intervention. Further work should examine the
combination of innovative ICT solutions with the lean terminalization concept,
contributing to the lean vs ICT debate (Riezebos et al., 2009). Scupola (2012) found that
ICT can act as a driver of innovation within facilities. We suggest that much like the
Kaizen concept, the nature of technological innovation in the intermodal sector tends to
be incremental, meaning that the overall performance of the chain will improve without
abandoning the many current characteristics of the system. Improvements in the
management of the chain can be realized by introducing enhanced procedures and more
standardized information flows between the different operators, infrastructure
managers and customs authorities.
With respect to future research, it should be noted that this research paper is the first
of a two-stage process. Currently, the framework developed in this paper is being
implemented and empirically tested in the practical setting of the two case facilities
discussed in this paper.
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About the authors
Peter Bjerg Olesen obtained his PhD from the Centre for Logistics, Department of Mechanical and
Manufacturing Engineering at Aalborg University, Denmark, in 2014. The focus of the research
was on small port logistics, and was co-funded by the Port of Aalborg.
Daryl Powell completed his PhD and Postdoc at the Department of Production and Quality
Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway, during the
period 2009-2014. His research examined the integration of lean and ERP systems, the results of which
have been published in international journals such as IJPR, IJOPM and Computers in Industry. Since
July 2014, Daryl has been employed as Lean Manager at Kongsberg Maritime Subsea, Horten, Norway.
Hans-Henrik Hvolby is Professor at the Centre for Logistics, Aalborg University in Denmark
and Visiting Professor at University of South Australia. He has published more than 130
peer-reviewed papers and is on the editorial boards of seven international journals. He has
managed or participated in more than 15 research and industrial collaboration projects funded by
national programmes and EU. His present scope of work includes supply chain planning,
manufacturing information systems and value chain diagnostics.
Kym Fraser is a Researcher at the University of South Australia in Adelaide. He is also an
Adjunct Professor at the University of Brawijaya and Ciputra University in Indonesia, and
Aalborg University in Denmark. He has a PhD in Manufacturing Management and holds degrees
in business, accounting, economics and engineering. Before becoming an academic, he spent 25
years in practice specializing in service and operations management. He is the current Chair of the
Manufacturing Society of Australia (ManSA) and has published over 70 research articles in
internationally refereed journals and conferences. Kym Fraser is the corresponding author and
can be contacted at: [email protected]

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