We live in a big data world, it’s hard to deny it. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are doing everything from improving industrial agriculture to providing recipe recommendations and telling you about restaurants nearby that you might like. Data is everywhere, in every industry, in every home. That being said, do you need data in your terminal operations?

The answer is a resounding yes.

Maybe your team has been working in terminal operations for decades — decades without the influence of digital data analytics — and they have survived just fine. Or, maybe your organization wants to utilize data to improve your operations, but you don’t know the best way to go about it. After all, datasets can be large, unwieldy, and messy. If you don’t approach data in a purposeful way, it can bog down your operations as you are forced to dedicate resources to sorting out mountains of spreadsheets.

Regardless of your situation, having a data-centric mindset in your organization from top to bottom can and will improve your operations, if you do it correctly. Additionally, data does not have to (and should not) be a cumbersome task of number crunching that requires entire teams of performance analysts months to calculate. Being data-driven can be both easy and effective. Tideworks is here to help show you how.

 

1. Understand That You Need Data

Recognizing the importance of data is the first true step to gaining a data-driven mindset.

The list of ways that data analytics can improve terminal operations is lengthy. It can provide exacting insights on every aspect of your operations, giving decision-makers at every level the information they need to make wise decisions. Data can identify best practices as well as processes that could be improved. It can reveal and predict choke points in efficiency, surface trends, and even forecast coming problems, allowing your organization to prepare for the future. Lastly, data is the first step to automation — and automation is a critical ingredient to efficiency, scalability, and growth.

Terminal operations are a complex beast of diverse processes and procedures that all have to run in concert with each other in order for the terminal to be effective. As operations grow, it can be increasingly difficult — or even impossible — for leaders to see and understand what is happening daily with enough detail to lead effectively if they are not data-driven.

Knowledge, wise decision-making, and automation: it all starts with data.

Download our Manzanillo International Terminal (MIT) Case Study to explore how Tideworks implemented Insight at MIT to increase productivity and minimize downtime.

2. Choosing the Right Tools

If you realize the need for data in your operations, the next challenge is learning how to effectively use it. Data should be a useful contributor, not an obstacle of numbers and spreadsheets that get in the way of success.

Managing data effectively starts with having the right tools for the job. The type of platform you use can be the difference between intuitive, relevant, actionable data and a mess of meaningless graphs full of metrics that you don’t care about.

The best platform is one that speaks the same language you do: the language of the terminal operation. A data platform tailored for your industry and operations will be more useful than a generic analytical tool. You wouldn’t ask a shipbuilder to build a house just because he’s good with his hands. In the same way, don’t settle for a data analytics tool that isn’t specialized for your line of work. This is why the path to data-driven operations begins with Tideworks Insight.

 

3. Find the Right Advocate

While being a data-driven organization requires the buy-in of everyone, having a person or team of people who can lead the analysis and manage the data platform is key. It doesn’t take a data scientist — anyone with a sense of curiosity to ask questions and the drive to discover the answers will fit the bill.

Simply having this person — a “data analyst” — is not enough, though. Analysts have to be heard, listened to, and keyed into your operations. Access to all of the answers in the world means nothing if no one is listening. Conversely, if the analyst does not know what problems operations may be facing, they may not know what answers to look for. Incorporating your data analyst or team into operations meetings and giving them a voice is important.

 

 

4. Data Starts at the Top

Like with any organizational vision, the desire for a data mindset has to start at the top of the command chain in order to be implemented successfully. Lower-level leaders cannot be expected to rely on data to drive innovation and influence their decision-making if they feel it’s not a priority for the company. No one wants to dedicate time and resources to an initiative that their boss might not value.

Encouraging a data-driven mindset from the top can be done in many ways. One is to incentivize. Reward those who are willing to use data to drive innovation and improve operations — even if their exploratory ideas do not prove successful at first. In fact, it may be even more important to reward those who try and fail, as these employees are given the freedom to think unencumbered by the fear of repercussions. Using data effectively means asking new questions and challenging the status quo — and that can sometimes be a risk. Data-driven members are more apt to question when there is no fear of retribution for failure. However, when the leaders of an organization embrace data and let it drive improvement, the rest of the team will follow.

 

Data For Today and Tomorrow

Change can be challenging, but it is often necessary. In a world that is always growing, refining, and innovating, stagnation means failure. Data-backed hypotheses should always have the opportunity to be tested if they have a chance to change your operations for the better. The data age has arrived for your organization, let us show you how Tideworks Insight can positively impact your operations through data-driven decision making.