The speed and productivity of ship-to-shore Quay Cranes (QC) is the single most important machine factor in the efficiency of a container terminal.

On July 22,Westport's Azmi Ashaari became the speed king and record holder of this feat with remarkable record of 72 moves per hour (mph) on board the Johan Amber.

He is one of the 10 top QC operators in Westport who have been recognized for their outstanding performances from January to September this year.

The nine others are Govindrajo a/l K.Kunchi , Badli Salleh, Ramli Ismail, Mohan a/l Shanmugam , Johari Abdul Rahman, BalaKrishnan a/l Thirumalai, Mohd Salleh Abinoh, Ismail Abdul Rahman and Soh Soon Chai.

Azmi was not an overnight succees story, but one which proves that hard work and dedication is the key to success.

"I trained very hard. The actual training was only eight hours but I stayed on for another eight hours, training 16 hours in total." he said. "I wanted to give the best effort to Westport and excel in everything I was assigned to."

Azmi, who has a daughter, started his career with Westport in 1996 as a prime mover driver. He then became a rubber tyre gantry operator before he was trained to be QC operator.

Azmi is now reaping the rewards of his sacrifices and hard work.

At present, he pockets an additional RM500 -RM600 per month under the Westport's incentive scheme to promote productivity among staff.

Westport staff attribute their success to the to the positive work culture and attitude at Westport, nurtured through various training courses and self-development programmes.