This research paper discuses the transportation management problems providing the causes and offering solutions to those problems. Among the problems that are identified to be of higher concern include transportation capacity constraints and the increase in transportation security. To help discus and expound the topic of this paper are books and journals that provide detailed information. The books are material of established authors while the journals are property of selected governments. In this paper, the relevance of the sources to the topic is briefly highlighted to provide insight to the reader concerning the paper.
Transport Management Problems
Industries, factories and businesses all over the world depend on fast, responsive and dependable transportation. However there are issues that threaten to lengthen delivery times of transit goods, create regular and unpredictable delays and raise the transportation cost. The issues are the increased transportation security and transportation capacity constraints.
The practice of Global Sourcing has increased thus the need to maximize transportation means is inevitable. This practice has led to many companies and factories opting to the use of sea transport. The problem facing the management of sea transport is the fact that many countries with seaports have not been keen on the changes and trends that companies and factories are assuming. With increased need and urge to use the seaports, Transport capacity constraints have been witnessed and thus threatening the reliability of the sea transport. With the management of the sea transport becoming problematic, governments are sourcing for donors to help in the construction of more sea ports and expansion of the existing few. Most of the countries requiring this help are the undeveloped countries which in most causes are rich in raw materials. While concentrating mostly on refurbishing of the sea transport ignorance on other means of transports is witnessed.
While trying to incorporate sea transport as a main means of transport, confusion presents itself. The confusion is brought by the fact that when funding is sourced it only targets one aspect of the whole sector. For example, funding can be provided by donors or the government can fund its projects. The funds allocated for one project may end up being distributed to cover other areas that are connected to the initial project. From the seaports to the interiors of the countries should be a reliable road transport network. When seaports are expanded the amount of cargo and the operation of the harbor increases, to dispatch the cargo to their destination requires a reliable road transport. With all the elements taken into consideration, the maximum expansion never takes place because the amount is split to cater for road construction hence the problem is never tackled.
Transport management is threatened by the strategies used in dealing with the issues that present themselves. The issue of insecurity is one among the problem that drags the effectiveness of management in the entire transportation sector. By management, regulation of activities and enforcement of governing laws are some of the key elements. By regulating activities like maximum load weight, number of persons in public service vehicles, licensing of drivers and registration of vehicles one element of transport management is taken care of. On the other hand, laws are enforced to ensure that drivers observe all traffic rules and vehicles are road worth. But one problem that affects the management of this sector is insecurity. Once management focuses on security they lose grip on the other elements. When it is noticed that other elements are getting little attention, the resources are liquefied and stretched to cover all elements. In doing so, insecurity is multiplied in that enforcement of traffic rules is lessened and regulation of other activities is minimized.
The solution to the transportation capacity constraints is in the construction of more seaports and reliable road and railway transport network to ease congestion and the ports. The problem of insecurity can be solved if liquefaction and stretching of resources was done away with; and financing of each department done separately without borrowing resources of one project to fund the other.
Annotation
British Institute of Management (BIM) in its journal, The Status and Problems of Transport Management, of 1960 discuses the role and the problems facing transportation management. Among the problems discussed in this journal is the problem of security that is coded red as one of the highly prioritized element. The more the efforts to address the problem of security in the transportation; the more it escalates hence threatening the transportation sector. This journal is relevant to this research paper in that it discusses direct issues witness in our modern day transportation system and specifically highlights the problems. This journal serves the same interest as Gubbins Edmund’s book, Managing Transport Operations, of 2003 that discusses the same issues but focusing more on water transport. Gubbins Edmund details the problems that are faces on seaports and their impact on transport in general. Relevance of the book to this research paper is that it provides detailed information on problems facing the management of sea transport.
Great Britain’s Department of Transport in its journal, The Future of Transport: A Network For 2030, provides a set of solutions to some of the major problems facing the transportation management. By providing the solutions, the journal highlights the problems briefly before proceeding to offer its solution on the subject problem. The relevance of the journal is evident in the provision of the current problem and the assumed-to-be future problem. However, the bias of this source is notable in that it addresses expectations of the year 2030 and bases its argument on the technological development that would be achieved before the recommendations can be implemented. Rao Nagabhushana, Reiner Nerding & Armin Kosegi, and Hastie Andrew in their respective books, Transport Management, SAP Change and Transport Management, and Practical Transport Management provide the same relevance as the above discussed journals and book proving emphasis on how to solve the problems.