Quality improvement strategies for Dar es Salaam port operations

Sea ports play a crucial role for both economic and social development of countries which possess them if qualities of service of these ports are improved. In the context of Dar es Salaam port, Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) has acknowledged the need to expand the ports infrastructure in the long term so as to improve the quality of service. In the short-term a feasible goal to pursue would be to maximize the port utilization within the realm of existing infrastructure. The main objective of this study was to assess the level of quality of service rendered by Dar es Salaam port and propose strategies for improvement. In order to achieve this objective a literature review on quality of service models was undertaken. The SERVQUAL model was chosen due to its ability to address exogenous, endogenous and relational quality parameters. Data related to exogenous, endogenous and relational quality variables were then collected from TPA customers and management including employees. A total of thirty nine questionnaires were collected from all respondents. Data was analyzed using SPSS software and strategies for improving the quality of service formulated. A five point Likert scale ranging from very low, low, average, high and very high was used to measure the level of quality of service at the port. The study has established that the level of quality of all three types of quality is below average within a score of 1 to 2.6 out of 4. The study recommends among others that TPA should implement appropriate maintenance programs, undertake business process reengineering of port business operations, and computerize customer based business processes.