A View on the Future of Ports & Maritime: A Q&A with Chris Best

Ports are vital infrastructure links in the global logistics chain – facilitating trade and commerce, providing connectivity between people and businesses, supplying our nations with goods and energy resources, and generally underpinning our economies and livelihoods.  

At Jacobs, we draw on a maritime business heritage that spans more than150 years to help our ports and maritime clients manage their operations, build and maintain their infrastructure, protect their coastlines, convey people and goods, and serve as critical infrastructure hubs. 

In this Q&A, we connect with one of our teammates, Chris Best, our global solutions director of ports & maritime, to dive into the trends and technologies making a splash in the industry today. 

Tell us a bit about what a day in the life is like as Jacobs Global Solutions Director for Ports & Maritime, and what we offer to our clients in this area. 

Ports & maritime is never dull, partly because our work crosses many different types of projects – from coastal infrastructure, container terminals and dry bulk facilities to energy, intermodal rail and military and defense work. Since we have more than 650 ports & maritime teammates and a portfolio of global projects, a key part of my role is coordinating where our talent is needed and growing our business.  

We provide value-added consulting, planning and engineering services through the long-term, trusted relationships we’ve formed with clients around the globe, including port authorities, government agencies, private developers, cargo terminal and cruise operators as well as some of the world’s leading naval forces. As we work with clients to tackle the challenges they’re facing today – whether that’s supply chain issues, decarbonization, big data or resilience – one of my favorite parts of the role is pinpointing the upcoming trends and advising on how we can prepare internally so we’ve got the best and brightest talent available to guide our clients into the future. 

You mentioned a few of the challenges our clients are facing today, but what are some of the biggest opportunities in ports & maritime? 

The two biggest opportunities are energy transition and the digital transformation. Ports are at a critical juncture – they must be operationally resilient, efficient, safe, and profitable, while at the same time, must navigate modern day challenges, optimize operations, decarbonize themselves, and serve as a key enabler for the world’s energy transition. We’re already seeing rapid advancements in the energy transition space across the industry, including electrification in Cleveland, Ohio and in many of the large ports in California, and offshore wind developments in several countries, including South Korea, Australia and the U.S., as demonstrated by the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal.  

With the digital transformation moving faster and impacting every aspect of our lives, ports and maritime projects are no exception. Automation is already a major operational driver. In fact, our client at the Port of Los Angeles became one of the U.S.’s first ports to use automated shuttle carriers alongside automated stacking cranes and other digital intelligence tools to achieve record-setting cargo operations.  

We’re also seeing the rise of artificial intelligence and other data-driven solutions as ports around the world deal with maritime trade expanding and larger vessels coming through. These trends provide new efficiencies for operators and agencies alike and gives companies like ours an opportunity to deepen our relationship with clients by introducing new approaches and technologies to capitalize.  

How do we help clients think differently to respond to the future? 

Sometimes, the fear of failure and lack of experience with alternative approaches can hinder innovative thinking and the implementation of new solutions. Leveraging the insights of our industry leaders, who’ve encountered similar challenges and solutions, we reduce risk and remove barriers to productive progress. Moreover, this wealth of experience provides a solid foundation and empowers our clients and us to take bold steps toward solving unique and future problems – whether on shore or in the water. 

Thinking differently also means exploring how to superpower our engineering solutions with the application of data analytics, parametric input for flexibility, use of simulations and increasingly generative design and artificial intelligence (AI) inputs. With many of our front-end engineering and options studies, these tools continue to improve both the confidence to make decisions and the accuracy of the decision themselves.  

For a recent Canadian project which required waterfront ground improvement for their future activities, we evaluated alternative solutions using a parametric model. We always knew what the impact of each solution was on the site and quantities through this parametric approach. Merging the complex analysis and parametric modelling provided flexibility to specifically apply and minimize the required ground improvements, and we eliminated other solutions that were less likely to succeed. 

Is there a project you’re particularly proud of? 

One of the most rewarding challenges we've solved was on a remote project in Australia where we employed an innovative modularization construction approach. Modularization involves building a project in self-contained parts – sort of like building with Lego blocks – and it gives ports more flexibility to engage labor and equipment that is offsite, improving safety and quality, while reducing impacts on the site and any existing operations.  

When the Amrun Chith Export Facility project came up, we’d already been using modularization and prefabrication for parts of facilities for several years, gradually innovating to successfully modularize certain portions of builds to simplify what we needed to do on-site. 

We took this concept even further on this project, investigating how we could use a modular design solution for the wharf’s deck and substructure. Our client bought into the solution we presented and ultimately, the approach saved a full year of on-site construction time. It also reformed how we can approach design and construction of wharf infrastructure for the future – moving away from traditional stick-built design concepts to a modularized construction approach that can save costs, time and even reduce risk.  

It's incredibly fulfilling to have the opportunity to shape the future of how projects are delivered and influence how we connect people and goods, by land and sea, for the better.