'We have to handle huge volumes of inbound and outbound packages at night,' Mr Ho said. 'It is the busiest and most crucial part of our operation.'

He explained that many inbound flights were scheduled to arrive in Hong Kong from about 2am. And, in view of promises to customers about guaranteed next-day delivery, everything related to unloading, sorting, customs clearance and arranging local delivery must run like clockwork, with each function performed with the highest degree of efficiency.

In parallel with that, of course, the 24-hour export operation is also continuing at the maximum possible speed, with containers made up, documents processed, early-morning outbound flights loaded and consignments dispatched to all four corners of the world.

To help co-ordinate all of this, Mr Ho has a team of more than 30 experienced staff. In the course of any shift, he might also have to deal with the representatives of 40 or 50 different business partners or subcontractors - warehouse staff, security personnel and the like - and will be in contact with offices around the region and the main company stations in Hong Kong. 'One of the challenges is to ensure early delivery and that the packages are in good condition,' Mr Ho said. 'This calls for excellent teamwork with every person working towards the same goal.'

He added that he was well aware how much the company's overall reputation and competitiveness within the industry depended on his team's performance and effectiveness.

'Decisions have to be made quickly and flexibly to cope with different situations,' he said.

'These challenges make me feel my work is important and outweigh the inconvenience of working overnight.'

Mr Ho's office is in the Asia Airfreight Terminal building at Chek Lap Kok. From there he can monitor activities in the warehouse and at the various ramps and delivery stations by closed-circuit television.

However, he also likes to get out and about to see things first hand, so he makes regular visits to each department to supervise the work flow and check the status of items known to require special handling.

As an illustration, he recalled one instance involving a client from Shanghai whose wife was receiving treatment for cancer in Hong Kong. An urgent consignment of drugs had to be shipped from the United States to aid her recovery, and this required Mr Ho and his team to liaise closely with customs, local health authorities and the truck driver to ensure the package was delivered to the hospital at the correct temperature and without a second's delay.

'It was a special case for us because it involved human life,' he said.

Before accepting his present position about four years ago, Mr Ho thought long and hard. He was under no illusions about the sort of adjustments that would be necessary in terms of family life and weekly routine. That was because he had previously been working on the afternoon shift, finishing close to midnight most days and generally waking up around midday.

Even so, getting used to the hours, sleep patterns and lifestyle that went with a regular night shift, was initially not easy. It meant being on duty from 3am to noon and inevitably entailed a certain amount of upheaval. But after talking it through with his family and identifying some of the sacrifices that might be involved, Mr Ho decided it was something worth doing as a trade-off for greater experience and the likelihood of brighter career prospects.

Now, it has become a matter of routine for him to go to sleep at around 4pm and set the alarm for 1am. When most of Hong Kong has just settled down for the night, he is hauling himself out of bed and driving from Tuen Mun to the airport. With few cars on the roads, the journey usually takes under 45 minutes, substantially less than it would during peak hour.

'Another blessing of working odd hours in Hong Kong is that you can avoid the crowds and queues in places such as banks and restaurants,' Mr Ho said.

'I can enjoy quicker banking service or watch a movie in the afternoon without having to worry that it might be a full house.'

He has also realised that working overnight gave him the advantage of being able to focus on the task in hand. Whether it was an urgent operations matter or a basic administrative task, he could concentrate on getting it done without the interruption of outside phone calls and instant messages - at least until normal office hours began.

To keep in reasonable shape, he has now trained himself to eat only two meals a day - breakfast at about 8am in the office and lunch at 2pm after finishing the shift. He also tries to spend as much time as possible with family and friends on Sundays and Mondays, which are his regular days off.

'Relatives and friends realise that I work night shifts, so they know when it is the best time to contact me and go out,' he said, adding that family members made sure that they taped interesting or entertaining TV shows so that he didn't miss anything worth seeing.

Since joining FedEx as a frontline supervisor in 1989, Mr Ho, like many of his colleagues, has benefited from the company's policy of promoting from within and has taken every opportunity to learn the ins and outs of the courier and express delivery business.

Still, he takes nothing for granted and arrives for every shift knowing there will be unforeseen challenges and minor crises to contend with. The cause might be anything from a computer glitch or a customs hold-up to flight delays or even an airport closure brought about by bad weather.

Mr Ho admitted that these diverse challenges inevitably created a constant level of stress. However, that was all part of the job, and knowing that he had been able to tackle problems as they arose and find a way through virtually any kind of operational crisis, was one of the major sources of job satisfaction at the end of any shift.

This is part six in our eight-part

series on people who work at night

Advantages of working overnight

Responsible for one of the busiest parts of the 24-hour operational cycle

Can concentrate on urgent and routine tasks without too many unwanted interruptions

A chance to prove one's mettle within the company

Able to avoid the crowds when eating out, banking or commuting