Floating Into the Computer Age

The business of transporting multi-ton barges filled with petroleum conjures up scenes more from On the Waterfront, than The Net, historically. The tug and barge services industry has been perceived as one associated with pencil, paper and telephone types, who carry the details in their heads, rather than depending upon sophisticated computer systems. This has begun to change, however, with a recent move into the computer age by industry leaders, decisions motivated by desires to add client value and competitively position themselves for the future. Reinauer Transportation Companies, a family-owned and operated company, has pulled barges throughout New York and Boston harbors and along the Chesapeake for 75 years. While, over the years, the company had invested in satellite tracking and communication software, it had done very little to automate its accounting or scheduling systems at its offices along the docks in Staten Island, N.Y., and East Boston, Mass. In 1997, however, in the hopes of improving its service to major oil companies like Mobil and Shell, as well as its smaller clients, and eliminating the hours it spent in creating internal reports, the company hired a management consulting firm to develop a user-friendly state-of-the-art operations/tracking transportation system called TBSS (Tug Barge Scheduling System). "Reinauer saw the industry changing -with increased traffic volume, stricter environmental and state regulations, and improved global communications - and the impact this would have on the competitive nature of the business,"said Noam Kaminetzky, engagement manager for Flash Creative Management, the Hackensack, N.J. technology solutions provider tasked with changing the face of the industry. "It was clear to the company's executives that even if their customers were accustomed to the more traditional way of doing business, they would really like to see such improvements as web access to their accounts and an easier way to view delivery times and expected schedules." Although the mindset of the company had long been to investigate and, often, incorporate advances into its daily routine, change did not come easy for the company and its customers. "The employees, understandably, were somewhat skeptical at first," said Ray Stoddard, Flash's project manager and senior consultant. "But, as the project evolved, they started to assume the attitude of, 'this could work out pretty well.'" More specifically, the web-based operations/tracking system was intended to allow for such things as: · Better time, coordination and movement management of its fleet · Secured customer access to account information · Creation of consistent terminology throughout an account · Improved billing accuracy · Better document and information management "What this means for you," wrote Joe Lukenda, Reinauer's general manager, in a newsletter to clients, "is you will be able to access and query your account information online, receive more timely and accurate account information, and obtain more accurate and up-to-date billing information." For years, Reinauer dispatchers had depended upon a huge floor-to-ceiling 12 x 15 ft. white board to track the movement of their barges. On this surface, not unlike the board game "Battleship," they moved around refrigerator-like magnets affixed to index cards representing the different jobs. "This is an enormously rich and effective visual aid offering many cues that pop out at them, and we realized trying to duplicate it would be tricky," said Stoddard. "We chose to keep it as part of the process, while running everyone else off the computer." After conducting global business and use case analyses that identified, reviewed and defined those processes and services associated with tub and barge operations and tracking, Flash designed the interface, reports, data model and class hierarchy concepts for the software. Coding began after the designs received client approval. The consultants delivered the project to the client in separate phases to allow Reinauer employees to become actively involved.