Expanding Operations Demand Robust Fleet Management Solution

Joseph Keefe, Contributor

Joseph Keefe contributes to New Wave Media titles as needed....

December 24, 2014

As technology needs penetrate the growing offshore sector, Harvey Gulf will depend on Advanced Logistics’ software to support its expanding fleet deployments.

When offshore heavyweight Harvey Gulf International Marine deployed Advanced Logistics’ marine management system, SAMM, and preventative maintenance module, Preventer, on its fleet of marine transportation vessels, it signaled a firm commitment from one of the fastest growing – and highly regarded – U.S.-flag marine operators to ramp up its IT profile. Louisiana-based Advanced Logistics LLC, a provider of offshore marine and logistics management software, caters largely to the oil & gas sectors.
With a business strategy of building state-of-the-art software to allow marine operators to manage their fleets remotely on a near real time basis, Advanced Logistics arguably represents the ideal match for the forward-thinking Harvey Gulf International organization.
With the credo of “making every vessel an office down the hall,” for corporate fleet operators, Advanced Logistics also touts ability to allow its marine customers to likewise be “an office down the hall” for their customers. And, for SATCOM-savvy Harvey Gulf, the software that allows a vessel to generate numerous operational reports on board and transmit the data to shore in a real time environment, is just the ticket for one of the most modern offshore fleets on the planet.

Advanced Logistics 101
According to privately held Advanced Logistics, the newly installed technology includes electronic logs, safety and crew management, commodity tracking, fuel and lube management, GPS mapping, preventative maintenance and much more coupled with an interactive web based interface for easy access to data. For Harvey Gulf’s executive vice president and chief administrative officer Barry Autin, it’s full steam ahead with the new effort. “We realize the importance of technology in our business and value the efficiencies it provides to our operations and clients,” he said in November.
Because Advance Logistics also caters to ‘offshore oil & gas exploration and production’ – Harvey Gulf’s primary client base – the business decision will probably have immediate and positive impact for the offshore giant. Jeffery Svendson, President and CEO of Advanced Logistics LLC says the reasons why are obvious. “Advanced Logistics has an application called ‘Premier’ that an offshore operator can subscribe to that allows them to assign charge codes to the vessels activities for allocation purposes. It also provides fuel, commodity and subsistence information, as well as GPS mapping. The application helps bridge the gap between the accounting and logistics departments of an offshore operator.”
Advanced Logistics is in its tenth year of providing a suite of advanced applications to streamline logistical operations. Their applications are offered under a software/web subscription agreement. The web subscription is provided on a monthly billing cycle which includes the vessel’s software and web interface. The service includes data hosting, monthly software updates and enhancements, new version releases, 24/7 Technical (telephone) support and unlimited users.
A typical laptop or desktop computer with an operating system of Windows 7, Office 2010, Sequel Express is sufficient to support the software. Advanced Logistics counts among its many (23) fleet wide implementations such marine customers as industry mainstays Seacor Marine, Laborde Marine, Graham Gulf, Delta Marine, KG Marine and others. Both SAMM and Preventer are customizable to some degree to meet the customer’s needs and for vessel specifications. In the case of the Harvey Gulf implementation, the Advanced Logistics suite notably took the place of not one, but two other software applications.

Up and Running
For Harvey Gulf, there were many reasons to migrate to the robust Advanced Logistics solution, among them access to quality, real-time data. Other attractive features of the software, according to Harvey Gulf’s Barry Autin, included a SQL database that allows for the query of information over a date range (which saves time and money), a collaborative work environment for all stakeholders from and to Harvey Gulf’s corporate offices, and an intuitive and easy to use interface. Autin adds, “Multiple Reports including logs for billing, subsistence, vessel utilization, vessel activities, fuel, commodities, crew and safety and preventive maintenance can all be generated, accessed and transmitted over Harvey Gulf’s satellite service provider.” Harvey Gulf uses well-known KVH, but that said; the software application(s) are SATCOM agnostic and will work with a wide range of providers.
The entire package can be synchronized with accounting packages such as Oracle Financial and Navision to complete a seamless package for the operator. And, as Harvey Gulf continues to grow, the subscriptions are easily expanded as needed. Known for its ‘Cadillac’ approach to its vessels, operations, commitment to safety and customer service, Harvey Gulf’s selection of Advanced Logistics software is arguably one of the better endorsements the relatively young software provider could ask for.
Already the Gulf of Mexico leader in pioneering cutting-edge LNG propulsion and boasting one of the youngest offshore service fleets on the water, Harvey Gulf doesn’t do anything halfway. No doubt they are also hoping that, with the help of the new software, a high-tech marine management system will take them the rest of the way.
Advanced Logistics on the web: www.al-llc.com