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Short Line Data Systems Inc. ROCS Update March 2002
Website: www.sdsrocs.com
Greetings:
The work that has gone on with ROCS during the last month has had a lot to do with multiples. No, not multiple installations (though that day will come soon), but handling multiple cars at once. As you will see in the following sections, we have been able to make some repetitive tasks easier for moving large numbers of cars at once.
Deployment: (Personal note: I usually write the update about a week before I actually send it out, just to let it sit in case I have forgotten something. In this case I found out that I had to fix a part of the EDI functions of ROCS, and have had to completely rewrite this section of the update.)
SRNJ is just about ready to fully switch over to ROCS. Since they are a Junction settlement carrier with CSXT, we have had to set up ROCS a little differently than it is set up at the M&E. The Junction Settlement system has the Short Line receiving waybills, and issuing Bills of Lading for their outbound cars. This is done to satisfy the needs of the ISS system, and we have converted the outbound waybill system to send bills of lading. A real advantage of this is that it will accelerate the development of a bill of lading system that will allow your shippers to send in BOLs to you electronically, which you can pass on to the Class 1. The HyperAccess communications software has been delivered, and after a few minor details have been attended to, off we go.
EDI 4040 Compliance: ROCS is now 4040 compliant, and when 4050 is issued, we will update the system to comply with those specifications.
Block Select: An addition to the Customer Status section of ROCS is a feature called Block Select. With Block Select, the user can select a group of cars to move, store, request for place, place, release, or interchange out. The feature is very easy to use, and the screens will be on the website soon.
Multiple Car Waybills: ROCS has always been able to handle inbound multiple car waybills by splitting the original multi-car waybill into individual car waybills. We are in the process of finishing up an addition to the outbound waybill functions that will allow the user to create an outbound multiple car waybill.
Windows XP Remote Desktop: As you all know, ROCS maintains your data on your computer, and not on the web. However, people have told me that one of the things that they like about my competitor’s systems is the ability to look at your data wherever you have an internet connection. Well, I believe I have found a solution that might allow ROCS to have a similar capability. A new feature in the Windows XP Professional operating system is something called Remote Desktop. Remote Desktop is very similar to PC Anywhere in that it allows you to operate your main computer from a remote location, and run any program you need. The big difference between PC Anywhere and Remote Desktop is that Remote Desktop connects over your internet connection instead of a direct dialup. The connection is password protected for security, and we are currently testing Remote Desktop as an inexpensive data access solution.
ASLRRA Annual Meeting and Exhibition As I mentioned last month, we will have a booth in the Exhibition hall in Orlando. In addition to the usual brochures and other giveaways, we will be having a drawing for a Handspring Visor Neo PDA (In blue, of course). For those of you who don’t know what a Visor is, let’s just say that it is a type of Palm-Pilot. For more information about Handspring, check out their website www.handspring.com
Well, that’s all for now, and we will have one more update before the meeting in Orlando.
Take Care,
Steven Friedland
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