|
|
|
Short Line Data Systems Inc. ROCS Update January 2004
Website: www.sdsrocs.com
Happy and Safe New Year!
We hope that the holidays were a joyous time for all, and we start the new year with a new customer, and we have closed out Version 8 of ROCS, and are completing the beta testing before release to the users.
New Customer
We are pleased to announce the addition of the Port of Tillamook Bay Railroad to the ROCS family. The railroad is located in Tillamook, OR and interchanges with BNSF and UP through the PNWR. We will be installing the system there shortly, and we look forward to a long relationship.
Version 8
We have just finished closing out Version 8 of ROCS, and we are very happy with this new version, which takes care of a lot of rough areas in the system, and adds to the utility of the system. The new screens will be available on the website shortly, and we’ll list most of the new features below:
Track Resequence
A new track sequencing system has been added to the system. This new system is much faster and efficient than the previous one, and automatically puts new cars added to a track at the top end.
Waybill and BOL Corrections
The system now handles waybill and BOL corrections in a much more efficient manner. The differences are transparent to the user, and conform to EDI 4050. One other revision to the to the outbound bill system is the expansion of the data editing screen to take full advantage of the 1280X1024 screen size required by ROCS (that screen size is what most 17” LCD monitors provide, and the same as a 15” or 17” CRT, depending on the video card). The expanded screen size will make it easier to create an outbound bill with less scrolling on the screen.
EDI Tracing
The EDI tracing system is being released in full in Version 8, after extensive development at the M&E in Version 7. This system sends trace requests via the TRAINII Query and Reply system, and tracing can be accomplished with only a couple of clicks. This reduces the need to use a Class 1 tracing system, and provides the most recent information available.
Customer Status Revisions
We have added the MultiSet boxes to the Customer Status screens. This feature, as described in last month’s update lets the user set dates and times quickly without going into the Block Select Screen. Also added is the pull date and time, which ensures EDI compliance with the latest reporting standards.
We have expanded the screen size in Customer Status to allow the user to view more cars at one time, and rearranged some items to improve the readability of the screens.
TrackCaps
The TrackCaps system has been completely revised, with the addition of counts of loads and empties, tonnage, and length of cars on any track. This information is available in the Customer Status, Yard Status and TrackCaps Screens, and is also on the switch and yard list reports.
Well, that covers the major new features of Version 8. We are currently beta testing the system with the ME and OCTR installations, and POTB will be the first customer to receive Version 8. ADBF, MERR, CLNA, SRNJ, and HRRC will be receiving the new version later in the first quarter, most likely in the late February-early March timeframe.
CSXT Short Line Conference
We had a great time at the CSXT Short Line Conference in early December, and had number of great conversations with a number of new people, and we hope to be of service to some of them in the near future.
That’s all for now. Check out the website for a look at the new version, and we think that you will be impressed by it.
Stay warm,
Steven Friedland President |
Send mail to
webmaster@sdsrocs.com with
questions or comments about this web site.
|