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Short Line Data Systems Inc. ROCS Update – November/December 2004
Website: www.sdsrocs.com
Greetings-
My schedule has forced the combination of the November and December updates, but we have a full list of items to fill you in on to close out the year.
Version 9 Update
Version 9 has been rolled out to all of the new users and the M&E, so there are now four installations operating at the moment. We have held back deploying V9 to the current users due to the pace of the new installations, but we are now going to start to upgrade the others as time allows.
We are also working on a Transfer of Liability (TOL) system to complete the Car Hire Data Exchange (CHDX) system. The TOL system is the preferred method of reclaiming time under Rule 5, and as always, our plan is to create a system that is easy for the user to use and incorporates as much automation as possible. We anticipate having the system ready for testing in the next few weeks.
All users have been upgraded to EDI 5010, which is the current EDI standard.
The Year in Review
As the year draws to a close, I thought that it might be good to review what we have done this year at SDS.
The best news of the year has been the new customers. We have added users in Oregon, Texas, Washington, and Pennsylvania, and unfortunately lost the OCTR installation when the M&E lost the operating contract for the line. Our travels have taken us all over the country this year, and to give you an idea of where we have been, here is the list:
Tillamook and Portland, Oregon Washington DC (twice) Las Vegas St Louis (twice) Chicago Roanoke, VA Cary, NC Dallas/Ft Worth (three times) Houston (twice) Orlando Portland, Maine (twice) Baltimore Old Lyme, Connecticut Lexington, Kentucky Jersey City, NJ San Antonio Richland and Seattle, Washington Erie, PA Buffalo, NY
Needless to say, it has been a very busy year.
We have been busy with the ROCS system, introducing versions 8 and 9 during the year, as well as ROCSMobile, our TabletPC version for train crews. In addition to working on our own products, we have also been participating in industry initiatives. We are a part of the AAR’s Short Line Integration Team (SLIT) which has been working on the problem of getting all short lines to report train movement events, and the ASLRRA’s Technical Committee, where we have been involved with remote computing and the Advanced Technology Safety Initiative.
The Year Ahead
What’s going to happen in 2005? Well, optimism is always a good thing, but we prefer to take a slightly conservative view. We do believe that we will be signing up at least one Canadian railroad in the next year, and at least the same number of US roads as 2004 as well.
Development of the ROCS system will continue, with continuing development of Version 9. We know that Version 10 will probably not be developed until the fall at the earliest, as Version 9 is just coming out and still has very long legs.
We anticipate the first implementation of ROCSMobile in the next year, with continuing development of this very exciting new system. We will be looking at both hardware and software for the system, especially in the area of on board printing.
What else do we have on the drawing board? Well, we are looking at a couple of items. First, we have had some inquiries about doing a fleet management system and we are starting to form an outline for development. Next we are still looking at a web interface for the system, both for customer and railroad use. This has been a very long term project, and we are always getting closer to finding the right combination of parts to make this work in a manner that we would be comfortable with. As for other projects, we are always open to suggestions, and look forward to your input.
The last part of the year ahead is a personal one. We have been very busy moving my office from its current location in my house to our newly renovated basement. This is a very good thing, as it gives the company more space, and me an opportunity to organize the office in a better manner. The reason for the move is even better: as many of you know, my wife Holly is pregnant with our second son, with an anticipated arrival in the middle of February. This taken into account, I will be “grounded” in New Jersey from the second week of January through the end of February. What this means for the users is that there will either be a lot of development during this time, or I will be reachable late at night during feedings.
Well, that’s all for now. From all of us involved with SDS, to all of you, we wish you very happy holidays, and may everyone have a happy, healthy, safe, and prosperous New Year.
Steven Friedland President
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