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Short Line Data Systems Inc. – ROCS Update March 2009 Website: www.sdsrocs.com Also check out Steve’s blog at www.railresource.com Greetings – Sorry for the slightly late update this month, but it seems that just about the only place I haven’t been over the last month has been at home in front of the computer. Between Railroad Day on Capitol Hill, meetings on PTC, and the CSX Short Line meeting, I think there have been as many days on the road as there have been days at home. Fortunately, there has been more than enough time to continue our work on Version 12 of ROCSTM and some new additions to the PETROCSTM system at both the Maine Eastern and the Alberta Prairie. In this update we will recap our travels of the last month and all of the new upgrades and options we are working on. We’ll also discuss what is going on with the new EMIS system, which is the soon to be implemented replacement for the UMLER equipment information system. On the Road Again It had been a while since I have had any extended trips, and I have just finished three trips in four weeks, and I am looking forward to spending a couple of weeks at home. The first trip was to Chicago to work on the Positive Train Control rulemaking with the ASLRRA. I was there in my role as Director of Operations of the M&E and chairman of the ASLRRA’s Technology committee. The group of railroaders that was assembled worked on the many issues associated with these congressionally mandated systems. Our charge was to try to carve out a niche that the Short Lines would fit into during the rulemaking, and not after, which could prove very expensive to the entire industry. This is only the beginning of the PTC issue, and the next year is going to be very telling for our industry. Next up on the travel schedule was Railroad Day on Capitol Hill, which has really turned into the premier political event for the entire railroad industry. The events started out with a reception held on a group of private rail cars at Union Station, which were donated by the M&E. Next up was Railroad Day itself, which started with a briefing session at o-dark-early in the morning. The meetings with the members of Congress were next, and while most of the meetings were with staffers, we did get to meet with a couple of the actual members, including Congressman Lobiondo and Senator Lautenberg of New Jersey. The meetings and zipping around the Hill offices were a lot of fun, and we really had a good opportunity to communicate our message to our legislators. The day ended with a reception and dinner, and some entertainment from Keith Hartwell and David Titsworth, which ended a very rewarding and fun day. Our last trip on the calendar was the 20th CSX Short Line meeting in St. Augustine. We’ve been attending this meeting for over ten years now, and have been fortunate to be invited to have a booth at the trade show for the last five years or so. As always, Len Kellerman and his team at CSX put on a first class event. We had a lot of traffic at our booth at the trade show. One of the things that caught my attention during the event was the comment made by CSX CEO Michael Ward that it was as important for the Short Lines to hear what CSX had to say as it was for CSX to hear what the Short Lines had to say, and that the meeting was the forum to accomplish this . That was a very strong statement in a very weak economy. Thank you to Len for the opportunity to attend what is always a great event. ROCS Version 12 We have been continuing with the development of Version 12 of ROCS, and have added a couple of new features to the system. First is a permanent private car mileage report. In the past, when customers asked for the annual mileage report, we would create a one-off report to help them. We have now added a permanent report to the car hire system that is exported as an ExcelTM spreadsheet, and the user can then utilize the data for whatever they need. The next new feature is an invoice for one of our customers that has a switching contract, and charges their customer on a days worked basis. We have developed a report that works by computing the days worked by looking at cars placed or pulled, and then it creates the statement. We are continuing our development of the car hire receivables, and we should have some reports ready for viewing at the ASLRRA annual meeting in April. If you have any interest or questions in the receivables service please drop us a line. We are also starting to create a system that will manage data from the new EMIS mechanical information system. This system is scheduled to be deployed in July, and will utilize an internet based communications protocol instead of the File Transfer Protocol that is currently used for the UMLER system. These Web Services communications are new to us, and we are working on how to integrate this new system with ROCS. While the new system will initially to be available in July, the existing system will remain available throughout 2009(at least). This gives us plenty of time to properly create this new system. We are still on schedule for a late second quarter or early third quarter release. We are planning the release so that everyone can have this new tool right from the start. PETROCS Updates While both of the users of the PETROCS passenger ticketing system are in their off seasons, we have been making changes that will help them in their coming seasons. At the Maine Eastern, we have added some processes that will make adding the new schedule easier, as well as some smaller changes to make the reservation process simpler. At the Alberta Prairie, we have added new on train reports and new tools that make entering reservations for repeat customers easier. We are now working on creating seat check labels for the train crew to use. We will cross-pollinate these changes to the two systems, as well as any future updates that might prove useful.
Well, that is all for now. Next month we will have a preview of the ASLRRA Annual Meeting, which will take place at the Red Rock Resort April 25-28, and all of the latest from SDS. Stay safe, Steven Friedland President |
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