iworktickets-Press Release

By Richard Eberhardt





Virtually every job in the marine industry requires a “ticket,” be it a welding repair job, taking on fuel, or buying a shackle.





Normally those jobs require a computer to generate the purchase number. As they say in the laundry business, “No tickee, no laundry.”





Now the technology exists where a smart phone such as an iPhone or Blackberry can use the wireless phone service, not bulky computers and emails, to open work orders, order parts, detail job descriptions and changes, generate purchase order numbers, and allow a field representative to notify the office when a job is completed, all in real time.





Even forms, such as AWO audits or a Coast Guard 2692 for accidents can be loaded onto on the smart phone, filled out, and not require a port engineer in the office to retype the forms.





Shawn ODaniels, founder and president of Computer Systems Network, Inc. is about to roll out the new technology, called iworktickets, which will allow up to 12 photographs to be included in the reports and drop down boxes to designate job categories and customers.





Everybody carries a cell phone, ODaniels said, “and that is all that is needed in the field.”





“If a chief engineer reports a problem with an engine or fuel line, he can use a smart phone to generate a work order, order parts, and include several pictures, which will help the port engineer understand the repair requirements much better,” ODaniels told The Waterways Journal. “it can even be programmed to tell if the part is still in warranty.”





ODaniels founded Computer Systems Network in 1985 when he was 17 years old. It is the oldest computer consulting company that specializes in the inland river business on the Mississippi River. His father and grandfather were both rivermen and it gave him the insight to design computer programs for marine applications.





He is also a co-founder of River Marine Management LLC which has grown to include shipyards and barge cleaning services. Using his program, ODaniels said he can tell how each job is progressing, which employees are on that job, and what costs have been accumulated.





He is also a co-founder of River Marine Management LLC which has grown to include shipyards and barge cleaning services. Using his program, ODaniels said he can tell how each job is progressing, which employees are on that job, and what costs have been accumulated.





Purchase numbers and invoices can be assigned and the job can be emailed to a customer, or printed out for snail mail with just a few clicks of a computer button.





A company can make its manuals available on the phone using the same program. If a phone number changes or page revision needs to be made, one click on the office computer will change all forms on all boats, without having to physically send out an IT person with computer administration privileges and a CD to each boat.





ODaniels designed the program to be user friendly. He showed it to Kenny Davis, a River Marine shipyard repair supervisor. Then he had Davis walk a job through the phone one time. He then had Davis train his foremen. Each foreman was given a 10 minute training session and sent back to work. That’s it. Using the program is that simple and that intuitive.





He promised to show The Waterways Journal reporter how to use the phone within 20 minutes, or he would pay $1,000. At the end of the interview, he still had his $1,000.





The system does not require expensive, or bulky, communications device. He said one package shipping company uses $3,000 hand held devices. ODaniels program works on a smart phone, which now costs $49 for an iPhone or $99 for a Blackberry at Best Buy.





“I know this will upset some IT people, but a program that is properly written will work the IT person out of a job,” ODaniels said. “I know a lot of guys who work on boats and they are highly intelligent about what they do, but maybe not the most computer literate. Maybe they don’t have a lot of education, but they understand how to run a boat, handle currents and wind and keep their crews safe. That takes intelligence and God-given talent.”





If the IT department gives the boat crew a program that requires more than 30 minutes and a few calls to the office to explain steps, it was poorly written, he insists. More often than not, it is not the person who uses the computer who fails, t is the program that failed.





Programmers Don’t Understand Boat Business





“The problem is most computer programs are written by people who do not really understand the boat business and do not take the initiative to learn the marine industry or communicate with boat people,” ODaniels said. “The effectiveness of a computer system is only as effective as the guys who use it.”





ODaniels said he got his first marine programming job in 1988, writing an insurance claims reporting program for a local fleeting company. In 1989 he was contracted to write the first fleeting ticket prototype program. Various other programs were written for clients ranging from specialized boat payroll system, to shipyard billing, to a desk top maintenance and repair program for port engineers.





He said he has a network of programmers who help with the programs. Some, who have been with him for more than 20 years, form the backbone of the network. Some programmers are local while others are in Utah, California, Maine West Virginia, Alabama , while others are as far away as India.





“Our group consists of very talented programmers coupled with a sound understanding of the inland river business,” ODaniels said.





“The only way a computer works properly is if it requires less work than writing the data on paper,” he said. “Every step has to be more productive than what you had before.”





He said he has already received interest in the smart phone program from companies outside of the marine industry, particularly service companies that need to track numerous jobs and technicians in real time.





A smart phone with his technology will allow any company to manage many jobs at remote locations and it will not require an IT department to keep it running.





“I guess I’m not the guy the IT department likes to see come around,” he said with a grin.