DSC customers find faster processing times.The time required for the Military Traffic Management Command A major command of the US Army, and the US Transportation Command's component command responsible for designated continental United States land transportation as well as common-user water terminal and traffic management service to deploy, employ, sustain, and redeploy US forces on a to process export requests has been cut dramatically. Process enhancements to the Integrated Booking System have greatly reduced the time to make automated au·to·mate v. au·to·mat·ed, au·to·mat·ing, au·to·mates v.tr. 1. To convert to automatic operation: automate a factory. 2. offers for surface movements. As a result of enhancements to the system, 50 percent of offers can now be made within 20 minutes. Changes in the computer software enable the system to process multiple export traffic release requests simultaneously, cutting the time required for automated offers. An Integrated Booking System with a faster processing capability now runs around the clock. To date, five carriers have voluntarily modified their internal electronic systems. In January 2000, automated offers to the carriers averaged nearly three hours, and frequently required upwards of six hours of processing time. "Ocean carrier responses to offers averaged more than 27 hours then," said James Hudgens, Chief, Ocean Cargo Division, Deployment Support Command. "Over the last 18 months, we've seen the system grow in leaps and bounds, enabling us to see a big difference in our operation." The division, said Hudgens, has a new motto: "Book this week--sail this week." "We now have the capability to begin filling orders today and shipping today," said Hudgens. The benefits are a more streamlined and seamless' shipping process that speeds cargoes and increases reliability. Carriers who are participating in the automatic response program now return bookings within two hours, and benefit from the reduced manual workload The term workload can refer to a number of different yet related entities. An amount of labor While a precise definition of a workload is elusive, a commonly accepted definition is the hypothetical relationship between a group or individual human operator and task demands. associated with processing bookings. Customers benefit because the system is always available. The speed of processing export requests for surface movements is popular with both customers and industry partners. "In the past, we spent a significant amount of time completing bookings, and that was a problem," said Michael Garvin, Director of Government Services, Matson Navigation Co., San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden , Calif. "We were getting calls directly from the shippers, and that sometimes doubled the workload," said Garvin. "Since the Deployment Support Command initiated the automated booking process, our response time has been drastically dras·tic adj. 1. Severe or radical in nature; extreme: the drastic measure of amputating the entire leg; drastic social change brought about by the French Revolution. 2. reduced." Previously, the command took a parallel step to improve efficiencies. Employees in the Ocean Cargo Booking Office booking office n. Chiefly British A ticket office. booking office n (BRIT) (RAIL) → despacho de billetes or , as in many other Deployment Support Command offices, are now available weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST P.M. also p.m. or p.m. abbr. post meridiem Usage Note: By definition, 12 a.m. . "The extended hours have permitted assisted requests to be offered to ocean carriers the same day as receipt," Hudgens said. "They are no longer held overnight or over a weekend, thus avoiding a lot of dead time. "We're also training personnel in our Command Operations Center The facility or location on an installation, base, or facility used by the commander to command, control, and coordinate all crisis activities. See also base defense operations center; command center. to book sustainment cargo in order to process assisted bookings at night and on weekends and holidays, enhancing 24-hour processing of both automated and assisted bookings," said Hudgens. "We've seen some significant changes in the technology we're using, as well as innovative personnel management," Hudgens acknowledged. "Continuing this trend will enable a shifting of shipper SHIPPER. One who ships or puts goods on board of a vessel, to be carried to another place during her voyage. In general, the shipper is bound to pay for the hire of the vessel, or the freight of the goods. 1 Bouv. Inst. n. 1030. paradigms as they become more confident that their bookings are consistently completed consistently complete - [domain theory] boundedly complete. on time, every time." Larry D. McCaskill Public Affairs Specialist Deployment Support Command |
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