web app | mobile app | branding
applications for comprehensive managing of seaports
Polski PCS | Sterio
What is Polish PCS? What was the scope of PLEO's work?
Polish PCS creates web and mobile applications that increase the competitiveness of Polish seaports compared to other participants in international trade in goods. The primary goal is to optimize the control of transport processes by collecting, combining and processing in one place all information regarding transport and everything related to logistics.
At PLEO, as a subcontractor of the Tumimm brand, we were responsible for creating the logo, visual key and system design for the entire project. Our development team also supported the implementation work in Angular technology. The PCS system consists of one large web application divided into smaller modules - in fact separate applications.
The company's shareholders and users of the product are the most important Polish Sea Ports - Port of Szczecin Świnoujście, Port of Gdańsk and Port of Gdynia.
How does PCS work?
Below is a diagram of the operation of the port processes. We designed it after a series of workshops with the Polish PCS team and seaport stakeholders.
The first part illustrates all the activities that multiple entities and systems have to do before a ship enters the port and moors, and the second part - everything that happens within the port.
The diagram shows the processes BEFORE and AFTER the implementation of the PCS System and how one integrated product connects many dispersed external entities.
Applications - design and implementation
Polish PCS is a system of web applications that function separately and in conjunction with each other. For some users, there is also a mobile application supporting some of the functionality - for example, it is used by captains on ships.
The applications were designed by us in Adobe XD in the form of the so-called System Design. We have created the assumptions for presenting the brand and typical application solutions (UI kit), which are duplicated in all project modules. So far, there are over a dozen applications in production and more are being developed in response to the needs of stakeholders in Polish ports.
Technology
The Tummim company is responsible for the programming implementation, for which our frontend developers support. We are responsible for the best possible implementation of styles and we support the Angular department. Our developers are also responsible for developing a mobile application in React Native technology
Modules implemented
After logging in to the application, we can switch between modules (separate applications) according to the permissions that our user has. The individual modules improve the processes characteristic of the daily operations of seaports. Thanks to the application, you can clear goods faster, speed up the entire process of ship entry to the port (brokerage module), generate any report (proprietary reporting system) and a number of others described in detail on the Polish PCS website designed by us: https://polskipcs.pl/systempcs...
Goods module
The aim of the Goods Module was to replace the manual activities of the Container Terminal customer and the customs and fiscal officer. They consisted in determining the MRNs of containers on the basis of data from the external system and entering them in individual recording and operational systems of Container Terminals for the appropriate container to which customs clearance relates. Currently, all these activities can be performed in the web application and the container status can be determined on the website.
Api of the web application
On the website that we have created for the project, everyone can check the status of the recipient container without the need to log in. This can be done by searching by an individual container number or MRN number, and thanks to the integration of the website with the API of the Polish PCS web application, it will receive in the results accurate data about the container, date of arrival, status and the terminal in which it is currently located.
Brokerage module - a tool for Brokers, Agents and Shipowners
The brokerage module was created in agreement with the Polish PCS with the community of brokers, agents and dispatchers of the port. The brokerage module includes solutions that are designed to shorten the preparation time for formalities related to the implementation of tasks related to reporting a ship's entry to the port.
The PCS application automates processes, minimizes the amount of information exchanged between the entities involved (while maintaining their quality) and the reusability of data.
By adding a new event in the Planner, the Agent creates the so-called Report to the dispatcher and other entities - One of the basic tools that meets the requirement of obligatory reporting of the planned arrival of a ship by the agent to the port dispatcher. All required data are collected here, which are transferred to the port's dispatcher as well as to other entities performing activities related to the ship's entry into the port (pilot, terminal, towing company, etc.).
The report to the dispatcher appears as a new event in the Ship's Agent Planner. The planner is a tool that allows you to plan the traffic of ships entering ports, designed in the form of a calendar. After entering the data, the ship's call is assigned to a specific date and time. The planner is shared among users from the same organization. The advantage of this solution is transparency and the ability to create a quick update.
In order to prepare the official formalities related to the ship's entry into the port, we have provided the possibility of contacting the captain of the ship at sea in the application. This contact is made via a welcome message containing a link to the captain's form. All this takes place with very limited Internet access related to the throughput of satellite lines, therefore the Captain's Form has been prepared so that its weight does not exceed a few KB.
In the next steps, the Sea Agent completes the Pre Arrival Application - containing basic information about the ship. It consists of a number of so-called IMO FAL forms for cargo, ship resources, crew's belongings, crew lists, passenger lists, information on dangerous goods on board, information on waste and sea health declarations for the crew and passengers.
Report module
The Polski PCS application is used by entities with different obligations, which results in very different needs for analysis and statistics.
We have designed a universal reporting system that can be freely modified by adding or subtracting columns, rows and grouped according to any data. In addition, reports allow you to filter all data and generate a report in PDF, CSV format.
We have also developed a system for saving report templates and their automatic sending
Save the report
After setting up any report, you can save it. Such a report may be visible only to a selected user or the entire organization.
WOC module - for customs officers and contractors
Free Customs Zone, i.e. the so-called CCT, is a module that deals with the entry and exit of all goods to and from the customs territory - in a word, accepting and issuing them to entities waiting for their goods previously subject to all customs and fiscal activities.
All goods entering and leaving the Duty Free Zone are registered in the system as single files. Each file, after entering the details, shows basic data about the goods as well as the STATE OF THE GOODS within the file. The condition of the goods may change because we do not have to OUTPUT the entire goods at one time - for example, we can take out, for example, 60% aggregate and leave the rest in the WOC area.
The removal of goods from the WOC area is carried out by creating the so-called Of the Derivation Document. On one Document, we can derive different types of files (i.e. different goods) by selecting them from the list and then specifying the quantity of the goods removed from the given file.
Passes
At the final stage of the process, each goods taken out must receive a pass that will allow them to leave the WOC premises without any reservations. The pass generated in the system gets its QR code and is printed and sent to the e-mail address of the company collecting the goods from WOC. At the exit gate from the Duty Free Zone, the vehicle driver is obliged to show a pass, which, after reading it, may, for example, hold the goods for inspection.
Dysport module - a tool for dispatchers and port operators
The Dysport module was created mainly for dispatchers and port operators, but also for the port billing department.
Dysport is a tool that allows the dispatcher to plan the ship's stay in the port. It happens from the moment when the Port Agent reports to the dispatcher in the brokerage module.
The dispatcher sees such a notification on the list of so-called ship notifications - from then on, he can manage the planned arrival of the ship, its berth at a given quay, as well as control and manage the state of transhipment of a given ship.
Dispatcher's planner
The dispatcher's planner is a view of ship notifications, i.e. all planned calls, designed in the form of a calendar. This way of presentation allows the user to easily plan vessel movements in the port area far ahead and prevent mooring conflicts. Clicking on a specific position on the planner will pull out a sidebar containing basic information about the ship, including the most important two - ATA (Actual time of arrival) and ETD (Estimated time of departure).
Folder list
When the ship reaches Reda, in other words, when it enters the area in front of the entrance to the seaport or marina, where the ship is waiting to enter the port - the Notification Document is automatically closed and transformed into the Ship's Briefcase. For such a situation to take place, the Ship's dispatcher must report the date and time of reaching Reda by the ship.
Ship briefcase - Port
The ship's briefcase is the most important element of the Dysport module, which replaced many separate tools, as well as manual activities such as telephone reporting of overhauls or transhipment planning, which so far had to be performed by dispatchers and port operators.
The ship's briefcase is a tool that users use for all operations related to the movement of the ship in the port area, and also record in it all transhipments that the ship must perform during its stay in the port.
The Briefcase tab is an aggregate displaying a summary of other items such as Port, Transshipments, Overruns and Ship's Exit.
The Port tab contains all the information about the vessel, information about the quay, berth, and the number of poles the ship occupies (bollards on the quay), as well as information about the ship's agent, transshipment and port operator. It all changes depending on the position of the ship after the tow, which is also organized from this position.
The port also aggregates all documents, certificates and invoices for the sales department.
Reloading
The Transhipment tab is probably the most visited item in the Briefcase because it is there that all information related to the movement of goods, i.e. unloading and loading, is recorded. Transhipment may be recorded in two modes:
Shift - after each of the three daily shifts, the responsible person completes the data on all operations performed on the goods.
Briefcase - registration of working time and the number of transhipped goods is completed at the end.
The goods are added by selecting the dictionary item, setting its total quantity and direction (unloading or loading), as well as the relation (e.g. ship's side -> square). Once added, the Product is edited in the transhipment shifts and is automatically transferred to the next shifts if it did not reach 100% reloading in the previous shift.
There are also tabs for Overruns and Ship's Exit in the Ship's Briefcase. Overruns are the places where the time spent by the ship in the Port after or before reloading is recorded. This item is used by the commercial department to calculate the necessary port fees for the ship.
Ship departure is a position in which we mark the ship's readiness to leave the Port, it also displays information related to towing, piloting or other necessary assistance for the ship.
Mobile application
The mobile application was created as an element supporting the work of ship agents and port operators. The tool prepared for Ship Agents collects and displays data on the ships that a given Agent takes care of during their journey and stay in the port. The notifications provided to the Ship's Agent are divided into 3 categories: ship position, transhipment and others. They contain information on the achievement of REDY by the ship, the assistance of various units such as a tugboat, pilot, fire unit, or the status of commencement or completion of transhipment.
The port operator is able to start and monitor the transhipment status of a given vessel from the level of the mobile application. It does this by setting the start date and planned completion of the transhipment, as well as supplementing the estimated number of hours needed for unloading or loading the vessel. During the operation, it can also report and register a break in transhipment. All detailed data on these operations are available to the operator in the ship's worklog.
Polish PCS and Sterio - logo design and naming
The Polish PCS is the answer to a similar solution used all over the world. PCS stands for "Port Community System", so a proper name used universally in this type of solution. Additionally, however, we would like to point out that Polski PCS creates its own unique product, the name of which could also be easily presented in English. We were asked to prepare a name for such a product. This is how “STERIO” was born - we chose the word “rudder” as the basis because it means exactly the same in most languages. The tip suggests a solution related to modern technology.
We have prepared a logo design for both the company and its product. We have the same typography in both signs, the same cuts in typography and related colors. In both signs, we have a geometric foundation, which is a circle referring to the sonar chart in one sign and to the rudder in the other.
We have prepared a logo design for both the company and its product. We have the same typography in both signs, the same cuts in typography and related colors. In both signs, we have a geometric foundation, which is a circle referring to the sonar chart in one sign and to the rudder in the other.
Pictograms and Illustrations
Applications in the Polski PCS system often use large amounts of data and complex forms. To facilitate the browsing of data and faster orientation in filling in the next fields, we have prepared a set of pictograms and illustrations that organize the content and very often constitute a hint for the user.
