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Original Date: 02/10/2003
Revision Date: 01/18/2007
Information : WinShip Initiative
Bender Shipbuilding and Repair Company, Inc. developed, tested and deployed a software application called WinShip that has enabled migration from existing legacy databases to a new Windows mainframe, with additional enhancements. Bender began deployment in July 2000, and has seen significant financial, logistical, and technical benefits from this migration.
Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Company, Inc. developed and deployed a software application called WinShip that enables the migration from the existing legacy database to a new Windows mainframe, but with additional enhancements. WinShip is a powerful tool for streamlining and managing data pertaining to all aspects of Bender’s operations.
Prior to WinShip, Bender was governed by a variety of disparate information technology systems. Embedded in this network were problems that included obsolescence, scarcity of parts and labor, increasing complexity of technology products, interface difficulties with other platforms, a large annual budget to support Bender’s smallest and most limiting platform, and the requirement to develop complex and expensive software to accommodate the existing network. Further challenges included obsolete servers and operating systems as well as the planned obsolescence of IBM’s 9221-191 mainframe on December 31, 2003. In addition, programmers and end-users were spending too much time extracting information from one database and downloading it to the new Windows-based platform.
In order to resolve these issues, Bender brought together an in-house staff of software developers to form a development team. The team has a combined programming experience of more than 50 years. Working in Visual Basic, these programmers developed, tested, de-bugged, and launched the WinShip initiative. As part of the official launch on July 1, 2000, the programmers began to train all personnel in WinShip’s processes and procedures (Figure 2-3). Currently, WinShip systems are deployed to Finance, Human Resources, Tooling, Safety, Quality Assurance, Security, and Legal. Shortly, Accounts Payable, Job Cost, Materials Identification and Procurement System, Purchasing, Inventory Control and Warehousing will be brought under the WinShip umbrella. By the end of 2003, WinShip will be launched in the Payroll, Engineering, Sales and Estimating, and Maintenance departments.
Many benefits have already been realized from this migration:
Better alignment of process, technology, application software, and user educational effort
Sharing of resources and data reuse and a more flexible data model; WinShip is user-friendly and has empowered employees to better control workflow and decision-making processes
Major reductions in time-consuming, paper-based touch labor that has been replaced by electronic filing and transmittal of documents
Reduced overhead costs, including manpower for data management, by an estimated 50%
Reduced floor space for data management as well as cycle time
No software license fees for this product because it was developed and deployed in-house
Reduced budget for information services by an estimated 25% over the next five years as a result of the elimination of obsolete and non-standard equipment and systems
The WinShip initiative delivers information in real-time, leading to better and more informed decision-making by managers and professionals alike. Bender is making better use of its financial assets by supporting its best and most powerful platform, seamlessly integrated with Microsoft Office desktop applications, and laying the foundation for future technology initiatives. WinShip was economically developed, tested, and deployed in-house, and can be fully tailored to fit emerging corporate needs. Since initial launch in 2000, Bender has seen the financial, logistical, and technical benefits of this common operating environment.
Figure 2-3. WinShip Software
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