Over the past decade, the demand for our web applications – and, with that, their development – has increased significantly. For example, container terminals have started using web applications to enhance terminal operations; web applications that support the transport process or customer service activities are in high demand as well. As a result, our web department is continuously working on developing new applications and optimising and standardising existing ones. In this article, we will highlight our newly developed web apps and the improvements that have been made to existing applications.
Web applications for customer service, transport and terminal operations
Regarding our web applications, we make a distinction between apps that support transport, ones that support terminal operations and commercial web applications. Web applications that support terminal operations are mostly used in outside terminal operations. Good examples in this respect are our crane and reach stacker applications. In terms of web applications that support the transport process, we have our barge app and truck app. Regarding commercial web applications, we offer our Client Portal, which enables customers to easily share data with their clients. Behind the scenes, our web department is continuously developing new web applications and further standardising and optimising existing ones. Among other things, this recently led to the introduction of our graphical terminal overview as a web app. We also developed a truck order web portal for obtaining status information for transports outsourced to external carriers and our Modality project administration will soon be upgraded as well.
Graphical terminal overview
The graphical terminal overview offers a clear visual overview of the current container inventory registered within the Modality system. This gives users immediate insight into stack positions and current container inventory. The graphical terminal overview or graphical stack overview has been available for some time already as an integrated module within our office applications. For a year now, the graphical overview has also been fully available as a web-based app, allowing operational departments to use this module on a mobile device. Alongside the introduction of the web version, various improvements were implemented as well. For example, users can now zoom in on the different stacks and views are available which allow for the data values within the displayed containers to be adjusted; for instance, users can choose to display container numbers or container types. Both office staff and operational departments work in the same module with regard to the graphical overview. When the graphical terminal overview is launched from the office system, the user is linked to the web application. In addition to the current terminal overview, in which we build the entire terminal layout based on specifications from our customers, a module is now also available which allows users to independently design and build a graphical terminal overview from scratch. Customers can draw each element (stack, building, water, rail, road, bollard, etc.) themselves. This feature particularly benefits container terminals where the stack layout regularly changes.
The graphical terminal overview offers a clear visual overview of the current container inventory and stack positions
Truck order web portal & truck app
The truck order web portal was developed to provide insight into the progress of outsourced transport. Company drivers use the truck app to retrieve trip instructions, confirm various status moments and upload signed documents. The truck app directly communicates all data with the Modality office application, offering planners real-time insight into the progress of the transport. However, this real-time data is unavailable when transport is outsourced to a third-party carrier. The truck order web portal ensures that third-party drivers can easily log in and confirm status moments. From the truck planning, a truck order is generated that features a QR code. After scanning this QR code, the driver is directed to the web portal. In addition to confirming the various status moments of the transport via the web portal, the driver can also use it to upload documents.
Optimisation of project administration
Our project administration is currently also undergoing further optimisation. Customers frequently use the project administration to communicate system wishes and issues and to prioritise previously reported development points. An update has been planned for the first quarter of this year; changes include an improved chat function and increased user-friendliness. Once we have implemented this update, we will contact several customers to work together on the further optimisation of our project administration.
Would you like to learn more about the web applications mentioned in this article, or are you interested in exploring our other web-based automation solutions? Our sales department will gladly explain the available options to you!
