The Integrated Computerized Deployment System
(ICODES) is a ship stowplanning application that supports
the movement of supplies in the military deployment and sustainment
operational domain. Beyond supply movement, the application also
assists users in the staging of cargo in marshalling yards,
assembly areas, and rail heads.
During the 1990s, the
U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) identified a need to consolidate
its multiple ship load-planning systems into a single computerized
system in order to reduce the complexity of its operations and
improve system communication between its various branches. At the
same time, the DoD required a single system that could represent
the load-planning knowledge of its most experienced stowplanners.
After evaluating several load-planning systems, the DoD selected
ICODES as its ship load-planning system because it met all of the
DoD's system requirements and had the ability to incorporate
features found in the other candidate systems. In 1998, ICODES
became the official ship load-planning software for the U.S.
Military.
FEATURES
ICODES represents basic stowplanning information and automates
basic stowplanning tasks while preserving a user's decision-making
authority.
• Representation of ship and cargo reference information,
including equipment, hazardous materials, and hazards segregation
libraries applicable to stowplanning.
• Intelligent agents that check and validate operational
cargo data, placement of items, and the effect of cargo weight on a
ship's trim, stress, and stability.
• An intelligent merge tool that identifies changes in
cargo lists and enables the user to control which items are
updated, added, or deleted.
• Knowledge of a vessel's space limitations as well as the
best path(s) to maneuver cargo from one stow location to
another.
• Agent alert functionality that notifies the user of
warnings or violations in the cargo plan.
• Additional plug-in components with optional
capabilities, such as one that allows a user to build ships and
yards not currently available in ICODES.
• AIT Scanner capabilities that allow
personnel to quickly scan items, graphically place them in a stow
location, and then update ICODES to provide a real-time picture of
the cargo layout.
ICODES integrates a multi-agent architecture with expert
stowplanning knowledge to assist users in creating effective stow
plans.
ICODES integrates with information management and documentation
systems such as WPS, TCAIMS II, and IBS to receive cargo lists and
send completed load plans.