Since 1998, the U.S. Department of Defense has used ICODES to efficiently stow cargo aboard ships around the world.


ICODES


Upon implementation in 1998, the Integrated Computerized Deployment System (ICODES) became the official ship load planning software for the U.S. Military. Since then, ICODES has been constantly evolving and updated to ensure that the military remains armed with the finest possible software.


History

During the 1990s, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) determined its need to consolidate 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, most of whom were approaching retirement. After evaluating several load-planning systems, the DoD selected ICODES as the standard 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.


ICODES Features

In designing ICODES, CDM recognized the need for this DoD load-planning system to represent basic information and automate basic tasks while still preserving a user’s decision-making authority. Mindful of this, CDM developers designed ICODES with the following features:


  • A 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 allows the user full control over 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.


  • Alerts sent to the user about 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.


  • The AIT Scanner that allows 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. To learn more about ICODES, Contact Us.