ICODES: A Ship Load-Planning System

The Integrated Computerized Deployment System (ICODES) is a logistic software application of ship load-planning tools that utilizes intelligent software agents in a human-computer collaborative mode. As an example of a new generation of ‘information-centric’ military decision-support systems, ICODES includes expert agents with automatic reasoning and analysis capabilities. This is made possible by an internal virtual representation of the load-planning environment, in terms of ship and cargo characteristics and the complex relationships that constitute the context within which load-planning operations are performed. ICODES agents monitor the principal determinants of cargo stowage, including: the placement and segregation requirements for hazardous cargo items; the trim, list, stress, and bending moments of the ship structure; the accessibility of stow areas through ramps, cranes, elevators, hatches, and doors; the correct placement of cargo items in respect to fire lanes, no-stow areas, reserved stow areas, and inter-cargo spacing tolerances; and, the accuracy of cargo characteristics (e.g., dimensions, weight, type, and identification codes) relative to standard cargo libraries and associated reference tables.In 1996, ICODES was selected as the ‘migration’ system for ship load-planning by the US Department of Defense. It has been deployed by USTRANSCOM through the Military Traffic Management Command (MTMC) to the US Army since 1999, and is currently being fielded to the US Marine Corps. Other users include the US Navy and the British Army. ICODES interfaces with the World-Wide Port System (WPS), the Transportation Coordinators’ Automated Information for Movement System (TC-AIMS II), the MAGTF Deployment Support System (MDSS II), the Integrated Booking System (IBS); and, LOGGY-SEAWAY (a logistical planning and execution system for Expeditionary Maneuver Warfare (EMW) operations (i.e., sea-basing in support of Operational Maneuver From The Sea (OMFTS) and Ship To Objective Maneuver (STOM)).