australian customs' it system to be reviewed, and audited
i am not amazed by the continuing cock-up that is this massive project. many large ict projects fail to meet expectations upon delivery. still. even now. after decades.Customs reviews cargo problem
James Riley
australianit.news.com.au February 14, 2006CUSTOMS chief Michael Carmody has commissioned a consultants' report on the agency's troubled cargo systems just as the government audit office starts its own investigation of the disastrous implementation.
Booz Allen Hamilton will complete a "forward-looking" overview of the Australian Customs Service' Integrated Cargo System in April.
In addition to chronicling lessons that could be learned from projects litany of problems, Booz Allen Hamilton will also identify how the system "might be further enhanced to maximise benefits for both government and industry".
The Australian National Audit Office, meanwhile, confirmed yesterday it would conduct its own investigation of the Customs [Cargo] Management Re-engineering project (CMR), of which the ICS is a major component.
The ANAO will look at implementation problems associated with the system roll-out, including delays, cost over-runs and performance issues related to the $230 million CMR.
"Customs will cooperate fully with the ANAO and expects lessons to be learned as a result of the audit," Mr Carmody said.
The ICS caused massive problems for the import/export industry when it went live last October, with processing delays causing massive backlogs and stockpiling of containers at ports across Australia.
"This (Booz Allen Hamilton) review is about looking to the future," Mr Carmody said.
"We will share the outcomes with industry and work with it to agree on a way forward."
"The primary purpose of the review is to identify opportunities to maximise the benefits of the ICS to both industry and Customs," he said.
Opposition Customs spokesman Joe Ludwig welcomed the appointment of an independent consultant to review the system, but said government should ensure it is a "warts and all" investigation.
Mr Ludwig called on Justice and Customs Minister Chris Ellison to garantee[sic] that whistleblowers within industry and Customs won't be targeted for speaking out about faults in the system.
"If the Minister is serious about looking to the future, he must ensure that the full truth about the problems with the system, including his own failures and that of his department, are made public," Mr Ludwig said.
The review should be given the power to recommend that Customs compensate individual businesses that were adversely affected by the ICS' slow running times, outages and initial switch-on failures, he said.
even with "software engineering", large ict projects tend to fail in ways that wouldn't be acceptable for bridges or commercial aircraft. certainly not in repeatable, possibly even predictable ways.
have a look at the webpage the vendor has devoted to their "Australian Customs - Cargo Management Reengineering" product. these are some of the things they actually say to clients about this system:
this was the roll-out and cut over that caused so much excitement among the clients and customs people trying to get their cargoes through customs. something has gone wrong with the implementation somewhere.What is CMR?
Cargo Management Reengineering (CMR) is an initative that has been underway within Australian Customs for a number of years. The change has involved extensive revision of both internal and industry wide processes. CMR has also resulted in a complete revamp of the Australian Customs IT systems. CMR involve fundamental changes in the way industry reports movements of goods across Australia's borders.
CMR Exports was successfully rolled out in late 2004. CMR Imports cut over is on 12th October 2005.
CMR Checklist
The slow genesis of CMR has allowed the industry to develop a very good understanding of the magnitude of the changes involved.
However, it has also allowed many to get blasé about what is needed to meet the reporting requirements of CMR. This document is intended to act as a checklist during the migration. Remember, this can be a time consuming process as you will be dealing with a number of organisations so careful planning and leaving sufficient lead time is strongly recommended.
i'm not sure that this is the most professional way to express this.
the vendor isi'm curious enough about this to think i'll try to keep an eye out for the reports when they come out later in the year. [i'm having some deja vu with this statement ... i've written it elsewhere in my lj, i'm sure.]Eagle Datamation International (edi) is Australasia's leading software developer for off-the-shelf Freight Forwarding and Customs Brokerage systems.
it occurred to me to check out what 'freight forwarding' and 'customs brokerage' actually mean.
Industry Definition for Freight Forwarding (Except Road) in Australia
This industry report consists of units mainly engaged in contracting to transport goods for other enterprises, and using one or more different enterprises to perform the contracted services by way of rail and/or air and/or sea freight transport. (In these cases the `forwarding' unit takes on prime responsibility for the entire transport operation specified in each contract for a charge that covers the total operation, and in turn pays the actual carriers for transport services rendered to it.)
which i think means that someone who handles/manages the process of getting your stuff from a to b via many intermediaries is engaged in 'freight forwarding'.
as for "customs broker", the Customs Act 1901, section 180 tells us that a
and a"customs broker" means a person who holds a broker's licence that is in force, and in relation to a place, means a person who holds a broker's licence to act as a customs broker at the place.
typically circular. love legislation. once again, i think a customs broker is a person or organisation licensed to negotiate/mediate/broker the customs process for goods going in or out of a jurisdiction on behalf of clients. but hey, that's what 'customs broker' suggests anyway :)"broker's licence" means a licence to act as a customs broker granted under section 183C (including such a licence renewed under section 183CJ).
i'm beginning to get an idea about what i might put some time and thought into if i do get a job at unisa in information systems.