IT - Idiotic Turnrounds
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Join Date: Jul 2005
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IT - Idiotic Turnrounds
No sooner have we upgraded STARS at truckie central than I hear we're about to replace it with BOlloCS! Is this another senior officer career enhancing money-fritter during a time of tighter budgets or just a rumour?
Join Date: Jun 2004
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Prepare your shiny new plasma screen tellys, it's on its way....so now, instead of reasoning with your programmer why you need a day off after working 21 days on the bounce.......'Computer says No!'
Join Date: Jul 2005
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UK military IT is awful! Too many different systems across the 3 services at both restricted and secret level. Half the time you cannot email the other service as the gateways are not working....
Join Date: Mar 2005
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I totally disagree. The FAA IT network is fantastic. In fact since its introduction some years ago I have never had so much time off!!!!
Every Monday morning it fails to come on line until 10am and so we sit there staring at blank screens chatting about the weekend. And then at or around 2pm the system crashes....again we stare at the screen for a while and then give up and go home...Fab system.
Every Monday morning it fails to come on line until 10am and so we sit there staring at blank screens chatting about the weekend. And then at or around 2pm the system crashes....again we stare at the screen for a while and then give up and go home...Fab system.
Join Date: Nov 2000
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Certainly from what I've seen, it will be the dog's BO(llo)CS - much better in ops than STARS and a big jump forward for the sqns. For Gp & DTMA it's apparently a huge leap forward.
Champagne anyone...?
Not entirely convinced by this but I suppose we need to see it in action before we can pass judgement on it. Concerns would be a loss of Sqn level control over how personnel are allocated (there's a lot more to planning than who is actually available and current), a possible loss of flexibility but more importantly an increase in the amount of meddling from exterior agencies in sqn level planning matters. There is a risk that some ops planner at DTMA, Gp or wherever will see that there are personnel "available" and be on to the sqns demanding an explanation as to why so-and-so can't be allocated to a trip.
Like I said, it may be the great panacea to solve all our woes but the final decisions must rest with the sqns and off-station planners mustn't use it as a way of forcing sqn level decisions.
To be fair though, we can churn out as many planning programs as we like and tip as much money as we can into new IT systems but if we ain't got the serviceable aircraft then we might as well go back to perspex boards and chinagraphs pencils..
Like I said, it may be the great panacea to solve all our woes but the final decisions must rest with the sqns and off-station planners mustn't use it as a way of forcing sqn level decisions.
To be fair though, we can churn out as many planning programs as we like and tip as much money as we can into new IT systems but if we ain't got the serviceable aircraft then we might as well go back to perspex boards and chinagraphs pencils..
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One for the Dark Blue out there but do the RN Still use REDACS?
That was my Project before I left the CS. It was designed to access to Bring together all the bl00dy stores system that the navy PSTO(N) had. Did it happen?
That was my Project before I left the CS. It was designed to access to Bring together all the bl00dy stores system that the navy PSTO(N) had. Did it happen?
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Look in the code, you'll probably find it has German ancestry. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if it was developed in a secret mountain lair by specially bred Nazi Wunderkind in a last ditch effort to wrest control of the skies from Ze RAF.
Tommy you vill regret the day you put your trust in einen komputer. Ve vill rise again mit der Messerschmitts zat ve haf stored under your very noses in der museums unt ve vill finally aktivate operation sealion.
Not that I work in computers or anything and not that if I did it would have made me cynical or anything.
Tommy you vill regret the day you put your trust in einen komputer. Ve vill rise again mit der Messerschmitts zat ve haf stored under your very noses in der museums unt ve vill finally aktivate operation sealion.
Not that I work in computers or anything and not that if I did it would have made me cynical or anything.
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Have heard about the new system, but that is all. I am currently away on a short notice 3 week course, wonder if the dogs BO(LLO)CS will cope with that. Not sure that we need a new planning tool as yet, whats wrong with stars, apart from its not very user friendly and always crashes! I agree with the current line of this tread about needing Sqn level planning. How will the system cope with sudden changes to trips or personnel. On the up side will the Duty Planners be out of a Job? I DOUBT IT. Give it a few months and the auto selection of crews will be disabled and it will be another SAMA/STARS/CCIS/ALFENS/some other waste of RAF money system. Also now the Fun police are well and truly involved in task planning, will the same people get the good trips all the time as they have space at the end of the last trip, and all the BASRATBAG trips be aloccated to the same line again, or will we be able to intervein at Sqn level, making BO(LLO)CS another expensive update to stars!!
p.s STOPSTART: To be frank perspex boards and chinagraghs were the best invention since sliced bread for planning. Plus you could put your CCS dates on them etc..where you could see when you would be out of date, insted of having a computer print out saying you are already out of date, book an appointment now!! Only to find out the next CCS date is 4 months away..DOH!!
p.s STOPSTART: To be frank perspex boards and chinagraghs were the best invention since sliced bread for planning. Plus you could put your CCS dates on them etc..where you could see when you would be out of date, insted of having a computer print out saying you are already out of date, book an appointment now!! Only to find out the next CCS date is 4 months away..DOH!!
Join Date: Nov 2000
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From what I have seen (and unless someone can definitively state otherwise):
- All planning will still be done on the sqns and not by DTMA/Gp - in fact, I'm not even sure that they can see the crewing bit of BOCS.
- I don't see why it shouldn't cope with a 3 week course as it's just another event and the computer won't care what the reason, just that you're unavailable for flying.
- The new crewing module qualifications bit seems work like a chinagraph board that automatically updates itself on the basis of the trips you do and gives you a 'traffic light' warning of approaching and exceeding currency. Frankly, it looked very impressive and can cope with anything from CCS to some esoteric BTR.
- All planning will still be done on the sqns and not by DTMA/Gp - in fact, I'm not even sure that they can see the crewing bit of BOCS.
- I don't see why it shouldn't cope with a 3 week course as it's just another event and the computer won't care what the reason, just that you're unavailable for flying.
- The new crewing module qualifications bit seems work like a chinagraph board that automatically updates itself on the basis of the trips you do and gives you a 'traffic light' warning of approaching and exceeding currency. Frankly, it looked very impressive and can cope with anything from CCS to some esoteric BTR.
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Sounds like more moronic moves from the non-flight non-ops fools in the ITOC, trying to leave us with a painful legacy for after they're all binned. Never mind - we can always pull the plug and write on the computer screen in chinagraph.
And we all know that if there's a way that route burgling can be managed despite electronic control and Group's meddling, just who will figure it out first over here...
And we all know that if there's a way that route burgling can be managed despite electronic control and Group's meddling, just who will figure it out first over here...
