Employee Spotlight: Scott Duncan Jumps to the Other Side of The Tracks

At Tideworks, you will find many folks who have worked within the industry before. Their real-world experience helps us ensure that the tools we build will solve the real problems our customers face and work for their needs.

 

That’s how Scott Duncan came to us. He started in March of 2020 as a Customer Success Manager, but his career began fourteen years earlier, not in software development, but as an assistant operations manager with APM Terminals in Virginia.

Recognizing his ambition, APMT management quickly transitioned him from their legacy facility to a team working on the “go-live” phase of APM Terminals Virginia, the first semi-automated terminal operation in North America. In very short order Scott was introduced to his first TOS, purchased to integrate with the burgeoning operation’s automated stacking cranes and shuttle trucks. Little did he know that this would set him on a path that would bring him through our doors as a new employee.

 

How Scott Transitioned From Terminal to Tideworks

He spent eight years with APMT, moving up through the ranks, variously managing both rail and marine departments. Then, in 2013, he moved to CSX Intermodal as an operations manager. He was tasked with helping to open the Central Florida Intermodal Logistics Center in Winter Haven, one of three semi-automated rail facilities in the CSX network. It was there that he first had the opportunity to work with our IPRO TOS solutions.

 

Later, he was given the opportunity to run his own facility in Cleveland, OH. Both there and in Winter Haven he had the chance to work closely with Tideworks and our IPRO software, helping to develop the package from an operations perspective. His input was helpful in making sure the software worked equally well for specific terminals as well as terminal operations in general.

 

In 2017 he was promoted to Hub Manager for CSX Intermodal’s Chicago 59th St. terminal, their second-largest facility. It is this experience, and everything that came before, that Scott brings to Tideworks. His perspective on our IPRO system — how it integrates with real terminal operations around the country — makes him a valuable member of our new Customer Success Team.

 

Feedback Prepared Him For His Current Position

The feedback he heard from his employees and upper management concerning IPRO was generally favorable, but he found he learned more from the far less frequent negative feedback. This helped him understand why a customer might be dissatisfied and helped him answer their concerns.

 

By far the most common feedback was the fact that IPRO was different than the TOS or system the operators were used to. Oftentimes they were displeased with the loss of specific information that used to be displayed on screen. But eventually, they came to recognize that this information was no longer necessary. 

 

to explore how Tideworks implemented Mainsail® at New Orleans Terminal to ensure improved yard control and terminal management.

 

Prior to IPRO, the operators needed as much data as they could get their hands on in order to formulate their moves. IPRO replaced this guesswork with instantly optimized moves. The operators simply needed time to acclimate to the new process and adapt to the new system.

 

IPRO brings about operational efficiencies that sometimes require slight modifications to the way terminals operate. “There will always be nuanced differences from one terminal to another, but there is always a way to get the work accomplished, it might just take a slight alteration in the operation itself,” said Duncan. Scott learned that it was critical to address these sorts of concerns early on so that stakeholders understood from the beginning what was going to be required of them. 

 

He Saw IPRO Solve Specific Problems 

The struggle for efficiency was a theme that Scott found consistent across every terminal he managed. IPRO answered this challenge in spades.

 

Live Lift, the ability to go directly from gate to railcar, was an unrealized dream prior to IPRO. Every terminal operation that made the leap benefitted.

 

 

Also, Tideworks advanced Traffic Control (TC) functions relieved crane operators of the need to guess what the most efficient next move was. The system can track and accurately compute far more variables than a human operator can monitor, some of which the operator may not even be aware of. With TC in place, moves are optimized before they’re dispatched to the cranes, drastically improving efficiency.

 

IPRO allows terminals to automate or drastically improve the ease of tasks that clerks normally face in their day. “By removing the complexity that’s normally found in checking inventory, or planning a train, notifying customers of availability, or the many other tasks, your clerks have time to focus on operational issues and terminal efficiency,” said Scott. 

 

The Terminal Industry is Forging Into the Future, and Tideworks and IPRO Will Help it Get There

Rail terminals around the world are moving ahead with automation advancements like automated stacking cranes, shuttle carriers, and UTRs. However, not every operation will benefit from these new technologies. In many cases, the upfront investment is too high, and the ROI for smaller conventional intermodal terminals can’t scale to match.

Scott thinks that’s what makes Tideworks full TOS solution — IPRO and Traffic Control – so important. It’s a software package that scales effortlessly to meet individual terminals where they are. It provides a menu of services and allows the terminal to choose the features they need.

 

If they don’t require advanced prioritization and move optimization, they can focus their implementation on Traffic Control to dispatch work orders. As the terminal grows and technology adoption scales, IPRO can scale to match. It’s flexible and scalable, and that’s worth its weight in gold for an industry constantly pursuing better operational procedures.

 

Overall, Scott’s excited about the future of the industry. He can’t wait to bring his unique insights to our customers at our intermodal division in Jacksonville, FL. We’re equally excited about the great things he’s going to accomplish. We welcome him to the Tideworks family.