A Seamless Logistics Solution for Camps

Kiewit, one of North America’s largest and most respected construction and mining companies, is tasked with facilitating logistics, or travel and camp arrangements, for the employees and subcontractors of the Plutonic Power Project’s 450-room remote-site camps, located in the Toba Inlet, British Columbia. Kiewit turned to INNfinity for a custom logistics software solution. The flexible architecture of INNfinity’s V2 property management software was easily augmented to provide a seamless logistics software system, accommodating both aspects of logistics travel and lodging/camp accommodations.

The travel-aspect of the logistics software system is constantly changing, based both on predictable and unpredictable factors. Kiewit workers travel based on a multitude of set rotational work schedules. INNfinity logistics software tracks each worker’s rotation in a Custom Guest Profile, which follows the worker through each and every logistics reservation. Easy access to a worker’s rotation assists logistics personnel with determining arrival and departure dates, when reserving round-trip logistics travel. Based on days worked, INNfinity logistics software calculates time-out accruals, which tally a worker’s earned vacation days. Aside from rotations and vacation days, a worker’s schedule is also impacted by their project manager. Kiewit project managers require the flexibility to make last-minute logistical changes for workers, based on the business needs of the project. Kiewit relies heavily on INNfinity V2 logistics software’s consolidated travel itineraries and passenger manifests, which are posted throughout the camps, to reconfirm each departing and arriving vessel and its occupants. Communication challenges occur throughout camps due to the remote-site nature of the project, so hard copies of INNfinity logistics reports are an important part of Kiewit’s daily operations.

Logistics to and from the camps involve at least two of the following vessels in a variety of combinations: charter bus, charter boat, charter plane, and commercial airline. Changes to routes occur often, due to inclement weather conditions, the ability to fill all seats of a given vessel, and the flux of passengers on each leg of a given route. Each vessel, the number of seats, and the legs of its route are set-up in INNfinity V2 logistics software, so logistics personnel can select from an easy-to-use drop down menu, when making logistics reservations. Vessels and routes can be altered on the fly in INNfinity logistics software to maximize passenger occupancy and conserve fuel and crew costs. INNfinity logistics software also provides a cost analysis per seat for vessels to assist Kiewit with vessel management and in calculating the return on vessel investment. In addition to passenger occupancy, a vessel’s cargo space must be maximized with supplies to support the Plutonic Power Project and camp life.

Over and above travel, logistics personnel must consider camp accommodations. The Plutonic Power Project offers three camps. INNfinity logistic software tracks each worker’s job function, marital status, and sex in its Custom Guest Profile, which determines a worker’s camp site and camp accommodations. Camps are the sole source of housing and meals for workers, so the flexibility and accuracy of INNfinity V2 logistics software’s occupancy forecasting is central to ensuring adequate housing and to controlling Kiewit’s food and supply costs.

INNfinity V2 logistics software offers the travel and camp accommodations aspects of logistics for Kiewit all from its signature, one-screen design, which saved time and money on training and on the conversion process to the INNfinity V2 logistics software system. INNfinity’s V2 software’s flexible architecture was extended to seamlessly provide Kiewit with a custom logistics software solution in about two weeks, demonstrating INNfinity V2 property management software’s outstanding performance in yet another hospitality vertical market.