AGILITY MAKES IT PLAIN SAILING FOR ARKLOW SHIPPING

April 18, 2006 -- SoftSols Group, a leading provider of maintenance management software, today announces that European leading shipping company Arklow Shipping, has purchased  its new maintenance management system – Agility. Agility will be used to help Arklow Shipping to achieve statutory certification in line with maritime laws and monitor critical maintenance across its thirty-seven vessels.

Arklow Shipping is a leader in the dry bulk trade, carrying cargoes, grains and bulk commodities across Europe. The efficient management of its vessels is central to its operations and Arklow employs ten superintendents to ensure that each vessel complies with critical standards for maritime legislation.

Arklow Shipping had a generic web-based classification system in place prior to purchasing Agility, but wanted a more intuitive system that would encourage wider usage by their Superintendents. Arklow Shipping searched for a CMMS product that could offer a more instant vessel overview with a simple colour-coded system to immediately display which of its ships were due for inspection.

David Elliot, Marine Superintendent for Arklow Shipping comments: “For over two years, we have looked at various maritime systems that were both too complex and expensive to meet our basic requirements. We were introduced to Agility through SRO Solutions and were delighted by its simplicity and flexible graphical interface that could be easily tailored to fit our needs for a traffic-light display.”

SoftSols Group made minor modifications to the system so that a green light would appear three months prior to the certification date, an amber light on the actual date, and a red light for any days after the completion date. Superintendents could then instantly monitor certification status for each vessel and take the necessary action.

David Elliot explains: “We were very impressed with the speed of the implementation. SRO Solutions completely understood our requirements and the system was installed and live within just two months. We can now log into the system from our Irish or Dutch offices and instantly see the entire fleet sorted by category. By simply clicking on a vessel, we can see what action is required.”

David Hipkin, Managing Director of SoftSols Group concludes: “We are increasingly encountering companies like Arklow Shipping who are looking for a basic solution that can be easily tailored to meet their exact needs. Agility provides just this, as it is flexible enough to be moulded to suit any application, and it does only what is needed without over-complication. It can also be easily scaled up to meet changing business requirements.”

About Arklow Shipping
Established since 1966, Arklow Shipping has become a leader within Europe in the dry bulk trade, with management teams based in Arklow and Rotterdam. Arklow Shipping currently operates a fleet of 37 ships in sizes ranging from 3,000 – 13,000 tonnes.

Throughout the years the company has built up a reputation in the market as owners of versatile modern short sea trading vessels which are ideally suited for the carriage of project cargoes, grain, generals and bulk commodities. For more information, please visit: www.asl.ie

About SoftSols Group
SoftSols Group has an established 22-year track record within the maintenance management sector. The company’s market-leading maintenance management products are used by a wide range of customers in a diverse spread of industries across the World, including PZ Cussons, Unilever, Wellstar Hospital Group, D. S. Smith. Hanson Building Products, National Exhibition Centre, Barbican, OCS and Emcor.

Agility is the company’s next-generation maintenance management product that provides a cost-effective route for businesses to tailor the maintenance function to meet their exact needs. Real-time operational data, key performance indicators and schedules are accessible through browser technology, providing businesses with a complete overview of their work processes. For more information, please visit:
www.getagility.co.uk