AlbionVentures

30 April 2011

Quantum leap in operational efficiencies at Jebel Ali Port

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

The Middle East's premier marine terminal operator DP World, UAE Region, has successfully implemented a comprehensive manpower management system at its flagship Jebel Ali Port facility that marks a quantum leap in the drive for operational efficiency.

The ROSTIMA Labour Management System (LMS) aims to effectively manage time and significantly reduce costs. The system, which is fully integrated with the port's advanced electronic berth planning and Gate Automation systems, determines the best labour deployment based on a forecast of variables such as vessel arrivals and gate appointments. It allows for multiple what-if scenarios that can be analysed in terms of cost and labour utilisation.
It is interfaced with the HR Department's time attendance readers and assigns the manpower to points of work through mobile text message notification to individual employees, matching man to machine based on real time information, cutting time of completing a single operation by as much as 30%.

Mohammed Al Muallem, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, DP World, UAE Region, said:
"Jebel Ali is one of the world's first major container terminals to integrate such an all-inclusive manpower management system with the level of state-of-the-art technology that runs our operations. We expect the transition from a purely manual process to automated real time planning and control of manpower to be quantum leap in the UAE Region's drive for operational efficiency. We congratulate everyone who has made this possible."

ROSTIMA LMS is designed to achieve operational continuity around the clock and shorten shift change delays while safeguarding employees' interests, including optimum sleep cycles, rest periods, visibility over the roster, fair distribution of overtime and days off, meals and prayers, and even Ramadan timings.

Rashed Ali Al Qahtani, Chief Operating Officer, DP World UAE Region, said:
"While developing a system that would eliminate wasted time and needless cost, we always kept the well-being of our people in mind. ROSTIMAR LMS is a perfect fit with DP World, UAE Region's goals of service excellence, efficiency and commitment to our people's safety and welfare. This project owes its successful completion to the collaboration and patience of the entire operational work force at Jebel Ali for well over a year. We thank them and congratulate them on a job well done."

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March 2007

Albion Ventures leads £2m investment in Rostima

Rostima Limited (the “Company”), a world leader in staff rostering and other workforce management solutions, has raised £2.0 million of funding to support its growth. Close Ventures led the round, investing £1.65m in total, with the balance provided by existing investors Oxford Capital Partners and Rostima’s Chairman, Arthur Bullard.

Rostima is a dynamic, growing software company which supplies proprietary workforce management solutions to a range of industries. Its core staff rostering solution is world-leading and numbers DP World, Gala Coral Group and Air France Services Limited amongst its customers.

Rostima’s solution ensures a far more efficient use of labour. The benefits of Rostima’s solution include:

• reducing staff costs by as much as 10% per annum;
• providing better service through having the right skills available at the right time;
• improving staff morale by accounting for individual preferences and union requirements; and
• reducing business risk by, for example, incorporating health & safety requirements.

Rostima is based in Maidenhead, UK, with a Development and Technology team based in Australia. This round of funding will be used to take on additional staff, particularly in sales and marketing, and fund the working capital requirements of the Company.

“We are delighted to receive the investment as we enter this important phase of growth. We have developed a market-leading workforce management solution which has already benefited existing customers. We are now focused on getting the message across to our target markets” said Steve Moore, CEO of Rostima.

“Rostima has a unique software solution in an important and fast-growing market niche. With its excellent management team, Rostima has every chance of becoming a global success and we are delighted to support the Company” said Ed Lascelles, Investment Manager at Close Ventures.

“Over the past two years we have worked closely with the Rostima team to establish the company as the leader in a number of international vertical markets. The new funding will provide Rostima the firepower to dominate these market and spearhead into new sectors,” said David Mott, Investment Director at Oxford Capital Partners.

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