Cristóbal Kulczewski, Deputy Operations Manager for SAAM Towage, is in charge of supervising progress in implementing Helm,

a software that supports dispatch and invoicing processes for our fleet and is part of the Tripanko project. For that purpose, our Deputy Operations Manager spends a large part of his day coordinating teams to meet objectives and needs identified in each stage of the process.

What role does Helm play in the Tripanko project?

Tripanko is a strategic project for SAAM Towage aiming to use world-class IT tools to raise standards for, optimize, organize and digitize maintenance, purchasing, operations and invoicing processes and activities. Helm is a digital tool specialized in tug operations and invoicing that will help streamline billing.

What impact will Helm have on the company’s objectives?

Incorporating and using Helm in our daily operations will support two of the company’s key objectives. The first is related to digital transformation, which is a gradual—and decidedly difficult—process, but is fundamental to making us more competitive than other operators and getting up to speed with the digitization process on which our customers and the industries we serve have already embarked. The second objective is related to further consolidating our operating model, with a greater presence in and understanding of our operations, in order to help build a single model with processes and services that are unrivaled in the eyes of our customers.

What are the main challenges to implementing this software?

Without a doubt, the main challenge in these projects is to correctly and quickly learn how to use the system in daily operations. To that end, we have a multidisciplinary team, led by SAAM’s Communications Area, working on the Change Management Plan.

What impact will implementing this software have on our employees’ day-to-day activities?

We want to facilitate the daily process of generating information, minimize manual processes and documentation and streamline time allocated to generating reports for decision making.

What novel features does Helm offer?

We are installing the latest version of Helm Connect (Jobs), which has significant improvements over the prior version. It is a flexible, easy-to-use tool, so we hope that, once operable, we can facilitate all reporting and information processes for both our operations and for invoicing customers.

The year 2020 has been very complex. Has this impacted Helm implementation in any way?

There isn’t the slightest doubt that 2020 has been a complex year from many angles. However, seeing the glass half full, it has also allowed us to accelerate the digital leap to tools such as Zoom or Meet. Also, software like Helm makes increasing sense for our operations.

Although we have veered somewhat from the original implementation plan, it was not because of the pandemic, but a corporate decision in order to ensure sufficient maturity and process knowledge before starting implementation. It was important for us to stop and be prepared before launching the implementation phase and it will save us a lot of time in the future.