Client Story
Improving Performance for a Terminal and Port Crane Reporting System
When Speed Becomes the Bottleneck
A logistics and infrastructure company specializing in the operation of maritime terminals approached our team for FileMaker development services. The organization uses a legacy FileMaker application to track crane operations and bill shipping companies for unloading services. The system tracks crane movements and downtime across multiple shifts, 24 hours a day. Workers enter data through a web interface, recording when cranes start and stop, the duration of the operations, and any delays that occur. The operations team generates reports based on this data, using complicated calculations run directly in FileMaker.
Over several years, the application’s performance degraded significantly. The original developer had built the system using ExecuteSQL calls instead of FileMaker’s traditional relationship structure. As the application accumulated data over time, calculations that once took seconds to run stretched into waits of more than two minutes.
This calculation delay created a bottleneck. Workers had to run these calculations various times per vessel, across multiple shifts and quarters. They were spending more than an hour each day just waiting for the system to respond.
Our client attempted to address the performance issues, but after years of declining performance, the organization was considering abandoning FileMaker entirely and rebuilding the system on a different platform.
Our Strategic Performance Overhaul
Our team analyzed the existing system and identified the core issue. FileMaker downloads entire tables to the client when running ExecuteSQL on open records. With thousands of records, each calculation became a massive data transfer.
We restructured the calculation process by adding strategic commits and adjusting loops. Instead of triggering calculations every time someone exited a field, we moved to batch processing. Calculations now run only when users finish editing and close their work windows.
We also addressed the system’s other limitations. Our FileMaker team updated the interface to a modern look and fixed record-locking issues that prevented multiple users from entering data simultaneously. Beyond performance fixes, we improved workflows throughout the application, making the system more efficient and user-friendly.
Reports: From Hours to Seconds
Our client immediately experienced relief. Calculations that took over two minutes now run in about one second. The batch processing approach reduced the frequency of calculations while maintaining accuracy.
These changes save the organization approximately one hour per day in waiting time. With multiple shifts operating around the clock and various vessels processed daily, the time savings add up quickly.
These improvements also encouraged the organization to continue using FileMaker instead of rebuilding its entire system on a different platform. They have even invested in additional enhancements to the application and are exploring integrations with other SQL databases.
Our team recently visited one of our client’s many facilities and was excited to meet team members who were enthusiastic about the updated system. We enjoyed hearing their stories of time saved and learning about the new initiatives they now have time for. Our FileMaker team is proud to have transformed a mission-critical application that was once a source of frustration into a tool that effectively supports their daily operations.
The organization confirmed that our work saved their FileMaker implementation. What started as a performance fix became the foundation for expanding their use of the platform.
Our team is thrilled to have helped our client better leverage its legacy system through strategic improvements and restore its team’s faith in the FileMaker platform.