Customs Hits Back at ICS Criticism
Customs Hits Back at ICS Criticism
Nov 23, 2005: In a statement responding to increasing criticism, a Customs spokesperson has rejected media claims that it knew that the integrated cargo system (ICS) was not up to the task but implemented it anyway.
A leaked report claimed that Customs knew the new system had errors and the mainframe computer had only half the amount of processing power required. Customs says it was aware of the required capacity of the system and was confident that it would be able provide the capability necessary to support ICS imports.
"The increase to the mainframe capacity on 15 October, from 3,100 MIPS to 4,120 MIPS, was in line with the capacity planning preparations established before cutover," said the spokesperson. "At peak loads the ICS is currently successfully operating within 2,700 MIPs.”
"Capacity requirements were under continual review and encompassed hardware as well as software considerations."
It also rejected references made to ‘lost messages’ stating that: “No messages are in fact lost. The location of any message can always be traced in the system and refers to the scenario where a message is submitted to the ICS but is not responded to in the manner expected by the client.”
Customs says it is currently working closely with industry to address the ICS implementation issues and it regrets that these ill-informed views would in any way damage the progress that has been made.
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