An update on PPECB’S TITAN 2.0® Development

11 July 2019

The PPECB took a strategic decision in November 2017 to bring the development and implementation of its mobile technology Project, Project TITAN®, in-house. Since then, our development team has made considerable progress and we are proud to say that TITAN 2.0® will officially launch on 1 October 2019.

Background

One of the key motivators for bringing the development of the TITAN 2.0® application in-house was to ensure that the application kept pace with industry needs, was flexible to change and enabled collaboration. As an essential industry strategic asset, the TITAN® platform requires ongoing development, maintenance and upgrades and the PPECB believes the best way to achieve this is to take ownership for the development.

Furthermore, the PPECB believes that in-house development provides the opportunity to create an enhanced and improved application which better meets the needs of our clients. With the Product Inspection, Cold Chain Export Notification and Schedule 1 modules of TITAN 2.0®, now in their final stages of development, we believe we have achieved this.

Key Features of TITAN 2.0®

One of the most fundamental improvements in TITAN 2.0® is that it will not utilise CSV files. Previously PPECB inspectors transferred the 202 (the inspection request) and 206 (the inspection result) manually to the client, usually via flash drive. With TITAN 2.0® a system-to-system transfer of information will take place and not a manual file transfer.

Unlike the original TITAN® platform which only catered for product inspections, TITAN 2.0® will operate across the value chain and include Product Inspection, Cold Chain Export Notification and Orchard Inspection modules. The Orchard Inspection module went live earlier this year and Cold Chain Export Notification and Schedule 1 (HP22) components will officially go live with Product Inspections on 1 October.

From a Cold Chain perspective clients can look forward to making container and conventional bookings online via the Cold Chain Export Notification module and will no longer be required to manually complete and submit  an Export Notification (Q67), with the only exception being Dispensations as these still need to be manually completed and submitted as per the current process. Clients will also be able to lookup Schedule 1 (HP22) temperature regime codes online. Both Cold Chain modules can also be accessed via the client’s vendor systems.

Client Requirements

Should you wish to make use of TITAN 2.0® we ask that you please note the below essential information:

  • All clients wishing to make use of TITAN 2.0® will need to register their users on the new TITAN 2.0® website, even if they are already registered on the original TITAN®. Currently we are in the process of finalising the development of the registration module and a further communication will be sent once registrations are officially open. The registration process will operate the same as previously and you will receive an activation link to register with TITAN 2.0® and confirm your registration.
  • The first user to link from your organisation on the TITAN 2.0® platform will become the administrator for your organisation. Each client can only have one administrator user. The administrator will then have to approve all subsequent users from the organisation.
  • Any service requests captured on the original TITAN® application at the time of TITAN 2.0® being launched will need to be recaptured on TITAN 2.0®. Likewise, clients who have an annual service request will need to recreate this on TITAN 2.0®.

Before you can make use of TITAN 2.0® you will be required to have the below in place:

  • Your PHC or PUC must be registered with the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) (previously the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries)
  • Your FBO code must be registered with the PPECB Food Safety Department
  • You must have an active account with the PPECB’s finance department
  • Your software vendor will have to update their software to accommodate TITAN 2.0®. The PPECB is in contact with software vendors and will ensure they are prepared and equipped to make this change.
  • Your software vendor will be responsible for training packhouse staff on how to generate an inspection message, how to read messages from the API and how to create an addendum request. The PPECB will train your staff on how to register on the TITAN 2.0® website, create a service request and create an Export Notification.
  • Once the above items are in place clients can register on TITAN 2.0® and the respective administrator user will be able to create an Application Programming Interface (API) user. The API user will be used by your vendor system to integrate into TITAN 2.0® and inherits the permissions of the organisation’s administrator user.
  • Exporters and Clearing and forwarding agents must be registered on TITAN 2.0® in order to generate addendums and create or update Export Notifications
  • Cold Stores must be registered on TITAN 2.0® in order to view Export Notifications at their respective activity point

The change from TITAN® to TITAN 2.0®

The original TITAN® platform will be operational until 31 August 2019. From 1 September 2019 until 30 September 2019 clients will need to make use of the manual inspection process. This grace period has been provisioned in order to allow the PPECB the time to clear the system and resolve any issues identified during piloting and user acceptance testing (UAT) of TITAN 2.0®. Piloting, which will take place throughout August, will afford the PPECB the opportunity to refine the application prior to its official launch on 1 October. Furthermore, this time can be utilised by software vendors to prepare their systems and train packhouse staff.

The PPECB wishes to offer its ongoing support to clients during this change and has attached a list below of TITAN 2.0® support staff should any clients require assistance.

TITAN 2.0® Operational System Support Contacts

Gauteng, Nelspruit, Tzaneen
Clement Chiloane
083 459 6245
ClementC@ppecb.com

Robertson/Hex, Grabouw, Eastern Cape, Durban
Surina Nel
084 382 0279
SurinaN@ppecb.com

Citrusdal/Lower Orange River, Paarl, Ceres
Marius de Klerk
082 462 0745
MariusD@ppecb.com

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