Case Study | Steamship Trade Association

Labor Dispatch System Modernization

SERVICES

→ Planning and Design

→ Build

The Challenge

The Steamship Trade Association of Baltimore (STA) relied on a legacy labor dispatch system known as Magnus to coordinate daily port operations and workforce deployment. After more than 20 years in service, Magnus had become a critical liability — difficult to maintain, incompatible with modern infrastructure, and unable to support the evolving demands of a dynamic maritime labor environment. The system’s on-premises architecture created operational risk, limited accessibility, and left little room for the flexibility that remote, real-time dispatch operations required. STA needed a trusted partner to replace the system entirely without disrupting day-to-day operations.

The Solution

RDA led a full end-to-end modernization of STA’s labor dispatch platform, replacing the legacy Magnus system with a purpose-built, cloud-native solution hosted on Microsoft Azure. The new system was architected for resilience and scalability, integrating real-time communication for dispatch and bidding workflows. The project was executed with a strong focus on minimizing operational disruption, ensuring that STA staff, company users, and union members transitioned to the new platform confidently and with minimal friction.

The Results

Seamless operational transition from the legacy Magnus system to the new platform, with no disruption to daily port labor dispatch activities
Web-based access from any device, empowering dispatchers and labor representatives to manage operations from the office, the waterfront, or remotely
Cloud-native solution architecture on Microsoft Azure with built-in disaster recovery, eliminating the operational risk posed by aging on-premises infrastructure
New remote dispatch and real-time bidding capabilities, enabling STA to modernize its labor coordination model and support a more agile, responsive workforce
Reduced maintenance burden and long-term total cost of ownership by retiring a 20-year-old legacy system and transitioning to a supportable, modern technology stack