PhilRice launched this week its first INTRANET service, allowing its employees to access various online and automated services in one central location. The INTRANET is like a portal to the entire PhilRice community, which provides resources, calendar, bulletins and ads, chat, email, memos, library, links to social media accounts, and more links as new systems come up. Its core systems were also upgraded and interconnected and are now accessible through the INTRANET.
The automated services include the following:
The Financial Management Information System (FMIS) budget subsystem is now linked to the Human Resources, Procurement, and Project Management Systems; enabling the sharing of important databases such as the Project Procurement Management Plan (PPMP). Approval of purchase requests is now facilitated with the sharing of project budget details between FMIS and Project Management Information System (PMIS). Cash advance monitoring is also automated, providing alerts and notifications for aging cash advances nearing the 30-day deadline. These systems upgrades are now being rolled out in the branch offices for their 2019 transactions.
Request for travels can now be made online through the Human Resource Information system (HRIS). Since it is connected to the FMIS, it can automatically compute the travel costs (land, sea and air transport) and per diem. Then it checks the available travel fund if it can cover for the cost of travel. If yes, the travel is approved and is routed and approved online, and goes to the Online Dispatch System of the Physical Plant Division Information System (PPD-IS). Leave application is also online. Both the travel and leave are automatically recorded in the daily time record (DTR). New features of the HRIS also include the loan alert and notification system. This means no more overpayments past the maturity of the loan. Remittances of GSIS and Pag-IBIG contributions can now be viewed online by regular staff.
A new Property and Supplies Information System (PSIS) was developed consisting of two major subsystems – a procurement system and a property inventory system. This system enabled us to make our early procurement plans (PPMP and Annual Procurement Planning or APP) made online a complete transaction from purchase request, budget approval, stocks inquiry, and requisition from the warehouse. The new property inventory system, on the other hand, features an individual property stock card, which contains the history of each property and from which the data for the property accountability receipt (PAR) is generated or transferred. Personnel may now view online all property assigned under their name, any time. All those previously classified as equipment (P10,000 worth) and all new purchase below P15,000 were now delisted as semi-expendable items and given an ICS card. The property inventory system is now linked to the FMIS Bookkeeping system. This means that if the physical inventory is up to date, a personnel can be cleared of property accountability within 30 days or less.
All projects of PhilRice can now be monitored thru the Projects Management Information System (PMIS), which is managed by the Corporate Services Division (CSD). The system contains the project list and budgets, including incentives. The personnel assigned to projects database is shared with the HRIS and FMIS budget system. Each project has a profile and a MOA/LOA monitoring and alert system. The latest feature of this system is the abstract maker, which provides a template for commonly required data. This common data can be extracted and converted into various reports required by funding and regulatory agencies.
A Travel Dispatcher system was developed as one of the services of the Physical Plant Division Information System (PPD-IS). From the approved travel order made in the HRIS, the automated dispatch system takes the travel dates, destinations, times of departures and arrivals, and automatically groups passengers with similar travel details to make an initial travel dispatch summary. The system has an edit function to enable the human dispatcher to modify details of the travel, and then execute the final travel dispatch summary. A vehicle maintenance system is also operational, and based on odometer readings, it will create maintenance schedules, with and alerts and repair history of vehicles. The PPD-IS has also developed an online request for repair with ticketing system, a campus wide facilities maintenance alert system, and a farm operations scheduling system.
The last frontier is the Business Development Division Information System (BDD-IS). The goal is to develop an online seed information system, with traceability from production side, storage, sales, and the distribution of the seeds to farmers. We have developed a rice seed production planner system (in a computer server), that runs in sync with a production data gathering app (in a smart phone). The system enables the production supervisor to schedules farm operations, generate alerts and notifications, and capture crop growth and management data, including pictures of crop growth and seed inspectors’ data requirements for assuring seed quality.
A seed stock inventory information system was developed and deployed in CES, Batac, Isabela, and Negros, and will be rolled out this planting season in Agusan, Midsayap, and CMU. The system allows real time seed stock balances per station and PhilRice as a whole.
For our clients, seeds growers can now buy seeds through an electronic kiosk, allowing them to view available seed stocks per variety. On a touch screen, seed growers can order seeds and the warehouse system will automatically update current stocks after the sale of the seeds.
Currently under development is a warehouse planner app that makes a warehouse map of seed pallets, with important details in QR code embedded in each sack of seeds. This will ensure that there is no over or understocking of warehouses.
