Back to all cases Front-end innovation in europes largest port at Port of Rotterdam
Port of Rotterdam uses HaMIS to coordinate vessel traffic safely and efficiently. Divotion consultant Patrick spent almost ten years modernising this business-critical application. With his expertise in front-end development and UX, he helped introduce modern web technologies and create a more user-friendly interface for the Harbour Master’s Division.
The challenge
The Harbour Master’s Division uses HaMIS to coordinate vessel traffic in the Port of Rotterdam safely and efficiently. The application is business-critical, operates 24/7 and was originally developed using Java Swing.
Port of Rotterdam wanted to maintain the application while gradually modernising it. This required front-end expertise that could support the existing technology while contributing to the transition towards a future-proof architecture.
The challenge went beyond technology. HaMIS supports complex processes and is used intensively by different departments. Stability and continuity therefore had to be maintained throughout the modernisation, while simultaneously improving the application’s user experience, flexibility and scalability.
The solution
Patrick joined the Port of Rotterdam team in 2015 as a front-end developer. Initially, he worked on maintaining and expanding the Java Swing client and participated in on-call support to help ensure the continuity of the 24/7 application.
He later contributed to the first modernisation phase using Angular. Patrick developed a component library and worked on the vessel visit dossier, creating a modular foundation for new functionality.
Port of Rotterdam subsequently decided to develop a new HTML client using React. Patrick helped build this new environment from the ground up and developed various features that enabled parts of the existing solutions to be replaced.
In the final phase, his focus increasingly shifted towards UX. He worked on redesigning the port map, analysed the inspection process and developed prototypes for new interfaces. By combining front-end expertise with UX design, he helped make complex processes more intuitive and user-friendly.
The result
- Modern front-end: Parts of the Java Swing solution were replaced by a modern React-based HTML client, making HaMIS more future-proof.
- Scalable foundation: Angular, a component library and later React created a more flexible foundation for the continued development of the application.
- Improved user experience: UX research, prototypes and the redesign of the port map resulted in interfaces that better support users and their workflows.
- Long-term collaboration: Patrick was the first Conflux consultant at Port of Rotterdam. Today, six developers from JDriven and Divotion work together on the pro