FOSS or Excel: what changes for your surveyors?
Excel is flexible, accessible and everyone knows it. That is why many cargo surveys run on it. But in Excel the surveyor is also their own typist: readings taken on board, then copied into another tab, then into Word, then into a PDF, and in between the client calls, messages and emails for a status update.
Book a demoFOSS has the calculation methods according to the standards commonly used in the sector built in. You enter everything once, even on board without a signal, and the reports come out. The client follows progress themselves. At Intertek, with whom we built FOSS, the admin work per tank went from eight hours to two.
Do you run a small team of permanent surveyors and freelancers? Then it is mostly about time: less retyping and less messaging and emailing with the client. Do you have several branches? Then that applies too, with the added benefit that every branch works and reports in the same way. Both are covered below.
At a glance
| Area | Excel | FOSS |
|---|---|---|
| Calculation methods (density correction, tonnes, outturn) | In your own formulas, per file | Built-in calculation methods following the standards commonly used in the sector |
| Entering readings | Retyped several times: tabs, documents, PDF. Every handover costs time and is a chance for a typo | Once, in the job file |
| Working on board without a signal | Local file | Works without a signal too; everything syncs as soon as there is a signal again |
| Reports | Built by hand in Word/PDF | 9 report types from the same entry, in your own house style (logo and colours); draft → final → signed |
| Loadport vs arrival, outturn vs B/L | Separate sheet, linked by hand | Automatic difference in tonnes and % |
| Letter of protest for a shortage | You spot it and draft it yourself | Automatic flag at more than 0.5% short, letter drawn from the data |
| Following samples to the lab result | A list or an email | Taken → sealed (seal number required) → dispatched → in analysis → result (PDF) received |
| Status for the client | Calls, messages and emails | Client portal, plus an automatic email at the start, when the times are known, when the reports are ready and at the end |
| Assigning a surveyor | By phone, message or email | Assign and reassign per nomination, and recorded |
| Overview at the office | Opening folders | One overview of all running nominations, including on a wall screen |
| Who changed what? | Hard to trace | Recorded per nomination: who changed what and when, with old and new value, plus assignments, status changes and reports |
| Several branches | Every branch has its own file and way of working | One standard way of working, the same calculation methods and the same reports |
| Cost | A licence, and above all your office's hours | Agreed up front; in a demo we make it concrete |
| Adapting to a new situation | Immediately, by anyone | Through us; changes are tested first |
To the standards of the sector
The biggest concern when switching is a fair one: are the calculations right?
The calculation methods are built in, following the standards commonly used in the sector: density correction, tonnes per tank, shore tank before and after, loadport vs arrival and outturn. Which contract type applies follows from the cargo.
So FOSS gives you the result according to those standards. It is physics and mathematics; FOSFA and GAFTA do not prescribe the calculation methods. If your Excel and FOSS give different results, that is a reason to check which of the two follows the standard. If you like, we will put the results side by side.
Want to see how such a calculation method works for yourself? Try the free calculators for vegetable oil density and tonnage or the draft survey, no account needed.
FOSS itself is not a member of, or recognised by, FOSFA or GAFTA.
Data entry on board
The surveyor notes ullage, temperature, density and tank number on board, or sends them to the office by message or email. Later someone copies those values into another tab, and then into the report. Every handover costs time and is a chance for a typo.
The surveyor enters the values once, step by step per tank, even when there is no signal on board. Everything syncs as soon as there is a signal again, and FOSS does the rest of the calculation.
When it matters: with one nomination a week, it is manageable. With five to ten units per vessel and several vessels a month, it adds up to days of work.
Reports
Every report is built up from the sheets, in Word or as a PDF. Every surveyor does it their own way.
Nine report types come from the same entry: discharge report, weight certificate, sampling report, photo report, LCI, B/L report, cleanliness report, protest and Water & Quality Protocol. You set up your own house style: logo and colours on every report. Every report goes from draft to final to signed. We build extra report types, in your house style, from the same entry.
More on what belongs in such a report: draft survey report and weight certificate in the knowledge base.
Shortages and protests
Whether a difference between B/L weight and outturn calls for a protest is down to the surveyor to notice, provided they notice it at all.
Outturn is added up per receiving medium (shore tank, tank barge, road truck, tanker) and set against the B/L weight. At more than 0.5% short, FOSS flags that a protest is needed, and the letter is drafted from the same data.
Why it matters: a missed protest, a day of demurrage and a delayed payment can add up to tens of thousands of euros on a single cargo. Explanation and a free calculator: letter of protest vs note of protest and the Outturn check.
The client
The client calls, messages or emails to hear how far along it is, and someone emails the reports round.
The client enters the nomination in FOSS themselves and follows progress, timeline and documents in their own client portal. They automatically get an email at the start, when the times are known, when the reports are ready and at the end. That takes a large share of the messaging and emailing with the client out of your day, even for a small team.
The office
Who does which job goes through phone, chat or email. The overview lives in folders and in someone's head.
The office assigns a surveyor per nomination and can reassign; that is recorded. All running nominations are in one overview, including on a wall screen. Everyone works the same way.
For a small team
For the independent surveyor with 1 to 15 people, permanent surveyors and freelancers.
Excel often works perfectly well for a small team, for a long time. If you carry out most of the jobs yourself, one person keeps the Excel, clients rarely ask for live visibility and you handle a few nominations a month, a system gains you little.
It changes when the company grows and the way of working does not grow with it:
- More hands, more retyping. Permanent surveyors and freelancers send in their values by Excel, WhatsApp or email. At the office someone retypes them into another tab, into Word and into the PDF.
- Less messaging and emailing with the client. The client follows progress in the client portal and automatically gets an email at the start, when the times are known, when the reports are ready and at the end.
- Built-in calculation methods. The calculation methods are built in, following the standards commonly used in the sector.
- Who changed what. In a claim, an audit or a question from a client, you can show who changed what and when on a nomination, with the old and the new value.
- Reports in your own house style. You set up your own house style: logo and colours on every report, without anyone rebuilding it in Word.
- Access by role. Clients, surveyors and the office only see what belongs to their role, set out in a data processing agreement.
- No IT department needed. We set it up and help you get started with your vessels, clients and house style. There is nothing to install.
- Predictable costs. You know where you stand up front.
A good rule of thumb: as soon as several people use the same Excel, or your office spends more time on reports and client contact than on surveying, a 30-minute demo is worth it.
Book a demoFor large teams
For international inspection companies with several branches.
Even at large inspection companies, much of the work runs on Excel, Word and email. Everything above for a small team applies there too: less retyping, less messaging and emailing with the client, calculation methods following the standards commonly used in the sector, a record of who changed what, and reports in your house style. Scale comes on top: every branch has its own file, its own way of working and its own report layout, and the same cargo gets recorded in three different ways.
FOSS puts one standard in place:
- One way of working and one set of calculation methods in every branch.
- The same reports in your house style, so a client gets the same documents everywhere.
- Client portal in Dutch and English, with automatic emails to your clients.
- A record of who changed what, per nomination, plus assignments, status changes and reports.
- Assigning and reassigning surveyors per nomination.
- A pilot per branch or department, so you see how it works in practice before rolling out more widely. For an organisation of this size we therefore start with a pilot conversation rather than a standard demo.
When Excel is perfectly fine
Let us be honest: not every inspection company needs FOSS.
Stay with Excel if:
- you handle a few nominations a month and carry them out yourself;
- only one person works in the Excel;
- your clients do not ask for live visibility.
FOSS fits if:
- several surveyors send in their values by Excel, message and email, and someone retypes them;
- vessels arrive every week, with several units per vessel;
- your office spends more time building reports and passing on status than on surveying;
- you would rather find errors before sending than when the client calls;
- you want to be able to show who changed what, because an auditor or client asks for it;
- several branches need to work in the same way.
“We expected a software project of a year or two. Within a few months there was a working system. Before, we only worked with Excel; now the administrative work per unit goes from eight hours to two. With five to ten units per ship, that adds up quickly. And just as important to us: our data is well protected and everything is properly arranged legally.”
Switching: what comes with you
Your vessels, clients and house style.
At the start we help you set them up.
The calculation methods.
The calculation methods are built in, following the standards commonly used in the sector. If you like, we will put the results side by side with those of your own Excel.
Your way of working.
FOSS was developed with the sector specialist in our own team, with 25 years in the port, 20 of them as a cargo surveyor, who knows the work on board first-hand and keeps building FOSS with us.
Your data.
Set out in a data processing agreement. Access by role: client, surveyor, office.
Further reading and free calculators
Frequently asked questions
Does FOSS calculate the way our Excel does?
The calculation methods are built in, following the standards commonly used in the sector. If your Excel and FOSS give different results, that is a reason to check which of the two follows the standard. If you like, we will put the results side by side.
Does FOSS work on board without internet?
Yes. Data entry on board works even without a signal; everything syncs as soon as there is a signal again.
Which cargoes is FOSS suitable for?
Agri-bulk: vegetable oil and dry agri-bulk, including draft survey and weighbridge. No mineral oil or chemicals. Do you work with other commodities? We can build them into the platform for you.
Is FOSS also for a small company with a few surveyors and freelancers?
Yes, if Excel is starting to get in your way: values arriving by WhatsApp and email and being retyped, clients calling and emailing for a status update, or clients asking who changed what. You do not need an IT department for it. With a few nominations a month and one person working in the Excel, Excel is probably fine.
What is involved in switching?
At the start we help you set up your vessels, clients and house style. There is nothing to install. How long it takes, we discuss in the demo.
Is there AI in FOSS?
AI integration is in development. We start with the basics; AI on the platform follows. Operium also builds custom AI integrations on top of FOSS, so it takes even less time.
What does FOSS cost?
It depends on the number of surveyors, nominations and the reports you need. You know where you stand up front; in a demo we make it concrete.
What happens to our data?
We set out the processing in a data processing agreement. Clients, surveyors and the office only see what belongs to their role.
See your own nomination in FOSS
In a thirty-minute demo we walk through one nomination, from creation to report. Do you have several branches? Then we will discuss a pilot.
