What’s new in Helm CONNECT 1.31?

We’re back again with another release full of features and improvements inspired by your feedback! Here are some of the highlights in Helm CONNECT 1.31!

Maintenance

Let’s start with Helm CONNECT Maintenance, where we’ve got two great role-based improvements for your requisition workflows:

Set requisition spending limits by role

We redesigned the Setup > Requisitions > Requisition Approval Configuration tab to give you more control over requisition approvals. Instead of a single limit for all users, you can now set role-based approval bands, ensuring that only authorized personnel can approve high-value requisitions. This enhancement strengthens security, improves financial control, and streamlines the approval process by preventing unauthorized spending.

Limit requisition status changes to specific roles

With the new Setup > Requisitions > Line Item Status Configurations tab, you can now maintain oversight by specifying which roles have permission to transition requisition line items to each status.

Jobs

Next up in Helm CONNECT Jobs, we’re introducing some exciting new features specifically for our barging customers:

Bring clarity to your tow configurations

Keeping track of tow configurations just got easier! Introducing Tow Diagrams, a powerful new module that lets onboard crew quickly record and update tow setups while giving shoreside teams real-time visibility to better support crew and stay compliant. And if you ever need a tow diagram for an audit or investigation, it’s just a few clicks away.

Easily configure tanks and cargo holds

You can now set up fluid tanks for primary assets and cargo holds for both primary and attached assets. To support this, we’ve added a new Cargo Hold Types tab under Setup > Operations, where you can define and manage your organization’s cargo hold types. For primary assets, the new Tanks and Cargo Holds sub-tab under Management > Assets > Assets lets you configure both fluid tanks and cargo holds. For attached assets, you can now manage cargo holds separately in the new Cargo Holds sub-tab.

Automatically calculate fluid levels

Tracking fluid levels is now faster and more accurate. With the new Tanks and Cargo Holds sub-tab, you can upload your organization’s sounding tables using the Sounding Tables button. When a fluid reading is logged for a primary asset, Helm CONNECT will automatically use your sounding tables to calculate the amount of fluid in the tank—eliminating manual calculations and reducing the risk of errors.

Personnel

Our last release introduced many enhancements for the Payroll module in Helm CONNECT Personnel, and we’re excited to bring you even more payroll improvements in this release.

Quickly escalate payroll rates

Annual salary increases help keep up with inflation, but updating earning codes each year can be time-consuming and error-prone. Even small mistakes can disrupt payroll, causing delays and compliance issues. The good news? You can now save time and reduce errors by quickly escalating your payroll rates.

Gain better visibility into payroll scheme changes

Your payroll scheme change logs now provide detailed insights into any modifications, including updates to targets, conditions, and effects, helping you stay informed and maintain accuracy.

Customize your payroll requests

Every company has different payroll request requirements. To offer more flexibility, we now allow you to show or hide the following fields in your payroll requests: Payroll Class, Asset, Earning Code, and Factor.

Try an improved Crew Certifications data source

We’re offering an alternative version of the Crew Certifications report data source called “Crew Certifications (Alternate)” for interested customers to try. This new version delivers faster loading times, displays the number of notes for each certification rather than their full contents, and shows the number of attachments.

That’s all for now! Please check out our release notes for more details about Helm CONNECT 1.31, and be sure to reach out to your account manager if you have any questions or would like a demo. Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter to stay up-to-date with the latest Helm news.