Jim Dale [Houston, TX]

Blackburn University, Carlinville, IL
Bachelor of Arts, May 1978 Majors: Psychology and Sociology

Major enhancements to the 'SM10 Private Label Oil' system. (Same system helped create a decade earlier for original owner, Texaco.) Installed eight additional oil portfolios. Wrote import for three portfolios (well over a million accounts), including having to take unpredictable free-format string input and breaking them down into first/middle/last/prefix/suffix name-fields and even determine from that whether commercial or private. Enhanced SM10 to handle all the following portfolios:

Maintenance, development, and testing of the Texaco Lubricants System (TLS).
TLS is a fully integrated system (purchased from American Software, Inc.) with the following sub-systems:

Customer Order Processing System (COPS)
Inventory
Purchasing
Manufacturing

The TP monitor is CICS version 4.0 on an MVS/VSE mainframe and the DBMS is IMS DBCTL. This application also has a link from CICS to IMS via an LU 6.1 connection. Following are examples of work completed in this environment:


Jim Dale		Senior Programmer / Analyst Cell : 281 236-8337 Email : 2015@jimdale.com Resume : www.jimdale.com/resume Home : www.jimdale.com
Education:	Blackburn University, Carlinville, IL Bachelor of Arts, May 1978 Majors: Psychology and Sociology
Formal Training:	ADS/Online Culprit, COBOL, COBOL2, ADABAS/Natural, Advanced CICS Applications Development
Hardware:	IBM 390, IBM 370, IBM 30XX, IBM 43XX, IBM S/36, etc.
Op Systems:	OS / MVS / [VSE, ESA, XA, ...], OS / VS2, VM / CMS, DOS / VSE, etc.
Languages:	COBOL2, PL/1, RPG II, VS-COBOL, Natural, SQL, Assembler, XHTML, XML, DHTML, HTML 4.0, Object-Oriented Javascript 1.5 & Java 5.0 Various Command-Languages (REXX, CLIST, EXEC2, RPF, etc.).
Other Skills:	CICS, DB2, IDMS, IMS/DLI, ADABAS, TOTAL, TSO/ISPF, BMS, VSAM, MQ Series, IDCAMS, PROFS, Xpediter, CS, Advanced OS/MVS JCL
Synopsis:	Over a quarter century of experience in IBM mainframe environments. Worked on-line applications since March of 1979 and began consulting work in 1980. Always maintained strong reputation for quality. CICS experience includes extensive use of various BMS functions, manipulation of linkage addresses, methods to minimize file and terminal I/O and optimize size efficiency and maintainability. Provided tutorials for many of the on-line screen functions (CICS and other). Expertise using a variety of command languages includes: TSO CLIST, ROSCOE, RPF, REXX, CMS, EXEC2, and ISPF/CMS Edit-Macros. Produced numerous tools for the applications and systems staff, including: Menu-driven JOB documentation maintenance Menu-driven library maintenance (on ROSCOE) Simulating ISPF EDIT functions (on CMS) Streamlining (ROSCOE) editing functions (Find, Change, etc.) and text editing (Copy/Move/Swap cols.) Cross-reference lookup (DSN, JOB, STEP, PGM, DISP) Built JCL for production JOBs with varying numbers of tape prompts
· · · Career History · · ·
July 1999 - Present	Citi Card (formerly The Associates Credit), Houston, TX < Sai Software Consultants, Houston, TX * >
	Major enhancements to the 'SM10 Private Label Oil' system. (Same system helped create a decade earlier for original owner, Texaco.) Installed eight additional oil portfolios. Wrote import for three portfolios (well over a million accounts), including having to take unpredictable free-format string input and breaking them down into first/middle/last/prefix/suffix name-fields and even determine from that whether commercial or private. Enhanced SM10 to handle all the following portfolios: Texaco - The portfolio the system was originally designed by in the early '90s. British Petroleum - Including card-id format different from Texaco. Shell - Including handling of their "Supercheck-digit" part of card-id format. Citgo - Including handling of their unusual card-id format. Amoco - Including the distinct handling of special "Multi" & "Torch" cards (as well as the common "base" cards). Conoco Phillips 66 Union 76 Sunoco
Sept 1993 - June 1999	Texaco Lubricants Services (TLS), Inc., Houston, TX (now Equiva Services LLC, part of Equilon/Motiva Alliance) < Sai Software Consultants, Houston, TX * >
	Maintenance, development, and testing of the Texaco Lubricants System (TLS). TLS is a fully integrated system (purchased from American Software, Inc.) with the following sub-systems: Customer Order Processing System (COPS) Inventory Purchasing Manufacturing The TP monitor is CICS version 4.0 on an MVS/VSE mainframe and the DBMS is IMS DBCTL. This application also has a link from CICS to IMS via an LU 6.1 connection. Following are examples of work completed in this environment: Developed MQ Series applications that allowed the mainframe TLS system (all sub-systems - COPS, Inv, Purch, & Mfg) to send & receive data to/from a UNIX based Warehouse Management System (WMS) called *Stock Master* (purchased from HK Systems). Incorporated various TLS COPS sub-system screen functions (allocation, picking, shipping, etc.) into automated background tasks for this WMS interface and others. Note: Within the full 3 years of operation, we did not lose any data. Conversion and testing of TLS COPS sub-system to Y2K compliance. Managed to minimize the necessary changes by transparently incorporating a backwards-compatible *century-digit* into existing date-fields ... without having to rebuild any files/DBs. Created foreground-language tools which again minimized the time spent revealing, investigating, converting thousands of date-references. These tools avoided countless human errors which would have been inescapable were this repetitious work done manually. (Our testing through the date of March 3rd 2001 under a Tick-Tock "time-warp" machine proved virtually flawless.) Created utility for dynamically building & submitting the correct compile-job for any application program, using the most current libraries, parameters, etc. for each particular pgm. This played an important part in the Y2K conversion when hundreds of pgms frequently needed to be recompiled to reflect the latest changes to pgm inserts. Continuous optimization & enhancement throughout TLS system for stronger integrity, swifter response, easier maintenance, and increased user effectiveness with easy-to-use screens. Converted the online printing applications to CMA-Spooling when the CICS region was upgraded from version 2.1.2 to version 3.0, necessitating the removal of the existing printing routines. Along with this, created an online reference to detailed print-status information for all application print requests. Bracket-Pricing online applications which effectively avoid logical index conflicts within overlaying ranges of complex key information. Enhanced system to be able to handle *conglomerate* items representing various quantities of other *component* items. One order line for a conglomerate item may break down into multiple lines for the components at various points in the order processing... but must roll back up to the one conglomerate line at other points (i.e. invoicing). Extract/download of archived order detail for an Oracle based query system called PC Order Query. Extract/cancellation of entire TLS COPS sub-system (2,757 orders) as part of the conversion to SAP. Created tools for converting old VS-COBOL programs to reflect the logical structures available in COBOL-2. This clarified the program logic, thus greatly simplifying maintenance after exposing countless errors in old program logic. Setup a triplicate set of systems for the daily "spinoff" of completed orders (just prior to archiving). As out-of-balance orders were encountered, it provided us with options for handling each occurrence individually after examination. Where swift solutions could be made, orders can be set for processing in the rerun done promptly afterward. Orders requiring lengthy investigation could be skipped from that rerun - and possibly subsequent daily runs - until they could properly be set in balance. Certain common solutions could optionally be executed via the re-ran spinoff job itself. Created FIXIT utility program for swiftly correcting DB field values that were incorrectly set due to miscellaneous system/user failures. The command instructions for this utility made use of the common field names used throughout the system and included functions for frequent sets of field modifications. A clear and detailed journal entry automatically outlined each correction.
Aug 1992 - May 1993	H.J.Heinz of Canada, Leamington. Ontario, Canada. < AGS Information Services, Inc. (AGS), Houston, TX * >
	Support and enhancement to on-line manufacturing applications involving PLI, CICS, DB2, and IMS. Converted from single to multiple warehouses/sites, including whse-transfers and dynamic handling of various warehouses (i.e. determining travel time and validating order "varieties" for the particular shipping warehouse). Established methods that greatly enhanced the current system's handling of DB2, IMS, DMS-panels, PLI addressing, MVS JCL, etc.
June 1992 - July 1992	NYNEX DPI, Sugarland, TX. < AGS Information Services, Inc. (AGS), Houston, TX * >
	Analysis & documentation of AS/400 system to be fed into a CASE Tool for client later rewrite of the system.
Feb 1990 - June 1992	Texaco Credit Card Processing, Houston, TX < AGS Information Services, Inc. (AGS), Houston, TX * >
	Developed many vital online CICS application for SM10 Private Label Oil system, which later became huge asset to Citigroup, handling credit cards for numerous enterprises. System has CICS online written in COBOL2 and uses DB2 database. Project tools included QMF, SPUFI, Xpediter, and DBUG-AID for testing. Programmed various global programs as well as the most complex screen applications. Global tasks included automatic on-line switching of device input MVS/XA addressing to that of MVS/ESA later down the line. Developed REXX, CLIST, XEDIT and Dialog-Management tools for QA investigation of source-code, productivity enhancements, and prevention of system lock-ups & DBRM library directory contamination.
July 1989 - Dec 1989	Exxon Credit Card System, Houston, TX < Analysts International Corp. (AIC), Houston, TX * >
	Conversion of Exxon Credit Card System from UNIVAC to IBM. Setup interfaces between the IBM mainframe and UNISYS. Converted jobs and files from SPERRY to IBM. Created several multi-font work-order skeletons for Special Billing jobs. Wrote CLIST/Edit-Macros for building unique work-orders for hundreds of different jobs, thus enabling global changes to swiftly go into effect.
Feb 1989 - July 1989	EDS @ First City National Bank, Houston, TX < Analysts International Corp. (AIC), Houston, TX * >
	Provided technical support for financial and administrative applications, including the procedures for printing checks on pre-numbered stock (while keeping the stock in sync with the internal numbering). Duties included problem investigation, code changes and JCL fixes in COBOL MVS/XA environment.
May 1988 - Jan 1989	Celeron Corp., Houston, TX (part of Goodyear) < Analysts International Corp. (AIC), Houston TX * >
	Provided technical support for both batch and on-line CICS financial systems, i.e. debugging system enhancements, fixes, etc. Heavy program maintenance and user support.
March 1988 - April 1988	U.S. Sprint, Kansas City, MO < Analysts International Corp. (AIC), St Louis MO * >
	Time-crunch project converting conversational on-line programs from some obscure system over to pseudo-conversational CICS. (Typical 76-hour weeks.)
Nov 1985 - Feb 1988	Edison Brothers Stores, St Louis, MO
	As Technical Consultant, designed and programmed on-line CICS applications for Credit Card Capture System. This system uploaded data nightly from NCR registers, reformatted it, and loaded it to VSAM files for editing. Wrote programs to produce multi-font formatted purchase orders on a laser printer from data obtained via ADABAS direct calls through approximately 35 different database views. Received formal training in ADABAS/Natural 2.1 Responsible for building CICS table entries for new applications and resolving general problems for programming staff. Created cross-reference utility (available on-line) and numerous other on-line tools to enhance productivity. Developed shop standard proposals to tie various elements of the system together and minimize maintenance through dynamic references.
July 1983 - Nov 1985	Special Products Division of Emerson Electric, St Louis, MO
	Tasks included creation of on-line Accounts Payable applications for IBM System/36 (with RPG II) to access data from CICS on a remote mainframe. Enhanced the system to minimize required operator input and debugged errors in the original purchased software's handling of the database.
Nov 1982 - July 1983	Electronics & Space Division of Emerson Electric, St Louis, MO
	Provided various applications for the defense and aeronautics industry, including an IBM 8100 encoder receiving system tied into CICS on-line selection. Enhanced on-line job documentation and other utilities.
May 1980 - Nov 1982	Peabody Coal, St Louis, MO < Diversified Systems, Inc. (DSI), St Louis, MO * (later purchased by Computer Task Group) >
	Developed various on-line applications. Projects ranged from a CICS based Union Payroll Data Entry System (with extremely involved relationship editing and dynamic field interpretation) to VM/CMS, PLI, IDMS based on-line database for maintaining environmental laboratory records. Gained extensive experience in the complexities of PLI, including its compiler preprocessor language. Assisted in establishing the framework of a CICS menu structured system for the client and developed that part of the on-line security system for delegating authority through channels. Wrote conversions from Hewlett-Packard and Datapoint systems to CICS.
March 1979 - May 1980	Customer Management Services (CMS Ind.), Los Angeles, CA (purchased by Computer Science Corporation)
	Worked with Macro-Level CICS, and received training in the details of CICS internals. Due to the highly skilled management & staff, CMS was an exceptionally well-organized, dynamic, and productive environment. (Choice learning site.)
* Consulting firms through which clients were contracted.