Staff Spotlight – Dalton Cox
Dalton Cox is a computer analyst supporting RACE, Polymathian's rail supply chain optimisation software. Dalton is responsible for user support and spends a lot of his day assisting RACE customers in planning and analysing their rail value chains.
- Dalton, how long have you worked at Polymathian?
- I'm approaching my one-year anniversary
- Happy work anniversary, Dalton! What have you been working on during your first year?
- I am currently delivering optimisation related support to our rail network customers who use RACE to plan their value chains.
- Was that a big learning curve for you? What did you do before you started working at Polymathian?
- Since graduating with a dual degree in mechanical & aerospace engineering and mathematics from the University of Queensland, I worked at a concrete factory and tutored mathematics. Stepping into a software company where my focus is on rail optimisation has been an enjoyable challenge.
- What do you like about working here?
- The people. Everyone is friendly and highly knowledgeable. It's been a pleasure to work and grow in such a positive environment.
- We do have an awesome working environment here, don't we? What has been your most significant achievement?
- Getting back on the rugby field after taking time off to explore other interests, including playing bass guitar in a band. It feels great to get back to rugby for both my physical and mental health.
- A bass player in a band? I would never have picked you as a bass player. Tell me about these other interests you mentioned.
- I love travelling! While studying, I travelled through parts of Southeast Asia, South American and the United States.
- What has been your biggest professional challenge?
- Having come from a mechanical engineering background, learning to be a computer programmer has been a challenge. Being surrounded by highly talented programmers has set a really high bar for which to aspire.
- IF you could be any fictional character, who would it be?
- Gandalf, the guy is a wizard. 🧙♂️
- Say no more! If you could be famous, for what would you want to be famous?
- Music! Nothing better than seeing people rock out around the world.
- What was the last app you downloaded?
- Rugby Xplorer, an app that tracks match results in the local rugby union competition.
- Do you have a guilty pleasure?
- No such thing. 😁
- How is RACE different from other planning and scheduling software?
- RACE is a data-driven optimisation-based decision support tool capable of modelling and optimising rail value chains for many stakeholders, including above and below rail operators, terminal operators and value chain coordinators. RACE is different from other planning and scheduling software through its ability to apply a hierarchical approach to rail optimisation. This approach allows RACE to first optimise the most significant assets in a rail value chain, followed by additional considerations for shaping an optimal plan without degrading the quality of more critical objectives.
I hope you enjoyed getting to know Dalton as much as I did. If you'd like to discuss how Polymathian can help you "get the most out of your trains", you can connect with him on LinkedIn.
