Case Study: Johnson Engineering achieves weeks-to-hours cargo planning for the ISS with Franz Inc.'s Allegro CL

Packing Cargo for the new International space station is now easier Thanks to Lisp and Allegro CL

Johnson Engineering, which packs the Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules (MPLM) for resupply missions to the International Space Station, faced a complex stowage and weight‑balance challenge. Packing had relied on CAD tools and spreadsheets, a slow process that previously required four people working two weeks and still didn’t easily handle weight‑balance or manifest changes. To modernize the workflow they turned to Common Lisp development with Allegro CL from Franz Inc.

Franz Inc. helped Johnson Engineering rebuild and update the CPACs (Cargo Planning and Analysis System) using Allegro CL and Franz tools (including Composer) and provided training to accelerate development. The enhanced CPACs now auto‑recalculates manifests, identifies balance issues, and imports part data, reducing initial configuration time to about six hours for one person (versus four people for two weeks), delivering significant time and cost savings and becoming the standard for future resupply missions. Franz Inc. is credited for the Allegro CL platform and support that made these gains possible.

Johnson Engineering

Jason Kantz

Johnson Engineering