Normalisation and acceptance of ineffective financial management is a silent killer for any business.

For bus operators, whether it’s multiple systems across the business or reliance on manual data entry processes, the lack of an integrated solution is guaranteed to cost you time and money.

A LACK OF INTEGRATION COSTS MONEY

Inefficient systems that fail to provide real-time inventory visibility and tracking also fail to give you an accurate picture of what is happening within your warehouse.

Missing or inaccurate data constitutes a significant blind spot, allowing unnecessary or unauthorised financial expenses to go unnoticed.

Sometimes these costs can be minor, such as purchasing too much stock or staff including parts for their personal use within bulk orders. Others can pack a greater punch to your pocket, such as inefficient warranty tracking that causes your employees to miss opportunities to make claims.

A LACK OF INTEGRATION COSTS TIME

Time is a valuable commodity for any business, and just the thought of wasting it on processes that can be integrated and streamlined should be motivation enough to utilise automation wherever possible.

Are your employees wasting time going through filing cabinets when they could be using a search function in a digital database to obtain information in seconds?

What if those records are misplaced?

Do you see staff members entering the same data into multiple places because your software systems don’t talk to each other?

Think of how much more value-added work your personnel could carry out if they did not need to dedicate so much time to do things manually.

THE ANSWER: AUTOMATION

The good news is that through the use of systems that can automate processes, improvements are always possible and often significant. Having a system that enables workflow automation as well as inventory control can not only reduce unnecessary costs, but expose untapped cost efficiencies.

Having an in-depth understanding of your inventory, where parts are used and how often they are used gives you invaluable insights such as:

• How much value is attributable to each vehicle
• Total fleet fuel consumption, allowing you to see if any vehicles are over or underusing  and make iterations based on this knowledge
• How parts move on a daily, weekly and monthly basis (specifically, which stock is being over or underused and how this information influences future orders)

This further allows for enhanced efficiencies in your accounting department, as more accurately tracked inventory can be accounted for and reported.

(Think of it as power steering for your business – the same results, but in less time and with less effort.)

This can be applied to various processes across the warehouse, including communication, inventory management and maintenance. As the saying goes, “time is money” and if you can improve the time-efficiency of your warehouse processes, you will see a return on your investment.

While the transition to new systems in and of itself is sometimes perceived as too time-consuming or difficult, failing to do so is likely to hurt your business more in the long term.

Seeking assistance with system integration from a technology partner with experience and knowledge of the bus industry will make the process easier and provide you with the support you require.

Learn more about Trapeze ERP

1. Fain,B. (2015, January 16th). 3 reasons why you need automated inventory management and reporting [Web log message]. Retrieved from https://www.stitchlabs.com/blog/3-reasons-why-you-need-automated-inventory-reporting/

We need to talk about total cost of ownership. Specifically, about total cost of ownership for enterprise asset maintenance and management (EAM) software.

Do any of these scenarios sound familiar to you?

If any of these tales of technology heartbreak hit close to home, don’t worry – you’re not alone.

When Your Software Hole-in-One Becomes a Hole

We all know legacy technology is bad for business. It results in some really serious problems for your organisation, namely: making maintenance activities more manual; crippling your ability to interface with the latest and greatest technological advances (or even just the latest version of your browser); and making your staff unhappy because it’s slow / user-unfriendly / medieval-looking.

Nobody goes out to procure stale technology, but you’ve taken your first step to legacy land if you choose a generic EAM software and do not account for the growth of that technology over time:

1. Original installations will require extensive customisations because it is a generic, broad application that needs to be customised to reflect your industry or your business.
2. Due to the large number of customisations required, it takes years to implement and deploy the software – so it’s already old by the time you start using it.
3. At first, things seem great as the system is customised to your every need. However, as time goes by you enter a never-ending nightmare of trying to keep your system up to date: all customisations have to be developed, tested and potentially recreated to fit with the latest version.
4. Because this process is lengthy, difficult and expensive, some organisations put off upgrades year after year until the system finally falls over – potentially with significant financial, operational or safety impacts.

Anyone familiar with Moore’s Law or Kurzweil’s work knows that technology is progressing at an exponential pace.

If your rail organisation wants to be its most profitable, efficient, reliable self, you need an EAM system that can keep up with technological advances and improvements. That means making the right choice when you go out to market.

4 Mistakes Almost Everyone Makes in EAM RFPs – and How to Avoid Them

An EAM system is a long-term investment and you want one that is as fit for purpose in 5, 10 or even 20 years as it is today.

Here’s how you can insure against obsolescence so your RFP stands for ‘Really Foolproof Purchasing’, not ‘Risky, Failure Probable’:

Mistake #1: Not clarifying the upgrade process.

AVOID by including a question about the cost of upgrades in your RFP. By this, I don’t mean just bug fixes that should be included in your maintenance agreement, but actual full version upgrades that include new features to keep your system rooted in the present.

Don’t forget about the implementation aspect either – will deploying those upgrades be an extra cost, or will it be included as part of your maintenance arrangement at no extra charge?

Mistake #2: Not finding out how the software evolves.

AVOID by asking about prospective vendors’ product development practices: do you have the opportunity to suggest enhancements or improvements that will be included as part of the core solution?

Or will you have to pay for customisations every time, because a public transport operator-specific feature is ‘too niche’ for their product roadmap?

Mistake #3: Going for ‘that well-known system everyone in every industry uses’.

AVOID by stating your preference for an industry-specific, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solution in your tender. A COTS solution that’s tailored for rail won’t need the extensive customisation that a generic, one-size-fits-none EAM system requires, which saves you money now and into the future.

Partner with someone that knows it’s in their best interests to keep up with industry trends and needs – so you don’t have to pay them to do it.

With a rail-specific COTS EAM, system upgrades can be performed more frequently so useability stays relatively stable

Mistake #4: Investigating the technology, but not the people behind it.

AVOID by getting a feel for their longevity. When you interview tender applicants, scope out whether they’re long-termers who will evolve with you and the rail industry or fair-weather friends to whom you will just be one of many, many, many clients. (Here’s some suggested questions.)

You want a vendor who is committed to growing with you and your industry, not constantly busy with bigger fish to fry elsewhere.

If you include all of the above as questions in your procurement process, you should be able to determine the EAM solution and vendor that will be the most suitable for your rail business today as well as tomorrow. Remember, it’s not just about what goes into the expense column of this financial year’s budget – it’s also about the costs (and opportunity costs) for many years to come.

Happy hunting!

At Trapeze Group, we have a ‘software for life’ philosophy. That means your Trapeze EAM system is kept up to date and up to industry standards for free for as long as you’re part of our maintenance and customer care agreement.

As people transport is all we do, we inform our EAM product development roadmap using the upgrade requests and feedback from our client base so we remain current with industry needs. Instead of doing one-off customisations, we build any new features for new clients back into the base product and release it to the rest of our clients in the next update so that everybody benefits.

Find out more by contacting your local Trapeze rail industry manager.

Michael Zink - Australia / New Zealand

John Aniceto - Southeast Asia  

Mounir Sfendla - Middle East / North Africa

Customers are the foundation of any business, and this is as true in the public transport industry as it is in any other. 

If services are poor, always late and in substandard conditions, customers will protest with their voices (whether face-to-face at your staff or on social media) and then with their feet as they abandon public transport for their own cars.

The qualities that passengers desire in a public transport service are seemingly endless. There are obvious basics like safe, clean and reliable transport; there are value-adds that have slowly become an expectation over time, such as passenger information and extra services during special events. Today, we can add transport on-demand, services every 5 – 10 minutes and protected transfers from one service to the next to the customer’s wish list.

The sheer amount of data that must be analysed and factors that must be calibrated to deliver all of the above is daunting. Challenges abound: the intricacies of enterprise bargaining agreements (EBAs) must be considered; budgets can’t always stretch enough for so many extra services; information often resides in separate systems and is hard to access and integrate.

However, at the end of the day the public transport industry exists to serve public transport users. If we do not keep up with their needs, we risk becoming obsolete and unnecessary.

The real question for transit professionals is – how can we juggle all these variables to consistently deliver a satisfying passenger experience, no matter what is happening ‘under the hood’?

Step 1: Plan Intelligently

Passengers don’t care how much planning or research went into creating timetables or scheduling services. They just want trips that run when and where they need transport most. The challenge for transport authorities is staying ahead of this demand by identifying which services are most popular and allocating resources appropriately.

This is where the data collected from an Automatic Vehicle Location and Control (AVLC) system is immensely valuable. An AVLC system will reveal which services are overcrowded and which are underutilised. It will contain a wealth of information concerning on-time performance, travel times and passenger movements.

This data can be analysed to help transport authorities and operators anticipate and cater to changing conditions and fluctuating demand. For example:

• A transport authority might use historical data from large sporting events like the Commonwealth Games to work out how many extra bus, tram and train services are needed at the next major event.

• A savvy operator could use arrival time data to keep up with their KPIs. For instance, they could check if the lack of school drop-offs during school holidays is causing buses to arrive at stops ahead of their scheduled times and adjust accordingly.

All of this information can then be fed into a planning and scheduling tool capable of providing solutions that satisfy all operating parameters (EBAs, vehicle numbers and the like) while achieving your goals (service frequency, passenger loading, asset utilisation and so on).

These days, you can go even further than historical and operational data in formulating timetables.

With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), Smart Cities and the Internet of Things, it is possible to harness even more information than what was traditionally available to transport agencies: weather forecasts, real-time demand, road congestion data and social media feeds are just a few examples. Leading agencies like Transport for London are already looking into this.

​Step 2: Course-Correct Swiftly

While operators always do their utmost to keep services running to schedule, disruptions and delays are a reality in the public transport world. After all, even the best laid transit plans will be thrown in disarray by unforeseeable disruptions like car accidents clogging up the roads.

For obvious reasons, when things are going wrong is not the best time to figure out what to do. Being reactive puts you on the back foot: in the high stakes world of public transport, a hasty decision could have serious consequences for your organisation.

A popular military adage is that proper preparation prevents poor performance. To be able to course-correct swiftly and pre-empt network chaos, you need to be proactive.

One operator that does this really well is the Swiss transport company Verkehrsbetriebe Zurich (VBZ). Their dispatchers have over 250 pre-prepared dispatch actions and roughly 800 predefined re-routings to select from in case of disruptions.

This preparedness means that despite operating on some of Europe’s most congested roads, VBZ has an excellent on-time performance record and reputation for reliability.

Ensure your organisation has a comprehensive set of pre-planned responses and actions codified into your central control centre system. This ensures that your staff know exactly what they need to do to rectify the situation and eliminates any panicked decision-making or delays while people discuss how to resolve the issue. It also ensures that no key steps are forgotten.

If you do this well enough, most of the time the passenger will never even know that their trip was in peril!

Step 3: Communicate Effectively

Of course, sometimes things cannot be fixed behind the scenes and services are impacted. To prevent a mildly annoyed passenger from becoming completely irate, you need to deliver information about the delay to them quickly.

The power of real-time passenger information should not be underestimated. 85% of passengers said they would find waiting more acceptable if they knew when their bus would arrive; over 70% perceive performance more positively once passenger information is made available – even if performance has not actually improved.

If you have a cancellation or delay, it is vital to update your customers instead of leaving them in the dark. This helps passengers feel like they have some control over the situation: they can choose to adjust their plans, advise those waiting for them to arrive to take alternative actions or make a conscious decision to wait.

Do your best to strive for ubiquitous passenger information: in their hands, at their stops and on-board the vehicles.

Your operations control system should be able to integrate to your mobile app, website, in-vehicle displays and physical signage at stations or stops so that real-time data can be transmitted quickly without any manual double-handling. This ensures that all passenger information comes from a single source of the truth and is displayed in a consistent manner (regardless of device or mode of transport) for easy consumption.

Don’t forget verbal announcements as well – it can be comforting for passengers to hear an update from another human being.

Advanced transport authorities will also be thinking of out-of-the-box ways to communicate. For example, Transport for London and Transport for New South Wales are trialling AI-powered chatbots on Facebook Messenger to answer customer queries. These chatbots could potentially ‘learn’ each individual user’s regular routes and pre-emptively warn them if there are any changes to those services.

Keeping Every Ball in the Air

The above three steps are a simple summary of what needs to happen – from the passenger’s point of view – to keep a transport network running smoothly and to provide a high quality customer experience.

For transport authorities and operators, executing this in real life requires a veritable juggling act that would be near-impossible without the right systems.

The data and real-time feedback from an ITS can help those in the control centre assess the cause of disruptions, provide options to work around or fix these issues and keep drivers and passengers updated. It should also seamlessly integrate to your communication channels so passenger information can be distributed with little to no effort by your staff.

Keeping customers satisfied is an ever-more demanding task. However, as leading transport agencies like VBZ show, you can rise to the challenge and exceed expectations with the right processes, systems and procedures in place.

Mergers and acquisitions are often complex, lengthy and require the use of valuable time.

Whether your company is looking to purchase another operator or you are on the other side of the deal, a widely-used Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system that is tailor-made for buses can help get your company ‘sale ready’ and be a major asset in facilitating the process.

LOOKING TO SELL?

Selling your company can be an emotional time. While you might be ready to sell, it can be hard to view the process as a business deal rather than the handing over of a company that has been a part of your life or even your family for years.

A potential buyer will be appraising your business’s worth based on the financials, and you want to be sure that these accurately reflect your company’s value.

Other organisations tend to use their own methods to come up with company valuations that may take you by surprise.

However, by using an integrated ERP system across your business to track, store, monitor and analyse your operational data, you can equip yourself with the information you need to back up your own estimate of what your business is worth. This knowledge of the details puts the negotiating power back in your hands – knowledge that is proven and confirmed by reliable data and facts.

This element of trustworthiness, enhanced by the use of an ERP system, also increases the buying appeal of your company.

Purchasing companies are more likely to trust the information you supply if it comes from data recorded in a digital system on a consistent basis. Utilising an ERP solution to manage your operation will reduce the amount of risk your buyers perceive and as a result increase your company’s dollar value.

Having an ERP system also ensures you have all operational information at your fingertips.

This helps you identify actual or potential problems and either prevent or solve them before the sale, giving you an opportunity to increase your efficiency, profitability and sale price. Furthermore, it allows you to generate answers to questions more effectively when potential buyers request extensive operational reports, company data and financials during negotiations.

You as the owner have built the company from the ground up over many years. You have extensive knowledge of your business and know your company like the back of your hand.

However, information that is not maintained in a solution is more susceptible to negotiation. It is important that you protect this information in a format that is easily accessible and transferable. Technology will enable you to communicate operational details in a format that is very difficult to argue, ensuring you can realise the most value when selling your business.

LOOKING TO BUY?

If you are looking to expand and acquire additional bus operations as part of your portfolio, having an ERP solution that you are familiar with can be of benefit as well. Part of what has made you successful thus far is the operational measures you put in place and how you have executed them, so having a system that captures all of this is valuable.

Taking over a new operation is a huge undertaking requiring a lot of your attention as you handle the human element of the change on both sides.

Working with an ERP technology provider that is bus-minded and can support your move is also incredibly powerful as they can provide experts when you need them the most. With an ERP solution that is tailored to the bus market and your current operation, the transfer of best practices will be more seamless. For example:

Utilising a single solution across your operations that your staff are intimate with allows technology to smoothen the change management process when taking on new ventures. Your people are already familiar with the solution and can educate others on its use.

Ultimately, for both buyer and seller, it is evident that having a bus-specific ERP solution in use can be a significant advantage. Such a system is extensive in the benefits it can provide in allowing each party to come to the table better prepared for any sales negotiations.

Learn more about Trapeze ERP

It is widely accepted that effective communication within any organisation is essential for its functioning.

The beneficial flow-on effects that can be achieved through enhanced communication are extensive. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are proven to successfully facilitate such communication and have resulted in many positive outcomes.

TIME SAVINGS = COST SAVINGS

Wasted time on performing activities manually translates to wasted costs – a dual negative outcome.

Using a single ERP system across your entire bus organisation has the ability to limit this by making interdepartmental communication seamless.

Because all of your company’s vital information is managed in the one system, every staff member can access it and employees can obtain the information they need directly instead of interrupting their colleagues and breaking their workflow.

For example, with an ERP system in place, payroll would be able to access shift schedules and driver sign-on and off times to generate driver pay.

They would not need to request this information from the operations department to effectively perform the requirements of their job, as the entire process is automated. This further ensures that when face-to-face interactions are conducted, they are more meaningful and less disruptive.

An ERP also allows for the standardisation of processes (5), so less time is wasted performing duties inefficiently.

Having a single streamlined process can also make the education of new staff members easier and less time-consuming.

A solution that is specifically built for and utilised by the bus industry will give you an additional time saving in terms of the configuration and maintenance of the solution for your operation.

A solution tailor-made for your industry and business type will require far fewer customisations out of the box than other generic ERP systems, allowing you the benefit of a faster implementation and cost savings.

FACILITATES PROBLEM-SOLVING & IMPROVES THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS 

Processes, such as those involved in decision-making, are made easier with an ERP system due to its ability to enhance communication between different departments (5).

This is achieved by integrating all of your operational information into a single database, which can be easily accessed through a consolidated interface and analysed to produce business intelligence and make informed decisions (5).

This enhanced flow of communication is in real-time.

For instance, operations can see which buses are available for dispatch and those that are unavailable due to maintenance or repairs as any vehicles off road are excluded automatically.

The system’s ability to monitor and alert staff of potential problems prior to their occurrence furthermore contributes to its problem-solving capabilities.

As an example, an ERP for bus operators should have the capability to flag a driver fatigue regulation breach before it happens.

Furthermore, such a system can be used to monitor and predict inventory demand, request required parts, allocate costs, disseminate information with external organisations and estimate key financial metrics (1).

A further benefit of working with an ERP solution that focuses on your industry is that the people implementing and supporting your successful use can provide insight based on years of experience. This means enhanced workflows based on the unique needs of the bus industry and transportation services.

CREATES COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE 

Empirical evidence suggests that companies are able to gain competitive advantage through the use of an ERP system (3)(4).

This edge is a result of the integrated system’s ability to eliminate the duplication of both effort and data, increase the efficiency of processes, improve productivity, better facilitate communication and enhance an organisation’s preparations for competitive market changes (1).

TRANSACTIONAL COST BENEFITS

Transactional cost benefits through the use of an ERP system are also possible.

This is because an ERP system replaces a multitude of separate computer applications with a single, streamlined system that functions across the entire operation (2).

Going from many to one software system means you will save on licenses, maintenance fees, firmware updates and the need to have multiple in-house ‘power users’ for different systems.

By using an integrated ERP system, bus companies can gain a multitude of benefits including those attributed to saving time and costs.

Most of these result from the system's ability to significantly enhance communication by streamlining processes. Ultimately, an ERP system creates a more efficient and effectively functioning organisation.

Learn more about Trapeze ERP

[1] Abu-Shanab, E., Abu-Shehab, R., & Khairallah, M. (2015). Critical success factors for ERP implementation: The case of Jordan. The International Arab Journal of e-Technology, 4(1), 1-7.

[2] Bendoly, E. & Kaefer, F. (2004). Business Technology Complementarities: The Impact of The Presence and Strategic Timing of ERP on B2B E-Commerce Technology Efficiencies. Omega, The International Journal of Management Science, 32(2004), pp. 395-405.

[3] Kwahk, K., & Ahn, H. (2010). Moderating Effects of Localization Differences on ERP Use: A Socio-Technical Systems Perspective. Computers in Human Behavior 26 (2010) , pp.186–198.

[4] Salmeron, J. & Lopez, C. (2010). A Multicriteria Approach for Risks Assessment in ERP Maintenance . The Journal of Systems and Software 83 (2010), pp.1941–1953.

[5] Yazgan, H., Boran, S. & Goztepe, K. (2009). An ERP Software Selection Process With Using Artificial Neural Network Based on Analytic Network Process Approach. Expert Systems with Applications 36 (2009),pp. 9214-9222.

There is no denying that driver fatigue and the consequences of driving drowsy are serious issues.

Numerous studies have demonstrated that driving fatigued can have the same dangerous outcomes as driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, with both conditions being associated with reduced alertness and attentiveness, slower reaction times and impaired decision-making abilities(1)(2).

In light of this, eliminating or minimising driver fatigue and its related risks is a high priority for many bus companies.

The issue itself is the heart of the problem. However, if bus operators lack a readily accessible driver fatigue policy for staff members and an easy-to-implement process for monitoring and flagging breaches of policy, they risk being held legally liable for any consequences that result from allowing operations to continue under dangerous conditions.

While the driver is expected to comply with policy, the operator also has a duty of care to produce a safe work roster that gives employees adequate time to sleep, recover and perform their social and domestic responsibilities(3).

Governments and industry bodies recognise that businesses have a responsibility to systematically manage their fatigue risk in order to effectively supervise their drivers, with enforcement, compliance regulations, standards and reviews by the authorities intended to ensure safe operations(1).

Fatigue is one of the key areas that is in the spotlight and targeted for implemented change over the coming years(1).

Historically, Australian authorities have focused mainly on the trucking industry when it comes to driver fatigue monitoring. However, with trucking having been under the microscope for some time, industry regulators are now turning their attention to bus operators. As per the National Heavy Vehicle Register (NHVR), these are the standard work and rest hourly requirements for drivers operating a bus or a coach:

How does your company stack up against these requirements today?

It is not uncommon in the transportation industry, where there is ongoing pressure to perform to schedules, for people to work within a culture of ‘powering through’(3). Are your operations currently ensuring that there is adequate policing of fatigue management regulations?

While the laws and regulations around heavy vehicle driver fatigue are often complex and difficult to comply with(4), it doesn’t have to be hard for your company.

By having a policy in place and using an integrated system to help automate the monitoring and regulating of driver shifts, you can place more focus on managing the causes of driver fatigue, which are often overlooked(4).

Empirical evidence suggests that drivers perceive support from management as playing a key role in them taking positive actions towards preventing driver fatigue(5). This is further supported by the observation of decreased reported fatigue in depots where positive management relationships were in place.

This makes the process of being able to manage compliance and act accordingly easier. It also eliminates any pressure on management to manually keep track of staff compliance with fatigue policies.

Furthermore, an ERP system as your company’s single source of the truth and data repository enhances incident analysis capabilities, as there is the potential to be able to draw correlations between staff behaviour and accidents.

An example of this could be discovering a trend that late driver check-ins coincide with fatigue-related occurrences. Such information could dramatically change your company’s ability to take preemptive action and instill new practices or policies to avoid risky situations.

A bus-specific ERP system allows you to not only meet the requirement of adhering to driver fatigue legislation, but also ensures your company is following industry best practice.

Your company also has the added benefit of being able to build trust with authorities through a well-implemented policy and the ability to produce evidence of your compliance with standards and legislation.

Learn more about Trapeze ERP

(1) Department of Transport and Main Roads. (2016). Delivering heavy vehicle safety solutions together: Queensland’s Heavy Vehicle Safety Action Plan 2016–18. Retrieved from https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/Safety/Road-safety/Strategy-and-action-plans

(2) Watson, N. F., Morgenthaler, T., Chervin, R., Carden, K., Kirsch, D., … Wise, M. (2015). Confronting drowsy driving: The American academy of sleep medicine perspective. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine , 11(11), 1335–1336. http://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.5200 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4623133/

(3) Australian Transport Safety Bureau. (2017). Fatigue. Retrieved from https://www.atsb.gov.au/safetywatch/sw_fatigue/

(4) National Transport Commission Australia. (2016). Heavy vehicle driver fatigue data: Final report May 2016. Retrieved from http://www.ntc.gov.au/Media/Reports/(792A30B5-8CE0-420A-A8F6-79723FE802F6).pdf

(5) Biggs, H. C., Dingsdag, D. P., & Stenson, N. (2009) Fatigue factors affecting metropolitan bus drivers: A qualitative investigation. Work : A Journal of Prevention, Assessment, and Rehabilitation, 32(1). pp. 5-10. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/19562/1/19562.pdf

In this day and age of big data, the Internet of Things and hyper-connectivity, our appetite for making every task easier, faster and automated has grown – whether in the business world or in our personal lives.

So it’s no surprise that 75% of C-level executives across the globe said they were pouring more investment into artificial intelligence (AI) and other intelligent solutions, with staying competitive a prime motivator for this.

As the founder of TechEmergence, Daniel Faggella, puts it:

“Artificial intelligence will be functionally necessary to wield the vast number of connected ‘things’ online, and will be even more important in making sense of an almost endless sea of data streamed in from these devices.”

However, concerns about job losses and negative publicity often sour executive visions of an AI-enhanced public transport network.

Are We All Replaceable?

Patrick Watson writing for Forbes predicts driver jobs are under threat as increasingly advanced algorithms make routes more efficient, cutting down the number of vehicles and drivers needed to deliver services, and as autonomous vehicles with the ability to drive more safely and energy efficiently than a human start to hit the streets.

It is undeniable that AI will change the way we work, live and deliver public transport.

However, is it all doom and gloom for blue and white collar workers alike?

While AI-powered innovations such as autonomous vehicles reduce the need for human intervention or manual labour, they do not replace people in public transport entirely.

Instead, by automating routine or time-consuming tasks, they will allow transit professionals to focus on value-added activities that benefit from creativity, interpersonal skills and empathy – qualities that are unique to humans.

Look, for example, at the drive towards providing an ideal passenger experience.

An AI-run planning system can be programmed to take into account parameters such as on-time performance, service frequency and maximum passenger loads per service in order to find the solution to a predefined ‘best’ scenario for customer satisfaction.

However, it will not be able to come up with original ideas to delight riders, like providing on-board WiFi or using humorous social media posts to build an emotional connection with them.

What Do Your People Really Think?

Accenture’s recent research found that employers tend to underestimate how willing their staff are to work with AI technology: one in four believed that workforce resistance would be a major impediment to AI adoption.

However, the same study found that 45% of workers think AI will help them do their jobs more efficiently.

67% of employees think it is important to learn the necessary skills to work with intelligent machines.

This trend goes across generations, with three quarters of millennials and more than half of baby boomers supporting this view.

It is clear that assumptions regarding workforce attitudes towards AI-driven technology need challenging.

After all, AI applications abound in our personal lives – Siri, Cortana and Alexa already help us as consumers on a daily basis.

Smart vacuum cleaners like the iRobot Roomba give us hours of our lives back, which would otherwise be spent on tedious, backbreaking housework.

Why would we not expect the same usefulness from AI technology in our professional lives?

Research on adaptive robots used in the manufacturing industry found that they actually help factory workers perform tasks 25% faster and reduce idle time.

Far from considering the robots a threat, employees said they were comfortable with them and perceived them as valuable assistants.

Preparing for the Future

Public transport decision-makers need to strike a balance between investing in AI and readying their existing workforces for change.

It is folly to adopt a protectionist mindset, embracing inefficiency and cost in the name of providing jobs.

However, it is equally unwise to ignore your human resources and the contribution they make – namely, new ideas for services or processes that can drive growth or improve customer satisfaction.

To prepare for the AI revolution, Accenture has three recommendations:

1. Use technology to boost human skills and reinvent the way you operate
2. Seize the opportunity to redefine jobs and rethink organisational design
3. Involve your employees in creating your new, intelligent enterprise

Clear communication and engagement will help your employees understand your vision of how AI will be integrated into the workplace to support them, not replace them.

There is an opportunity to educate and excite your staff here: AI brings them the possibility of saying goodbye to manual tasks that they do not enjoy and the chance to flex their thinking muscles in higher-value, strategic and creative work. Intelligent technologies do not necessarily rob human workers of employment, but they can lighten their workload by taking on repetitive or risky tasks.

Forward-thinking transport organisations who successfully get their employees to embrace (not oppose) these advances will be able to take a great leap forward into the future and gain an edge over their competitors.

Enjoyed this blog? Learn more in our free eBook:

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Disruptive trends and technologies like autonomous vehicles, machine learning, MaaS and demand response are predicted to be ‘business as usual’ in transport operations within a matter of years.

While these advancements sound like distant problems or things that can be dealt with when they come, the truth is that now is the time to act so that your business has the backbone it needs and is ultimately ready for some big changes.

TECHNOLOGY IS EXPANDING. IS YOUR MARKET SHARE EXPANDING WITH IT? 

With public transport patronage on the rise and demand forecasted to continue as Australia’s population increases[1], there is opportunity within the market to retain or even expand your company’s share.

However, the landscape isn’t what it once was. Digitalisation and automation are now widespread and competition in the bus industry is at an all-time high. Expectations are being set with new technologies and the need to improve the customer experience means companies must either adapt or risk becoming obsolete[2].

While digitalisation may not seem like an impending threat, studies show that companies who introduce an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system can gain a competitive advantage[3][4].

By embracing change and using digital technologies that enable the use of a more streamlined network with more automation capabilities, services can be delivered with enhanced efficiency in terms of costs and operations.

These changes can strengthen the relationship your company has with the transport authorities and help you deliver a better passenger experience. This ability to consistently hit your contract KPIs makes you more likely to gain and retain business.

Automating and streamlining communication across your business through the use of a single, multifaceted system can allow for time and cost efficiencies, help you to understand the business, identify trends and assist in making informed decisions above and beyond manual, paper-based procedures.

You need to be proactive and take preventative measures now to future-proof your business.

An integrated software system provides an advantage for your business in maintaining market share despite an increasingly competitive and rapidly transforming market. It will help the core of your business excel and improve, and provide people with the tools they need to work effectively.

The spin-off effect then becomes your ability to retain profit and keep your customers.

A NEW GENERATION, A NEW WAY TO WORK 

Historically, the bus industry workforce has consisted primarily of older employees (with the majority aged 51-60 years)[2].

However, as this older generation of Australians inevitably starts to move out of the workforce and into retirement, a new generation will soon make up the bulk of the working population. Bus operators are now seeing evolving workplaces as younger employees bring with them a different set of values and attitudes; this ultimately means they have to adapt the way they run their operations in response to this culture shift.

The general profile of an employee was once unwavering loyalty, with many workers highly likely to occupy the same role or position within a company for much of their careers.

In vast contrast, members of the new generation want flexibility, ‘work to live’ and value job satisfaction over maintaining a job for monetary or stability reasons. 

As change occurs and there is an injection of youth into a maturing industry, there is an explicit need for continued transfer of business information and knowledge to new staff members. It is imperative not to let the loss of longstanding employees and key stakeholders within the business mean a loss of all the experience and skill they hold.

Without a system in place to effectively retain data, policy and operational and management procedures, there is a significant risk of losing key information, business knowledge and expertise when personnel move out of your organisation.

Having an ERP in place reduces this risk significantly as business processes and historical data are recorded in a single, accessible place.

STRICTER LAWS AND STANDARDS – HOW DOES YOUR FLEET MEASURE UP? 

As the industry progresses and legislation and standard specifications continue to develop, there is rising pressure on bus operators to conform to higher fleet standards and follow more demanding, stricter auditing procedures.

The need to rigorously track and report maintenance procedures, timeframes and costs is greater than ever, especially when the implications for noncompliance at several points along the chain of responsibility can lead to serious consequences (even jail time for those owing a duty of care).

It is therefore essential to incorporate a streamlined system that allows for easy maintenance tracking, vehicle performance monitoring and inventory management.

With an ERP system, your business will have all maintenance and financial records stored in a single system for easy access. This digitisation and audit trail not only makes internal procedures more efficient, but is also useful in situations that require speedy submissions of records to government authorities.

Having a system that functions seamlessly across departments can further translate into cost efficiencies, as effectively managing the maintenance of your fleet can lengthen the lifespan of your vehicles and therefore reduce the need to purchase new vehicles.

These are just some of the many changes affecting the bus industry that necessitate updates to your systems and procedures. Companies that get ahead of these changes now will drive operational efficiencies today while adapting to tomorrow’s changes, positioning your business to thrive today and well into the future.

Figuratively speaking – maybe it’s time to change lanes and put your business in the best possible position.

Learn more about Trapeze ERP

[1] Department of Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development. (2016). Trends: Transport and Australia’s Development to 2040 and Beyond. Retrieved from https://infrastructure.gov.au/infrastructure/

[2] Bus Industry Confederation Incorporated. (2014). Productivity growth in the passenger transport industry through best practice. Retrieved June 4, 2018, from http://bic.asn.au/information-for-moving-people/productivity-growth-passenger-transport

[3] Kwahk, K., & Ahn, H. (2010). Moderating Effects of Localization Differences on ERP Use: A Socio-Technical Systems Perspective. Computers in Human Behavior 26 (2010) , pp.186–198.

[3] Australian Bureau of Statistics 2017, Participation, Job Search and Mobility, Australia, February 2017, cat. no. 6226.0, ABS, Canberra.

[4] Salmeron, J. & Lopez, C. (2010). A Multicriteria Approach for Risks Assessment in ERP Maintenance . The Journal of Systems and Software 83 (2010), pp.1941–1953.

Rail organisations have a vast number of assets to keep track of, making them complex systems to manage. This complexity contributes to difficulty in decision-making for a number of personnel working in the rail industry, ranging from maintenance staff scheduling repairs and managing materials, through to high-level executives making decisions on company policies, fleet management and capital improvement planning, to name a few.

Accurate and accessible information makes it easier for everyone to quickly and effectively make decisions. The difficulty for rail operators lies in attempting to collate different sets of data without the correct systems in place. The cost of choosing poorly can be significant for rail operators, with bad decisions impacting revenue, repair expenditure, safety outcomes and business reputation.

In broad terms, rail assets fall into three main categories: rolling stock, infrastructure and facilities. In reality, each of these general categories will have a large number of assets and components within it. For example, infrastructure includes track, wayside systems, ballast, bridges and tunnels, while facilities includes buildings, workshops and stations, plus potentially assets inside these buildings, such as elevators and escalators. The many and varied types of assets results in a voluminous but most likely fragmented set of asset information.

Traditionally, the management of the various rail assets has been handled by separate departments who have autonomously selected methods, processes and tools. In a single rail organisation, you might find that the track maintenance managers use paper and pen during field inspections and manually enter information into their computers later. At the same time, the facilities maintenance team use their own asset management system while the rolling stock department keeps a completely different set of records altogether. Copious amounts of data exists, but not necessarily in a shape or form that adds value to the organisation.

Multiple systems often mean the data is practically inaccessible, resulting in difficulty obtaining business intelligence. This makes fact-based decision-making a tedious, time-consuming process.

While the practicalities of running a transport network mean that various departments will continue to collect their own sets of data relating to their specific area of work, it makes sense for that data to be held in one place. A centralised system prevents the expense of having multiple systems to maintain, reduces the number of license and support vendor agreements required, and minimises the amount of processes to train staff on.

One dream, one data system

As technology and software advance, it is becoming clearer that an enterprise approach to asset management is the most effective solution. The master set of comprehensive and accurate asset data that comes from such an approach is a cornerstone to safe and efficient operations.

Effective data-driven asset management means that decision-makers have immediate access to business intelligence, ideally accessing only what is relevant to their role. When rail professionals can trust that the insights are based on reliable and complete data, they can quickly and confidently move ahead with decision-making. This in turn helps them effectively manage cost, risk and performance. 

The cost of inefficient asset management

The impact cost of improper asset management in the transport industry is astronomical, with the US Federal Transit Administration (FTA) reporting in 2016 an estimated US$85.9 billion price tag to return current transport assets to an acceptable state of good repair.

Furthermore, they stated the cause of this backlog was a combination of insufficient funding and inadequate asset management practices. The FTA estimates an annual commitment of US$2.5 billion above current funding levels is required across the country to invest in asset management and repairs to prevent this backlog from growing.[1] The above figures don’t take into account the cost of potential future expenses caused by accidents or service cancellations due to asset failure.

Although in relative infancy compared to other industries, the use of intelligent and central data analytics for public transport in Europe, Asia and the Middle East is continuing to increase as a way to improve performance and reduce costs.[2] There is optimism across the transit sector that better asset management data tracking will continue to enhance operating efficiency.

Entire network visibility

A single system for managing diverse assets provides operators with holistic oversight of their network, allowing for richer reporting on how each asset is performing and ultimately resulting in better decisions being made about the management of the network.

Using one system means greater visibility of what is happening across the entire network. It also allows for standardisation, making management reporting more cohesive and powerful.

One transport authority that has already discovered this is the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) in the United States of America. MARTA needed to improve reporting across all departments and assets, with better analytics considered a priority for improvements across the organisation. Data that they required included workforce tracking, warranty tracking, project tracking and more – no easy feat when managing literally tens of thousands of assets!

MARTA replaced its legacy system with Trapeze’s EAM solution and now has improved reporting capability with automated reports and integrated management of all its assets in one database.

“Trapeze was chosen for its functionality and its versatility,” said Tim Elsberry, MARTA’s Assistant Director of Track & Structures.

“Trapeze had a rail transit solution that fits our various types of equipment right out of the box… superior linear capabilities coupled with the ability to manage fleet, rail, stationary, component equipment units in the same program.

“We have visibility and accountability from the time a defect is discovered until it is repaired, all in one system.”

Simplified administration

A centralised system for asset management also offers significant benefits from an IT and administration point of view. The IT department benefits from only having one software system to manage and understand. Administratively, operators don’t need to have different experts in each separate software system or worse – a dedicated resource to manually transfer and re-enter data from one system to another. This in turn produces cost savings by reducing staff training hours and potentially staff numbers.

Having a transit-focussed enterprise asset management (EAM) system that works equally well across all maintenance departments means just one group of system administrators and one database that serves all divisions. From a workflow standpoint, users can leverage common workflows by using a shared toolset.

Making the dream a reality

The cost of inadequate asset management in the rail industry is clear: tens of billions of dollars in the US, with a likely similar impact across other regions. The potential for the system to run smoothly is well within reach. The next step is pulling together an asset management solution to improve efficiencies by easily measuring performance, highlighting issues and providing the required information in one place to allow for effective decision-making.

Taking an enterprise approach to asset management – finding a single system that will work well across all maintenance divisions – is the key to simplifying asset management for rail organisations. Leading agencies like MARTA and Sound Transit are already doing this. If you are interested in doing the same, you need an EAM software that is tailor-made for rail and the intricacies of a transport network. Discover the system these operators use here:

Learn more about Trapeze EAM

[1] Federal Register (US), Transit Asset Management: National Transit Database, 2016 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/07/26/2016-16883/transit-asset-management-national-transit-database#footnote-2-p48890

[2] Science Direct, Railway Assets: A potential domain for big data analytics, 2015 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877050915018268

Rail authorities know that asset management is a critical part of delivering a quality service, operating safely and maintaining customer satisfaction. Every day, rail network riders benefit from experiencing clean and safe stations and trains (the ‘above rail’ assets) along their journey. Equally important, however, are the myriad of ‘below rail’ assets including linear infrastructure (track), which provide the strong foundation upon which your system is built.

Linear infrastructure exists across a variety of asset-intensive industries and typically serves the purpose of moving people, water, air or power from one place to another. Examples include railways, pipelines and roads.

In the rail industry, most linear infrastructure falls into the general category of ‘fixed guideway’, and includes the following assets: track (mainline, yard and so on), tunnels, bridges and electrical/power system elements such as overhead catenary wire, third rail and cabling.

In contrast, stationary or non-linear assets are generally confined to a single location, such as rail stations, signals or switches. Railcars, locomotives, carriages and support vehicles are all examples of rolling stock (non-linear) assets.

Managing complex assets

Public rail networks are faced with the unique challenges of ensuring their assets are operating safely while contending with strict timetabling and customer service expectations. These challenges are magnified significantly due to the complex nature of the network’s large number of linear assets, which often include nested, multilevel hierarchies of ‘child’ assets. For example, rail lines typically have mainline track with interlockings (a ‘parent’ asset) that are made up of a collection of interrelated signals and switches (‘child’ assets).

The sheer size of rail networks also makes the task of maintaining all your infrastructure data incredibly intricate. The Trans-Asian Railway network comprises 117,500km (73,000 miles) of railway lines throughout 28 countries[1]. In the United States alone, there is almost 224,000km (139,000 miles) of railway track and over 21 million people passing through the busiest station each year[2]. The ongoing data management challenges for maintenance are clear.

Creating an effective linear asset management program requires that you understand what makes linear assets unique – length – and have tools designed for that purpose. From a data perspective, linear assets can be quite complex, spanning hundreds (even thousands) of kilometres. Different segments along a rail network may face significantly different utilisation and wear and tear. As a result, each section may require different levels of monitoring and maintenance.

Furthermore, the geographically-dispersed nature of rail assets makes it challenging for end users to effectively manage the data and workflows on a daily basis. It is virtually impossible to keep track of all these variables without a rail management system that caters to the uniqueness of linear assets.

Fortunately, specialised tools exist to manage these challenges.

Simplifying with software

Effective asset management requires all assets to be defined and reported on in a systematic method. Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) solutions manage all maintenance activities (preventative and corrective) and operating costs (labour and materials). They have many benefits including tracking all rail infrastructure, their component ‘child’ assets, as well as all work and materials management workflows.

Rail managers use EAM to coordinate the resources required to handle scheduled and emergency repairs to minimise service disruption. Other common functions include inspection scheduling so you always know when the next service is due, inventory level tracking, parts request management and procurement workflow support.

Time and again though, experience has shown that the complexity posed by the rail environment requires even more: an EAM solution that is purpose-built for the industry.

There are many Tier 2 and 3 EAM software packages on the market that perform basic maintenance functions. However, only a few have the specialised Tier 1 features required to effectively manage rail infrastructure.

How will you know if it’s right for rail?

For starters, look for a system designed to be your single, master repository of all wayside assets (linear and non-linear) over their entire lifecycle. One key feature is asset configuration management functionality, to ensure that equipment can be updated to the approved engineering configuration while remaining in service.

Secondly, the system must have a Linear Reference System (LRS). This is the underlying data structure that characterises a linear system (segments, markers and offsets), and to which all asset and event data such as work orders is referenced.

Third, due to the geographically-dispersed nature of rail networks, leading solutions offer advanced tools for field workers: mobile solutions, GPS real-time location and native GIS/mapping visualisation. 

Additionally, advanced EAM systems are designed to take full advantage of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) trend by importing track geometry, as well as rail defect/fault data from ‘smart infrastructure’ and vehicle-mounted systems like geometry cars, ultrasounds and ground penetrating radar. Integrating this data into EAM provides real-time alerts to maintenance staff so they are more aware, proactive and efficient in identifying and solving problems.

Lastly, look for proven solutions that continue to evolve with the industry, such as the ability to track asset condition, performance and risk to comply with ISO55000 or the Transit Asset Management regulations in North America.

Rail asset managers utilising a system that puts this sort of comprehensive linear data at their fingertips are at a clear advantage. The data helps to improve safety through inspection compliance, failure analysis and service history. Keeping assets in good condition also minimises service delays due to unexpected equipment failures, while extending their useful life. A purpose-built rail asset management system will help ensure you remain in compliance with all regulations while maximising safety, asset maintenance and customer satisfaction.

Learn more about Trapeze EAM

[1] UNESCAP, Trans-Asian railway (2017), http://www.unescap.org/our-work/transport/trans-asian-railway/about

[2] AARP, America’s awe-inspiring railroad terminals (2013), https://travel.aarp.org/articles-tips/articles/info-11-2013/