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ARTICLE PRINTED IN RAIL TECHNOLOGY MAGAZINE JUNE/JULY 2007

Mobilising asset management in the rail industry.

Enable engineers to access SAP applications in 5 different ways. Reduce paperwork, access parts and locate stock, even when trackside.

By Paul Viney


Most companies in the rail industry (e.g. train operating companies; rail equipment suppliers) have invested in back-office ERP systems to look after financial and other areas of their business. Many use SAP’s R/3 and SAP ERP system as their core system platform, often integrated with other or legacy systems which look after inventory, purchasing, and the maintenance of rolling stock, line-side equipment and track infrastructure.

Some of these companies are now consolidating their legacy systems around the SAP core platform, and in the process looking at how they can both streamline and improve the business processes that these systems support.

Given that much of the equipment utilised within the rail industry is by its very nature mobile and geographically dispersed, companies are also looking at how they can enable key workers to connect to back office whilst they are either remote from the main office or maintenance plant, or indeed working on the repair and maintenance of rolling stock in large maintenance sheds, away from computer terminals.

The ability to mobilise remote workers and enable them to transact with back-office systems can give significant advantages through the reduction in paper-based forms, real-time update and enquiry, and reduction in both back-office staff employed and errors associated with the re-keying of data from paper forms into the system.

What do we mean by “mobilise”.

Any device which connects to a back-office ERP system via wireless can be termed “mobile”. Connection could be via RF LAN (wireless local area network) where the device, whilst portable, is operated within the confines of a building or depot, or via a GPRS connection over a mobile network. GPRS is particularly applicable where equipment is maintained out in the field, or trackside, remote from the main office or plant


The technology now exists to connect various mobile devices to SAP systems, and run applications on the device both on-line and off-line with later synchronisation. The later is important in areas of poor connectivity to the GPRS mobile network (for example inside tunnels or remote locations) or when out of range of a site-based RF networks.

Some typical examples of where these types of mobile application have been deployed are explained below.

Mobile service/plant maintenance

This allows engineers to carry out and record essential repair details on-line, without having to write extensive details on paper. Engineers are also able to view current stock levels of spare parts, and locate the depot where they can source a material for a particular job.

Lists of jobs can be “pushed” to the mobile device, and their job schedule updated to allow priority repairs or emergencies to be placed at a high priority, improving resource utilisation and ensuring that repairs are completed in priority order. Engineers are able to record the work carried out, and if necessary create a new notification for follow up work if required.

RF Bar-code inventory management

Attaching bar codes to spare parts means that the item together with its serial number and other key information can be scanned via a reader. This means that inventory traceability can be maintained without the need for recording long numbers onto paper, which can be susceptible to transcription errors.

One of the rail operators is just embarking on the deployment of such a system from iQlink Ltd (www.iqlink.co.uk) into their engineering stores and at the same time introducing a simple bar-coded bin solution to make items easy to find and manage within a specific bin location within the store.

Digital Pen technology

Digital pen technology, uses special printed forms which enables workers to complete a form (such as a maintenance record) whilst also digitising the keystrokes, and automatically updating the back-end (ERP) system. The digital pen contains an infrared camera, a processor, memory, a data link (either USB or Bluetooth for mobile applications where a mobile phone acts as a modem) and a rechargeable battery.

Serco Systems Ltd has deployed Meticulus digital pen and paper technology within a maintenance environment at Alstom Transport Ltd, with automatic updating of SAP ERP. The paper form is retained as a record of what was done and by whom, but all data is automatically updated from the pen.

2D barcodes

2D barcodes are printed as a series of dots and have the ability to hold much more information than the traditional barcode one sees on a typical product label. One of the problems with paper base barcodes, particularly when used outside, is that they are very prone to damage and the effects of weather.

Unipart Rail has developed a capability where a 2D bar-code can be laser-etched onto metal parts and then read using a standard 2D bar-code reader. The data from the reader can then be updated into the back end system.

“This has proven to be very robust in use and gets around some of the traditional wear and tear problems associated with paper bar codes” said Peter Cullen from Unipart Expert Practices.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)

RFID is an automatic identification method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders. An RFID tag is an object that can be attached to or incorporated into a product, animal, or person for the purpose of identification using radio waves and enables much more data to be held within an electronic tag attached to a part or item of equipment. In addition read/write tags allow data to be written and re-written with either fixed or mobile readers so allowing service history, and usage information etc. to be available on the item.

For example a reader, integrated to a back-end ERP system, could record the date of inspection and the type of work carried out onto the tag, so that any one carrying out follow up work could read this data at a later date.

Contact:

Paul Viney is Managing Director of iQlink Ltd who provide mobile integration solutions for SAP applications. Contact: paul.viney@iqlink.co.uk; 01344 667 363

Pete Cullen is a Managing Consultant for Unipart Expert Practices specialising in advanced supply chain technology like RFID, Vehicle telematics and barcode RF solutions. Contact pete.cullen@unipart.co.uk: 01865 383251