Introduction of a customized, Fiori-based cycle planning tool; integration of all customer-specific requirements
Customer benefits
Customer
DB Station&Service AG
Branch
Logistics
Contact
Alexander Wassiltschenko
BU manager Axians NEO Solutions & Technology GmbH
+49 511 123549-53
Contact us
DB Station&Service AG carries out up to 1,200 traffic safety checks and self-inspections at a single station in one month alone. This includes, for example, the maintenance of fire extinguishers and fire doors as well as the weekly inspection of escalators and elevators. In some cases, a single area manager has 200 stations under his control, where legal regulations and quality management requirements demand precise annual planning of all inspections.
Until some time ago, annual maintenance planning took place in Excel – associated with an enormous manual workload. Today, area managers use an intelligent cycle planning tool (ZPT) tailored specifically to their requirements, in which they map not only the annual planning, but also the intraday management of maintenance.
In Excel, the smallest changes eat up valuable time
“Previously, the planning Excel had to be reloaded into the SAP system every time a change was made,” recalls Lisa-Isabelle Noffke from Technical Facility Management at DB Station&Service AG. This meant that whenever a test had to be postponed for a day or a technician needed different equipment, the processing ate up valuable time. “It simply took far too long before we had the updated plan,” says work area manager Björn Bornemann, assessing the daily work with Excel from the user’s perspective. An additional challenge was the lack of transparency of the data, so that technicians often had to travel to the same station five times a month. In short, annual planning in Excel was accompanied by a high degree of inefficiency and susceptibility to errors.
Fiori-based planning tool for optimal user experience
Together with DB Station&Service AG, we analyzed the specific requirements and gathered information on the individual workflow processes. Based on this information, we developed a customized, Fiori-based cycle planning tool. The background: SAP Fiori is a user interface technology based on successful principles of app and interface development – not only in the consumer sector. Thus, we provide work area managers with a graphical planning view based on state-of-the-art UI operating concepts.
Maintenance cycles are visualized per maintenance plan in a yearly view, which users can reschedule situationally and immediately via drag and drop. With each change, the maintenance plan is automatically restarted and the calls are scheduled.
Scrum: Small steps to maximum success
In order to map the specific requirements of DB Station&Service AG, we implemented the project using the agile Scrum method. This allowed us to incorporate our customer’s input from sprint to sprint. “During the entire development, the NEO project managers were always there for us and approachable at any time. This allowed us to develop ideas together. Not once did we get the answer that something was not technically possible. Everything was implemented according to our wishes,” reports Noffke. In this way, station managers and dispatchers could also be involved to perfectly adapt the application interface to their needs.
The result:
Today, the tool is no longer used only for annual planning, but is used continuously by the work area managers. “I look in at least once a week,” Bornemann says. As head of station management for the Braunschweig/Göttingen area, he manages a total of 117 stations and explains: “The ZPT is a real relief. When traffic stations are converted, new facilities go into operation, existing facilities are temporarily taken out of operation, or existing facilities are dismantled. These changed inspections then have to be scheduled for the inspectors and harmonized with the tour schedule. In ZPT, I can filter for specific information and then see everything I need at a glance.”
The verdict of all the other employees is also consistently positive: “They are extremely satisfied with the new solution. The control panel is perfectly tailored to our requirements. It makes planning much easier and faster,” says Noffke. As a result, DB Station&Service AG now benefits from shorter travel times, lower workloads and reduced maintenance costs.
Today, every change is displayed in real time in the planning tool. This saves us a long wait for updated plans.
Head of Station Management Braunschweig/Göttingen
About DB Station&Service AG
DB Station&Service AG is a significant part of the Deutsche Bahn Group. As a leading provider of station management services, the company plays a key role in shaping mobility in Germany. Through efficient design, comprehensive services and innovative concepts, DB Station&Service AG is continuously improving the quality of its stations to provide optimum services for travelers and visitors.
