"After-sales" as game changer in the rail industry

The increasing demand for intermodal and environmentally friendly transport solutions is helping the rail industry to steadily gain in importance. The internationalization of the rail sector and the expansion of infrastructure – both within and outside Europe – are further boosting this trend. In the last 10 years in particular, budgets for railways have been increased, in some cases massively. This continuous development of the rail network also makes the markets more attractive for international competition. The increasing intensity of competition is putting greater pressure on companies, individual locations and on the value added of the European rail industry. This is forcing rail transport companies to focus not only on the costs, quality and efficiency of rolling stock, but also to tap previously untapped potential in the area of after-sales. By optimizing maintenance, competitive advantages can already be secured for the next 10 years.

The pressure on workshops to perform is increasing

Workshops are also feeling the increased competitive pressure on the market. For them, it is essential to keep the downtime from shutdown to recommissioning as short as possible. For this to succeed, the processes in the workshop must function optimally. The linchpin here is the workshop manager, who is responsible for coordinating orders and allocating resources. Work planning & preparation still represents a very time-intensive process step. Not least because it is also necessary to react to unforeseeable influencing factors such as unreliable shutdowns, longer vehicle repair times, or sudden staff absences. These circumstances, combined with order peaks or capacity bottlenecks, demand a fast response time, a high degree of flexibility and rapid communication in the workshop halls. Such challenges require cross-domain networking of data, which can only be mastered with the help of customized software solutions and specific know-how. The increasing digitization of rail vehicles, but also of workshops, has created a valuable basis.

Digital workshop management for higher efficiency

The operational potential for increasing efficiency lies in successful workshop planning. This is favored by streamlined and automated process flows. The results are the optimal use of resources and the creation of more dynamic and flexibility in daily business. Today still “nice-to-have”, tomorrow already a “must have”: work statuses, teams, tools – everything can be digitally coordinated by the workshop manager – corrected if necessary – and communicated to the team members at the push of a button. The communication paths are thus optimized. Digital workshop management provides an overview of the entire workshop process and the current work progress on each vehicle. This makes the planning of further workshop orders much easier. Rail vehicles are already controlled digitally, so why not workshop management as well?

The software for a digital, comprehensive workshop management

Boom’s software solution Rail Workshop enables efficient and transparent planning within the workshop halls. The personnel, operating resources and work statuses are assigned to each job. The engineers on site work with digital checklists, whereby the status on the vehicle can be determined.

The usual and proven processes in the company are mapped in Boom’s customized software. Companies are not forced to adapt their processes to the software, but rather these are supported by the functions of the software solution and thus driven to greater efficiency. Optimization potential is also slumbering in your workshop, which wants to be tapped by know-how and digital solutions. Efficiency is programmable.

Are you looking for an end-to-end workshop solution for your company, or do you need support in evaluating optimization potentials, then contact us:

Tel: +43 3452 76 216 -0

Boom Software has extensive experience in the rail industry and is therefore the qualified partner for your projects. We talk rail.