The multi-million rand contract to provide an integrated assets management system for the South African Rail Commuter Corporation (SARCC) railway infrastructure, was awarded to SGA early in 1998. The first phase was completed in December 1998 on schedule.
Metrorail (a division of Transnet) is contracted to the SARCC to provide commuter rail services and the initiative to build a computerised maintenance management solution (CMMS) comes from the drive to optimise maintenance work. The SARCC infrastructure is going to be "concessioned out" or semi-privatised by the year 2005. Metrorail will then be competing with local and international companies for the right to maintain the commuter infrastructure and services. Metrorail is subsidised by the SARCC and streamlining Metrorail`s systems will reduce its dependence on the subsidy and therefore the taxpayer.
SGA, a local representative of Indus International, was awarded the IMMS contract on the strength of the Indus International`s CMMS called EMPAC - an Oracle-based product. Indus is an Oracle Integrated Solutions Initiative (ISI) partner. Part of the appeal of EMPAC was that it seamlessly integrates with Oracle Financials. The integration between maintenance and the financial systems is critical to service-type industries like the SARCC and Metrorail, says Ernest Swanepoel, senior manager, IT and systems at SARCC.
A major consideration for the SARCC in awarding the IMMS tender is its black empowerment policies, an issue that was satisfied by the consortium SGA put together.
The enthusiasm for the project by the users is an indication of the initial success. The users are even prepared to do the implementation themselves if at all possible, says Swanepoel.
"As part of the upgrading of the commuter rail environment, focus had to be placed on the condition of the assets. Systems were not in place or were developed in isolation," says Rob Gillespie, MD of SGA.
Swanepoel says that user buy-in and unanimous support for each part of the process is essential for the change management process to succeed.
The pilot project at Metrorail WITS region went live in November last year. "The eyes of the industry were on SGA, specifically the maintenance management environment," says Gillespie. "In our favour was a tried and tested track record, we had user buy-in and best of breed product."
"The first phase has standardised the Metrorail infrastructure maintenance management processes and aligned them across the country at all regions. It has provided the foundation for consistent information to be reported," says Paul Mockett, senior project manager of Indus International.
Swanepoel says that a paradigm shift has been achieved. Maintainers are now more concerned about improving business processes at a higher level, than competing with each other in terms of their own way of doing things. A second layer of common information or application of business rules has been established with user buy-in.
CMMA is becoming "mission-critical", he says, in the sense that all the procedures, policies and basic instructions are part of the available maintenance procedures and automated documentation.
Gillespie says that SGA has started with phase two, which is the roll-out of EMPAC to the other national Metrorail regions.
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