ERP set to simplify Indian Railways' rolling stock management |
 |
By Yuga Chaudhari, Principal Correspondent
13 Jan 2010 | SearchCIO.in |
|
|
The IT arm of Indian Railways - Center for Railway Information System
(CRIS) – has recently decided to implement ERP to manage its rolling
stocks. Under this project, L&T Infotech will be the deploying
system integrator for CRIS. SAP based applications will be used for
this project.
Revealing the project's phase-wise plan, a top CRIS official told
SearchCIO.in (on condition of anonymity) that the project officially
started from December 2, 2009. CRIS plans to do the pilot project in
May 2011. After the pilot project, CRIS estimates that the final
rollout across India will be complete by May 2013.
Under this project, L&T Infotech will deploy ERP
software and the underlying hardware to automate maintenance of
Indian Railways' rolling assets (wagon fleet which carry freight
traffic, as well as the diesel locomotives which haul freight and
passenger trains). Rolling stocks, through which Indian Railways sells
its passenger services and freight services, are among its major
assets. Management of these rolling stocks and governing of assets is
still performed manually.
At the moment, Indian Railways has applications for front end systems
like passenger reservations and freight operations. However, it is
necessary to have visibility of goods and wagons, so that operators and
customers can locate their goods and carriers. "Almost one fourth of
Indian Railways' expenditure (approximately Rs 10,000 Crore) goes
towards material procurement for rolling stocks and its maintenance. So
it's a very capital intensive area. The challenge was to determine whether we
can get more revenue and service out of this business," says the
official.
|
|
|
|
|
Convincing the top authorities was a challenge for CRIS, as the project was under wraps for the past three years. The rollout phase is still to get a nod from the government authorities.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Execution of these projects will involve creation of two centralized
ERP-based applications. The first application will be freight
maintenance management (FMM) for management of freight and wagon
depots. Loco-Shed Management System (LMS) for management of diesel
locomotive sheds will be the second application.
These projects include installation and commissioning; along with
multi-year ongoing support of hardware and systems. The work involves
establishing central data center infrastructure; providing LAN and
supply; as well as installation and commissioning of hardware and
networking equipment. L&T Infotech will also be installing servers,
network equipment, closed circuit camera systems, touch screens and
RFID-based kiosks to provide an easy user interface for Railways'
employees.
CRIS wanted a short implementation period, which brought ERP-based
applications into the picture. As per the source, "One of the reasons
why we went ahead with ERP is its ability to integrate with existing
systems". These ERP-based applications, along with sophisticated IT
automation tools and integration with Railways' freight operations
information system, are anticipated to be a major breakthrough. CRIS
expects this project to be an important milestone in improving internal
efficiency and quality of work in Indian Railways' maintenance depots.
Convincing the top authorities was a challenge for CRIS, as the project
was under wraps for the past three years. The rollout phase is still to
get a nod from the government authorities. According to the information
received, the pilot project will cost around Rs 7 Crore. Across India,
the expected FMM project expenditure will be around 90 Crore, with an
expected rollout period of three years. The LMS project will cost
around Rs 50 Crore, and take around two years for the roll out.
CRIS is also undertaking similar projects for Railways' Integral Coach
Factory and coach maintenance.
|
|
|
|
