Overview
A freight logistics client with significant numbers of active mobile assets servicing over 400 customers and responsible for the movement of millions of tonnes of raw resources, retail goods, manufacturing products, and construction materials across Australia.
Background
Increases in journey cycle times and challenges in increasing the number of services available to individual customers drove the need to better understand the reliability and utilisation performance of its key mobile assets and the reasons for delays in completing services more quickly. The objective was to make additional services available to move more products to grow revenues and broaden its growth ambitions.
Action taken and solution
The client was assisted in discovering, adopting and implementing a time usage framework based on the Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) methodology and adapted for its industry operating model.
The framework was digitised using Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and equipment to identify, measure, report and calculate major locomotive and train delays experienced in the field in real time. Delays were also tied to key events and proximity relationships to identify likely root causes for management action.
An innovative user interface was developed to give an intense and rich visual representation of delay data and information to users and management.
Results achieved and takeaways
- The framework was tested and deployed in a key market over several key assets.
- The data and information collected drove the instigation of several improvement projects aimed at reducing delays due to external network providers preferencing their assets' use of the rail network.
- Review of maintenance and provisioning processes identified opportunities to reduce associated maintenance time delays.