When you are starting out with a planning project one of the most important things that we need to establish is what the budget is. Once we have the budget as part of our initial plans, we need to look at how we can make the most of it.
This may mean completing larger projects over a longer period of time or simply upgrading the technology along certain parts of the route. By utilising business intelligence in this planning process, we can get help to make better decisions.
Time vs Cost
In the rail industry, we know that people work with a strict budget for maintenance and upgrades that will be allocated for a set amount of time. Using business intelligence and our central data warehouse as part of our rail software, we can use our large amount of data already available from past products in the industry to look at different scenarios that are possible.
Data Warehouse Benefits
By having a central repository of all assets on a specific route and all of the specifications of each asset, we can see what the costs are for maintenance over a set amount of time.
When looking at repair costs over an extended period of time, we can see how the maintenance costs of a rail asset increase over time as the asset nears its expected service lifespan.
Once you know what the expected maintenance costs of an asset are over the budgeted timeframe, you can see if it is better to expense towards the upkeep of the asset or replace the asset with newer equipment.
While an equipment renewal may increase initial costs, over a longer timeframe this will reduce the expected maintenance costs and can help a budget set for a longer period of time. Using this data you can see what the best course of action would be for your project and to plan any scheduled track closure you may require.
Time vs Cost
Using our business intelligence software, we can help you make better (and further reaching) decisions.
When you are looking at a 5 year plan to see renewal vs maintenance costs, the difference may be minimal but what if you look at a larger time frame?
If a rail asset has only been in place for a short period of time, it would not be worth completing an renewal as the maintenance costs should be relatively low in comparison to the cost of installing new equipment as the maintenance costs would slowly rise over the lifespan of the component but using our business intelligence tools can help you visualise these cost and help put a strong business case forward when the time comes to replace important parts of your route.
Using business intelligence tools (such as our rail planning software platform) gives you the confidence to make better decisions, view asset and technology relationships in real time and enhance productivity and efficiency. We can help you get the best results and the correct information every time.
For more information about our product and to see how using business intelligence can significantly improve your planning for rail maintenance, upgrades and more, contact one of our team today for a demo of our rail planning platform.