ProRail Transforms Rail Grinding Maintenance with Rizing and SAP
ProRail is a public transport company that maintains the national rail infrastructure in the Netherlands. The company is a part of NS Railinfratrust, the Dutch railway infrastructure owner. Founded in January of 2003, ProRail is headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands and employs approximately 4400 employees.
Project Background
Rail grinding is a necessary maintenance process in the rail industry. Grinding happens in the field, but the technology back in the office also plays an important role.
ProRail had previously used SAP Linear Asset Management, but it didn’t fully meet the need to create rail grinding plans. The system lacked specific rail characteristics for grinding and measuring points.
Instead, ProRail planners used Excel to manage grinding jobs. The process made it difficult to turn work around as fast as the company needed to.
Building on Linear Asset Data for Rail Grinding
During a five-month project, Rizing helped ProRail define a new grinding policy then design, build, test, and roll out an SAP-based solution.
We also helped ProRail clean up existing data and add data stored in systems outside of Linear Asset Management.
Staying Ahead of the Curve
ProRail’s SAP-powered grinding process is now more efficient and accurate. ProRail planners can now:
- React to track irregularities sooner
- Create and assign required measuring points based on specific equipment and linear data
- Schedule work orders for rail grinding two years ahead of when they expect to exceed the maximum allowed tonnage limits
- Use the extra data to grind tracks and turnouts based on the asset’s condition instead of grinding strictly on timetables and regulations
- Predict when grinding will be necessary
- Save money and work hours by grinding at the right time and place
- Avoid unnecessary damage and maintenance on the track
Agile Process, Change Management Focus
ProRail and Rizing took an SAP Activate, agile approach to the rail grinding process. They kept business stakeholders involved by regularly demonstrating deliverables. The work was part of a broader change management strategy enabling quick transformation.
ProRail provided workshops and training starting when implementation began—a significant step when making a dramatic transformation to a critical process. Rizing provided extra workshops, training, and user manuals to ProRail when necessary.
Working together, ProRail, Rizing and SAP improved the ProRail grinding process, which will benefit the entire ProRail business.
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