James Baxter, Manager of Maintenance Administration for Utah Transit Authority, presents how the company evaluated mobile platform vs. point solutions, what UTA has built using a mobile platform and what's ahead on UTA's technology road map.
Utah Transit Authority: Leveraging the Power of a Mobile Platform
1.
2. 2
DSI – MOBILE SUPPLY CHAIN CLOUD
MANUFACTURING
CUSTOMERS, SALES & SERVICE
SUPPLIERS DISTRIBUTORS
RAW MATERIALS
DSI CLOUD
END to END SUPPLY CHAIN
VISIBILITY & EXECUTION
3. UTAH TRANSIT AUTHORITY
Leveraging the Power of a Mobile Platform
James Baxter
Manager of Maintenance Administration
Utah Transit Authority
4. 4
UTAH TRANSIT AUTHORITY: OVERVIEW
Today’s UTA fleet:
• 600+ buses and
paratransit vehicles
• 400 vanpools
• 146 light rail vehicles
• 63 commuter rail cars
• 18 locomotives
• 1,600-square-mile
service area
Incorporated on March 2, 1970, the
Utah Transit Authority (UTA)
provides a public mass
transportation system for Utah
communities.
5. 5
A DIFFERENT KIND OF CUSTOMER STORY…
“We actually weren’t looking for a
mobility solution.”
—James Baxter, UTA
6. 6
“If you have a platform when you’re
thinking of these ideas, you can
create them. You can do them. You’re
in control of your own destiny.”
—James Baxter, UTA
9. 9
SOLVING THE PROBLEM
An Unexpected Solution Emerges
Option 1
Customize enterprise system
(JD Edwards) to
accommodate new work
orders.
Option 2
Mobilize and optimize the
work order process using a
platform-based solution.
10. 10
WHY DSI?
The Power of a Mobile Platform
• No enterprise software
customization required to
build mobile solutions
• Easily update mobile
apps and workflow to
meet changing business
needs
• Maximize investment in
existing system of record
while solving pervasive
business challenges
• Solves business
problems so employees
have more time to work
11. 11
WHAT UTA BUILT (PHASE ONE)
A Newly Streamlined Work Order Mobile App
14. 14
THE DSI PLATFORM IN ACTION
Solving a New Business Challenge: Station Maintenance
DSI’s Product Locator
Solution Accelerator
UTA’s Station
Inspections
15. 15
THE DSI PLATFORM IN ACTION
Solving a New Business Challenge: Station Maintenance
16. 16
THE DSI PLATFORM IN ACTION
Solving a New Business Challenge: Vehicle Performance and History
17. 17
WHAT’S NEXT?
UTA’s Mobile Supply Chain Roadmap
• Throughout 2015: bring all
UTA employees to a
common level in terms of
mobile app usage
• Support BYOD for UTA’s
mobile apps in 2016-17
(also enabling more
individual task/process
completion, i.e. POs).
• Expand vehicle
performance mobile apps to
all 20 fleet types
18. 18
“If you have a platform when you’re
thinking of these ideas, you can
create them. You can do them. You’re
in control of your own destiny.”
—James Baxter, UTA
Customizing JDE not an ideal situation because previous, similar work had prompted problems with upgrade from 8.1 to 9.1, not to mention unexpected costs.
Contractor recommended DSI. From there we learned we had no customizations to do in JDE, could read and write from the tables directly without changing the enterprise software. Modifications not a problem. Could work to implement new goal: a single work order with a single form (improves searchability).
“In about six months we rewrote, turned around and deployed from our original concept—did away with manual maintenance time entry system. It was all about data entry—filtering at the front end to prevent errors on the back end.”
Share details/insight into new work order system
Additional talking point (if applicable):
In the work order system, the function for identifying the comebacks is the one we are most excited about. This has been something that we have worked hard to add to the system. It is something that would have been difficult to do without the DSI platform. Given our drive for operational excellence, and the principles of 8 Wastes, this significantly helps in work on eliminating repeat work.
DSI’s James Spivey showed the UTA team our Product Locator solution accelerator—they realized they could build a similar tool to help manage station inspections and cut down on the day and a half delay that occurred between an inspection and finding an issue to when the work order was filed, assigning someone to the repair.
App features:
Station selection
Task checklist
Log problems with notes and/or photos, which triggers an instant work order from JDE
Eliminated manual data entry component.
Train station inspection app: evolve to include light rail facilities, some of which can span a mile and a half from one side to the other. Eliminate the need to carry paper, integrate processes for faster task completion, reduce distance between employees and data entry kiosks (put devices in their hands).
“We have some big dreams but the first thing we have to cover is the security hurdle of BYOD.”