Last Stop

Anamaria Bonilla

Darin Welch

“THE QUANDARY PROMPTED MNR TO MODERNIZE ITS BRIDGE MANAGEMENT PROCESSES AND CREATE AN INTEGRATED ASSET MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. Asset management technology turns data into knowledge

Anamaria Bonilla, Metro-North Railroad Darin Welch, HNTB Corporation

The Federal Railroad Administration’s Final Bridge Safety Standards, implemented in September 2010, required railroads to track their bridges’ capacity and ensure safety through specific procedures. At the time— as still is common in the industry today— Metro-North Railroad (MNR) housed disparate rail asset inventory data mostly on paper and in Excel spreadsheets across multiple departments.

The quandary prompted MNR to modernize its bridge management and inspection processes, as well as create a tailored, integrated asset management system. Initially launching in January 2014, and in partnership with HNTB, MNR launched RailAdvise helping them manage and prioritize for capital planning purposes, MNR’s bridges, drainage structures, communications towers and retaining walls.

Technology solutions can present challenges because of the resources required, including the perceived difficulties of migrating paperbased records into an electronic system and the concern that it may be hard to use or won’t work under some field conditions. In MNR’s experience, as the agency begins its eighth year of utilization with RailAdvise, using a technology and data platform has created advantages far exceeding any perceived short-term development and implementation challenges. Benefits include:

• Accurate prioritization of structural

investments. By reviewing consistent, comprehensive information simultaneously, departments can gain joint clarity on priority projects, and incorporate background algorithms that used agency-driven prioritization formulas. • Rating consistency. Railroads may have different sets of eyes—including both internal and consultant inspectors—on their assets over time. When all inspectors use the same technology in the field, ratings are consistent and trustworthy. • Responsive reporting. Within hours of receiving a request, the railroad can create status reports that include recent inspection data, photos, maps, ownership

responsibilities and as-built drawings. • Remote access. Users can access design plans or the entire history of each structure securely and remotely 24/7.

To successfully develop and implement technology applications, railroads should consider following these best practices:

• Assemble a broad stakeholder group to drive decisions about desired capabilities, features and any business processes that need to be incorporated. The group should include leadership, subject-matter experts, individuals with decades of experience, information technology professionals from the agency, and inspectors who will use the app in the field. • Understand the agency’s needs and look for a system that best meets those needs. The resulting system should manage as many important processes and tasks as possible and be customizable to handle inspection and capacity issues for assets. • Make sure the system will seamlessly pull information from the agency’s other business systems and databases, and vice versa. • Undertake an iterative process, demonstrating updates to stakeholders every two to three weeks and folding their feedback into the next iteration. • Work together for the express purpose of making the railroad better, keeping the entire development team in place through deployment and into support and maintenance. • Understand that tweaks will be required after the application is in use. End users need a voice in identifying the final adjustments that must be made.

As dollars become increasingly difficult for public entities to come by, investment in an asset management platform will help move railroads forward efficiently and effectively. Technology empowers railroads, turning critical data into knowledge.

Bonilla is Director of Structures for Metro-North Railroad. Welch is the national geospatial manager in HNTB’s Technology Solutions Center.