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Bremer Straßenbahn AGThe OrganisationThe route network of Bremer Straßenbahn AG (BSAG) covers the entire area of the Hanseatic city of Bremen and is constantly being expanded beyond this area as well. Every day, BSAG’s modern trams and buses transport almost 270,000 passengers. BSAG has developed into a successful mobility group that values qualitative human resource planning, including human resource development and training and up-to-date working time organisation. Since 2000, personnel planning in our transport service has been handled using the Trapeze system from the Trapeze Group. The ChallengeBSAG is a group with numerous subsidiaries, holdings and branch offices as well as a complex organisational structure. Our transport service is controlled from seven operations centres. Of our more than 2,150 employees, some 1,500 hold vocational driving licences/passenger transport licences. When the decision was made to replace the old, own-developed personnel planning system with a state-of-the-art efficient software solution, the efficient use of these employees, their vacation planning and payroll accounting were at the top of our wish list. Additional requirements were:
The ProjectFollowing a public tender, BSAG chose the Trapeze system seeing that this system closely complied with the requirements of the “overall requirements specification” and, above all, due to the broad functionalities that it offered. Initially, in connection with the implementation of the system, a pilot project was realised, the organisation of which was so practice oriented that the system was ready for use immediately upon purchase. In addition, super users were trained, the parameters for personnel planning were established, and the payroll module was set up with all relevant rules. The project team was composed of representatives from all involved areas (HR department, transport department and IT department) as well as the works council. The works council moreover assigned the testing of the system to a faculty of the University of Bremen. The requirements for the result of this expert opinion were based on the employees’ vision for the planning system. This contributed to ensuring a high degree of acceptance among the employees. During a two- to three-month parallel operation of the old and the new software, a “customised” solution based on standards was established in close coordination with the faculty. The implementation was supported by experts from Trapeze. Trapeze’s competent liaisons came up with innovative solutions and were also able to present alternative approaches, thereby avoiding extensive and unnecessary software modifications. The TechnologyMeanwhile, the Trapeze system has been in successful operation for the past five years at BSAG. The system is based on a client/server architecture. On the one hand, data is accessed via Citrix and, on the other, via the Internet/Intranet using the Personal Web Trapeze module. The full integration in the IT infrastructure ensures smooth data transfer between Trapeze and the upstream and downstream systems. BSAG is particularly satisfied with the implementation of the interfaces required for this, soundly and cost-effectively designed by the Trapeze advisers. The (individual) services will be taken over from the upstream timetable and duty scheduling system EPON. The employee master data are stored in the SAP R/3 HR module. Generally, new employees are created in the SAP system. Both systems are automatically synchronised with each other on a daily basis as both systems maintain specified employee master data. The Practical ExperienceThe use of Trapeze in the operations centres has led to increased efficiency as desired. As the drivers are assigned to the individual operations centres, it sometimes happened in the past that employees at one operations centre had to work overtime while drivers were available at another operations centre. In this context, the Trapeze system ensures transparency and, if required, employees can be assigned or seconded. Moreover, an employee pool could be created using Trapeze, via which special services can be performed by qualified employees. In practice, this results in large savings as specific tasks which, for capacity reasons, often had to be carried out on weekends – at high cost – now can be completed during the week and thereby more cost-effectively. Taking this approach one step further, it would also be possible to create a pool of particularly flexible employees and to all intents and purposes establish a “virtual operations centre”. A concept that BSAG plans to follow up on. Apart from flexibility and availability, the skills of the drivers are another important factor for the controllers to keep in mind. The Trapeze system offers controllers an extensive overview of all driver data and thereby contributes significantly to safeguarding the investment. Thanks to Trapeze, the work has not only been made easier and more efficient for controllers. All employees have access to their data via information terminals in staffrooms and, as a brand-new feature, also via the Internet from any location. Everyone can print his/her personal duty schedule for the next weeks, make vacation requests, and view work time sheets. At the Controlling department, the direct data transfer from Trapeze to SAP R/3 – CO has made the costs more transparent as the payroll costs can now be allocated directly to the line costs. ResultThe flexibility of the requested changes was a particularly positive feature of the cooperation between BSAG and Trapeze. The new personnel planning system was tailored specifically to the needs of BSAG. The employees’ acceptance of the new system was therefore markedly high from the outset. The system is now used by 75 employees who are all highly satisfied with the user-friendliness and the functions available. Despite the preponderance of advantages, the use of IT systems is, as always, not for everyone, and the transition from paper to computer has not been easy for everyone. In times of intensified competition, ROI is the key factor. Investments are also particularly important, and from this point of view as well, the implementation of the system has been a resounding success. The required quick and flexible response to the constantly changing operational environment is no longer possible without the use of state-of-the-art systems.
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