Type your search
Case Study

Managing The Nation’s First Modern Public-private Partnership For Public Transportation

Industry
Rail
Products
EAM
When ACI was contracted to operate and maintain the Regional Transportation District (RTD)’s new commuter rail line for 29 years, they needed a long-term technology partner to meet the complex asset management requirements.

Background

Alternate Concepts, Inc. (ACI) provides mass transit operations and maintenance services to public and private clients across the United States. In April 2016, RTD opened the nation's first modern commuter rail line delivered under a public-private partnership. ACI and their partners, Fluor and BBRI, are operating and maintaining the service.

Challenges

The RTD contract required the team to operate and maintain the A-Line service for nearly 30 years. “The challenges with projects like this aren’t just about operating the train. We’re also responsible for the maintenance of vehicles, tracks, stations, power infrastructure, crossings and more,” said Susan Altshuler, Senior Associate, ACI. “To do all that, we needed a unified asset management and maintenance system that could meet all of RTD's requirements; present, and future.”

Part of winning the RTD bid meant coming up with a budget that contemplated every component, its cost, and how often it must be repaired, renewed or replaced over 30 years. “The asset management process never stops, so the technology solution to manage it couldn’t either,” said Altshuler.

Solutions

ACI turned to Trapeze Group, their long term technology partner, to deliver an integrated, scalable solution with support that went above and beyond expectations.

ACI had already implemented on use of the Trapeze EAM solution for all their client engagements. “Having those modules for asset procurement, replacement, replenishment, and labor allocation in one system was crucial for a complex project like this,” said Altshuler.

ACI worked with RTD and the design team to create not just a safe railroad, but one built for ease of maintenance and to lower maintenance expense. ACI tapped the Trapeze EAM solution to weave together data and alerts for parts replenishment, project management, warranty, repairs, renewals and labor management.

“Originally we used EAM to track our acceptance, testing and commissioning, and mobilization for the RTD project and now we are managing the operations for the lines that have opened,” said Altshuler. “We appreciate that Trapeze is evolving their solutions to meet new needs, such as their new SGR (State of Good Repair) module.”

To help meet FRA maintenance requirements, the system tracks inspection and preventive maintenance compliance for all assets. Asset failure response is automated with custom alerts from and to other systems and notifies key personnel of significant events. Procurement and parts replenishment connections to back office and third-party systems is seamless.

"People sometimes use the word integration loosely, but what Trapeze provides is practical, hands-on integration."

Susan Altshuler, Senior Associate, ACI

Results

Colorado’s A-Line service now provides a world-class train-to-plane connection. “Management was really pleased with the level of automation. Every asset, every bit of documentation for it and the IPC (illustrated parts catalog) — everything was at our fingertips,” said Altshuler. “It’s such a seamless integration.”

“A lot of products are good but you also need to make sure the product evolves to meet the new needs, and this product has stayed up to date on all the FTA requirements,” Altshuler said. “The integration was fantastic. The interfaces work with every system in our operation and the customer support was phenomenal. Trapeze makes us feel like partners.”

ACI and Trapeze Group continue to work together to evolve the EAM solution and extend it to other areas of RTD’s enterprise. “We just started implementing Yard Manager and we’re using it with RFIDs to get a picture of the whole yard,” said Altshuler. “It’s one more way we can look at EAM that we couldn’t before. People sometimes use the word integration loosely, but what Trapeze provides is practical, hands-on integration.”

Download as PDF
Download 'Managing The Nation’s First Modern Public-private Partnership For Public Transportation'
Thank you.
The PDF of this case study has opened in a new tab.
Connect With Us View Solutions
Request a Live Demo
 
Let's get you on the mailing list
 
Select Your Region