Rail Power Systems: From pilot to company-wide roll-out in 12 months [Case Study]

From mistake to success story: From pilot to company-wide roll-out in 12 months

About Rail Power Systems

Rail Power Systems (RPS) is a leading provider in the field of railroad infrastructure and overhead line construction. As a long-standing partner of Deutsche Bahn, RPS plans and implements projects throughout Germany - with a focus on quality, precision and adherence to deadlines.

The impetus for digitization came from a specific surveying error in the field.

1. initial situation: A mast in the wrong place

What happens if a survey point is set incorrectly?

At Rail Power Systems, one such error led to the incorrect foundation of an overhead line mast - unnoticed until the track was built. The incident initially went unnoticed - only six months later, during track construction, did it become clear that the mast was meters away from the target point.

The cause was quickly found, but the consequences were serious: delays, additional work and costs. One thing was clear - a solution was needed that would allow more self-monitoring on the construction site.

2. goals: More control, better documentation, faster processes

The incident gave rise to a central question:
How can quality assurance on the construction site be supported digitally - without high additional costs?

Rail Power Systems pursued several goals:

• Error prevention through self-monitoring surveying and foundation work
• Georeferenced photo documentation Without manual storage
• More efficient marking of mast locations in the planning phase
• Digital support for teamwork
• Simple, intuitive system for non-technical users

3. the solution: SitePlan GNSS antenna + app

The solution was not long in coming:
SitePlan was evaluated on the recommendation of a project manager - a combination of GNSS antenna, app and web platformspecially developed for use in infrastructure construction.

SitePlan enables a Precise self-monitoring and supports central use cases:

• Geo-referenced photo documentation & task management
• Stakeout & localization in the field
• As-built survey & digital measurement

"Instead of tape measures, notes and loose photos: Today, documentation is done directly via smartphone - accurate to the centimeter in combination with the GNSS antenna and fully digital.

We didn't want a heavy measuring system - we wanted something that simply works. And it does."

- Richard Bulang, Technical Project Manager, RPS

With just a few clicks, you can record measuring points, automatically locate photos and create complete reports - ideal for inspections, acceptance tests or project handovers.

Intuitive, mobile and practical - even without previous experience.

4. implementation plan

From pilot to standard in 12 months

What began with a pilot project in the Dresden construction office developed into a company-wide standard solution at Rail Power Systems within a year.

In the Pilot phase SitePlan was launched on a small scale with a Complete GNSS package tested. The solution quickly proved convincing - both technically and in practical use.

As a result, the decision was made to equip all locations with the "Ready-to-use GNSS complete package consisting of GNSS antenna, 3x SitePlan app (mobile & web-based), cloud-based data storage and correction data service.

To ensure the smoothest possible introduction, the rollout phase was actively supported. Richard Bulang took over the central coordination - with Info mails, online training courses and a Key user principle per location. In addition, an internal guideline was created, supported by training videos from SitePlan.

"Many colleagues were shy at first - but after three clicks in the app, they were hooked."
- Richard Bulang

Summary of the roll-out process:

5. results: Tangible benefits in everyday construction site work

With the introduction of SitePlan, Rail Power Systems has made significant progress in several areas. Sustainable efficiency gains achieved - especially in planning, documentation and quality assurance on the construction site.

Before and after at a glance

"Marking out at the start of a project is now five times faster - we used to do it with a tape measure. Now we go out with the antenna, record points and that's it."
- Richard Bulang, Technical Project Manager, RPS

Time and quality gains at a glance

• Planning 5× faster: Today, pylon sites are marked in a fifth of the time they used to be - directly on site, as early as the design phase.
• Photo reports instead of minutes: Documentation takes place directly in SitePlan - georeferenced, annotated and without post-processing.
• Better data transfer: Information from the quotation phase is available across all projects - without media discontinuity and with reference to the location.
• Avoid mistakes instead of correcting them: Since the introduction of SitePlan, there have been no more faulty mast foundations.
• Quick introduction, wide use: After three compact training sessions, all teams work independently with the system.
  

SitePlan saves Rail Power Systems today Hundreds of hours of manual work and follow-up - especially in planning, documentation and self-monitoring. Processes are more efficient, data is more structured and the team is more digital.

6. best practices: Success factors during rollout

The rollout of SitePlan at Rail Power Systems shows that technology alone is not enough - the decisive factor is the "How" of the introduction. Five factors have proven to be particularly effective:

• Start small, scale big:
  A pilot in the Dresden construction office laid the foundation - with clear objectives and a real practical test.
• Actively accompany the introduction:
  Short training sessions, personal invitations and clear communication took away the fear early on - especially among less tech-savvy users.
• Key user per location:
  Local contacts pass on knowledge, support software and antenna handling and ensure acceptance on site.
• Company-specific guideline:
  An internal guide explains typical use cases - supplemented by explanatory videos from SitePlan.
• Showing live works:
  The live demo at a project manager conference convinced many - often "three clicks" are enough to get started.

7 Outlook: Integration and standardization

Following the successful rollout, RPS now uses SitePlan in its day-to-day work on the construction site. Reliable and established throughout the team. The next step: Better integration into existing systems.

• Interfaces to internal IT:
  Among other things, the automatic transfer of photos to the project drive via the SitePlan API is being tested.
• Standardized data collection:
  Own attribute templates will be used in future to structured and standardized across locations document.

"SitePlan has become part of everyday life - now we want to integrate it even more closely with our processes."
- Richard Bulang

Conclusion: From single pilot to established solution

What began with an incorrectly positioned mast foundation became the catalyst for a new, digital way of working in railroad construction. Today, SitePlan Rail Power Systems provides support for planning, documentation and quality assurance. Mobile, precise and efficient.

More than 60 employees have now been issued with licenses, Each location has at least one complete GNSS package. This is how RPS saves Hundreds of hours of surveying and manual reworking - with higher data quality and better traceability at the same time.

With a clear rollout concept, SitePlan has developed from a pilot project to a company-wide solution - and is now an integral part of everyday construction site life at RPS.