Improve on-site car inventory accuracy
Problem
Shipper needed accurate inventory and status of on-site cars but wished to avoid cost of multiple stationary readers.
Client
East coast chemicals producer with multiple manufacturing sites.
Goal
Low-entry-cost yard management system.
Applications
Rail Manager
System Integration
How accomplished
Verified that rail carrier's records for inbound cars were reasonably accurate. Used CLM's (electronic Car Location Messages from the rail carrier) to identify arriving and departing cars. Used SAP loading data to validate CLM info and to automatically update load/empty status. Communicated railcar info on real-time basis with client's car track and trace provider.
Benefits
Accuracy of on-site railcar inventory and status is significantly improved. Data flows seamlessly in and out of SAP. Common systems allow corporate view into yard status at multiple remote locations. Using CLM's allowed client to avoid several hundred thousand dollar investment in stationary AEI readers.
Automate rail scale process
Problem
Car weight data from client's on-site scale was scattered in multiple files which were identified only by time stamp. Site personnel spent several hours every day searching files for weight data.
Client
Texas chemicals producer
Goal
Integration to improve data availability, labor & time savings
Applications
Rail Scale
System Integration
How accomplished
Extracted data from stand-alone electronic scale, incorporated into existing Rail Manager system with integral search capabilities, making car weights quickly and easily accessible to all personnel on the site.
Benefits
Eliminated up to 4 man-hours/day searching through individual files on server to find car weights.
Improve control of inbound car flow
Problem
Flow of inbound empty cars was erratic and uncontrolled, causing big swings in on-site inventory. Impacts ranged from manufacturing shutdown due to lack of empties, to yard gridlock due to excess car inventory.
Client
Texas chemicals producer
Goal
Forecast car flows. Balance needs to minimize offsite car storage by using all available space on site, ensure ample supply of empty cars to avoid manufacturing disruption, and prevent yard gridlock from overcapacity.
Applications
Rail Manager
System Integration
How accomplished
Used Rail Manager to provide current yard inventory, CLMs and inbound ETA data to forecast inbound car flows, and integrated to SAP production schedule to forecast empty car needs and outbound car shipments. The increased visibility into future car flows allowed client to make real-time adjustments in offsite car storage, matching car flows with needs and available yard capacity.
Benefits
Gained 5-7 day visibility into car flows. Reduced manufacturing disruptions from 4/yr to zero. Reduced yard overcapacity incidents from 6/yr to zero. Increased average number of cars on site by 8%, reducing offsite storage costs.
Eliminate costly product shipment errors
Problem
Car numbers were manually recorded over a dozen times on each site visit. Car number documentation errors were not frequent but could lead to shipping incorrect product to a customer. Detecting this was difficult and the consequences were potentially severe.
Client
Texas chemicals producer
Goal
Customer claims reduction. Prevent shipment of incorrect product to customers caused by car number documentation errors at loading racks
Applications
Rail Manager
AEI readers
System Integration
How accomplished
Installed automated readers at 24 loading racks to electronically identify railcar numbers. Integrated to client manufacturing system (DCS) to identify product grade being loaded to each car. Provided error-proofed match of car number and contents, and fed data to SAP for shipping personnel, eliminating all manual data input.
Benefits
Improved customer satisfaction and eliminated six-figure annual costs of claims from shipment documentation errors.
Eliminate erroneous shipping and demurrage costs
Problem
Client sites faced significant shipping and demurrage charges, often for cars they had not received at that location. Researching paper records was cumbersome and unreliable and claims were difficult to defend.
Client
Coal-fired utility with multiple sites
Goal
Electronically document car arrivals and departures. Consolidate car receipts from multiple sites to allow effective match against orders, reducing discrepancies.
Applications
Rail Logger
How accomplished
Collected data from AEI readers at each site and translated T94 data to useable format. Made data accessible on corporate server, allowing client to globally match orders against receipts at all sites.
Benefits
Global matching significantly reduced discrepancies. Having data to demonstrate delivery discrepancies resulted in carrier attention that further reduced delivery errors. Better data allowed improved claims recovery.
Reduce demurrage costs
Problem
High demurrage costs due to delays in releasing empty cars. Car unloadings were documented on paper, and paper records were used to trigger car release. Process was slow and records accuracy was not high.
Client
Coal-fired utility with multiple sites
Goal
Electronically document coal car unloading at multiple sites and consolidate data to corporate fuels system for automated car release.
Applications
Rail Mobile
Rail Logger
How accomplished
Use handheld railcar reader to scan and record each car dumped and storage pile it was conveyed to. Consolidate data from all sites and deliver to server in corporate office for automated release of cars.
Benefits
Error rates reduced, release process accelerated and demurrage costs reduced. Much less time spent researching records.
Improve car inventory control
Problem
Inadequate visibility into on-site car counts and empty/load status created significant inventory problems. Insufficient empty car inventory posed risk of manufacturing shutdown. Excess car inventory resulted in emergency shift of excess cars to offsite storage which added significant expense.
Client
Texas chemicals producer
Goal
Gain visibility of car flow and inventory levels to prevent manufacturing outages caused by lack of empty cars and to reduce frequency and cost of emergency car storage when yard exceeds capacity.
Applications
Rail Manager
Rail Mobile
Rail Logger
How accomplished
Utilized existing AEI reader to provide real-time record of arrivals & departures. Deployed handheld scanners to electronically update car inventory, location and status. Provided yard management tools to improve efficiency.
Benefits
Accurate real-time inventory of cars on site allows client to manage car flow much more effectively. No manufacturing disruptions since implementation. Emergency offsite car storage costs are reduced.
Eliminate car unloading errors and associated product contamination risks
Problem
Multiple raw materials are unloaded from rail through common transfer system to dedicated silos. Paper records and manual documentation create risk of sending materials to the wrong silo. Silo contamination impacts can range from loss of raw materials, if detected soon enough, to loss of final product.
Client
Glass producer
Goal
Avoid product contamination and production outages caused by railcar unloading errors that result in silo contamination.
Applications
AEI readers
System Integration
How accomplished
Custom AEI reader to ID car over unloading pit. Integrated car reader with client PO data to ID contents. Integrated with client conveyor controls to verify proper conveyor-silo alignment. Integrated with client operating system to prevent unloading if alignment not electronically verified.
Benefits
Automatic identification of railcar and its content ready to be unloaded. Automatic verification of railcar-conveyor-silo alignment for proper unload of raw material.
Reconcile cars received against cars ordered to facilitate payment process and documentation of exceptions
Problem
Difficult manual reconciliation of cars ordered and shipped against those actually received.
Client
Coal-fired power plant, adding rail to augment barge deliveries.
Goal
Verify coal cars received against cars billed by mines and shipments billed by rail carriers.
Applications
AEI readers
Rail Logger
System Integration
How accomplished
Installed fixed AEI reader to automatically track inbounds, with hardware and logic to identify stops and reversals and other atypical moves. Formatted to meet fuel systems requirements to facilitate reconciliation. Integrated data feeds from rail carrier to identify train ID asssociated with each shipment.
Benefits
Provided real-time record of cars received and the associated train ID, formatted to facilitate reconciliation and audit process.
Scale Automation. Replacement of existing Wavenet system
Problem
Legacy AEI system is in need of replacement
Client
Mining sites, fertilizer industry
Goal
Automate the processing of capturing car number at the scale
Applications
Rail Logger
How accomplished
Use of Rail Logger at five of client's sites to send car number captured by Comet's Railert readers and associate car number with the appropriate scale weight.
Benefits
Eliminate possible tranposition error when documenting car number at the scale.
Utilize fixed and portable AEI reader to automate the process of capturing car numbers for inbound/outbound rail traffic and for loading/unloading
Problem
Tranposition errors with manually documenting car number
Client
Marine Liquids terminal
Goal
Electronically track car arrivals & departures. Document car placements for loading/unloading. Communicate captured data to client's Track and Trace provider.
Applications
Rail Logger
Rail Mobile
System Integration
How accomplished
Installed fixed AEI reader to provide real-time inbound/outbound data. Deployed Rail Mobile to document car moves and locations. Customized Rail Mobile to record which car is at which loading rack. Converted to T94 format and exported to third party logistics provider.
Benefits
Eliminate tranposition errors. Automate the process of capturing and communicating inbound/outbound traffic and loading/unloading railcars to third party logistics provider.
Use of mulitple fixed AEI readers and Rail Logger to monitor and manage rail network
Problem
The Port of Tacoma experiences continual growth in cargo volume as it expands existing terminal to accommodate customer growth, and develop new terminal to attract new customers. The Port has determined that it must be able to precisely monitor and manage its rail network and the movement of trains across it, to maximize and optimize use of existing rail capacity.
Client
Major coastal port
Goal
Expand the current network of AEI and tracking/sensing systems across both the Port and Tacoma Rail's regional rail network.
Applications
Rail Logger
How accomplished
Deploy and configure Rail Logger to track a network of 12 SAIC Trackers with the following capabilities: performs system health checks of these 12 trackers, including 'heart beat monitoring', Automatic error report generation, support multiple connectivity technologies, automatic fail over to a redundant connectivity method if the primary method fails, validate transmission receipt, remotely manageable and configurable.
Benefits
Consolidated tracking of all inbound/outbound traffic. Automated AEI site hardware error checking and reporting. Rail Logger enables Port of Tacoma to maximize use of rail network.
Use electronic systems to replace paper and spreadsheet tools which were inadequate for managing yard inventory
Problem
Low confidence about number of cars in yard available for loading, uncertainty about what had arrived and what had left. Unanticipated car shortages resulted in costly manufacturing slowdowns and stoppages. Inability to locate specific cars led to shipment delays and inability to confirm shipment led to customer complaints. Paper systems and manual data entry created errors. Process for auditing car records was very slow and not very accurate.
Client
Texas chemicals producer
Goal
Effective rail yard management
Applications
Rail Manager
Rail Logger
Rail Mobile
Rail Scale
System Integration
How accomplished
Installed automated car reader at rail entrance, integrated existing electronic scale, deployed handheld car readers to record car inventory and location. Designed & installed wireless network to link readers and scale to Rail Manager for real-time inventory and performance reporting.
Benefits
Accurate inventory allowed car flow planning that eliminated manufacturing outages. Accurate car locations avoided 'lost' cars and sharply reduced missed shipment dates. Accurate electronic records greatly reduced the need for car audits and the time required to perform them.
Replace paper recordkeeping system for railcar inspections
Problem
Paper records filled file drawers. Records were not searchable, inspections could not be verified, problem frequency could not be documented, recurring problems could not be quantified.
Client
Texas chemicals producer
Goal
Ensure that required inspections are completed before cars are loaded, verify that each required step of inspection is completed and documented. Develop tools to search and analyze the inspection data.
Applications
Rail Inspect
How accomplished
Created user-managed inspection list, deployed on handheld railcar reader, provided database for storage and reporting, and tied into car status records in Rail Manager to prevent loading cars that have not been inspected.
Benefits
Improved inspection efficiency and accountability. Completely eliminated voluminous paper records system.
Delays in processing rail scale weights required cars to be pulled from storage and re-weighed, causing extra switching work and delaying shipment to customers
Problem
Weight of loaded cars was manually checked by office staff to identify questionable weights and potentially overweight cars. Next-day processing of scale weights meant that questionable cars had to be located, pulled from outbound storage, switched to the scale, reweighed, and returned back to storage. This caused extra switching work and delayed shipment to customers.
Client
Texas chemicals producer
Goal
Reduce weighing errors and improve associated switching efficiency.
Applications
Rail Scale
System Integration
How accomplished
Provided integration to client's car data file for max allowable weight limits and to client's loading records for estimated weights. Provided scale operator with real-time alerts for overloaded cars and for cars not within tolerance of estimated weight. Provided scale operator with statistically verified process for checking weights.
Benefits
Weighing errors are identified and addressed real-time, avoiding multiple switches and eliminating risk of shipment prior to detection/resolution. This significantly reduced the number of cars being pulled and reweighed.
Integrate handheld railcar readers with SAP Rail module
Problem
Manual data entry into SAP is time consuming and carries a high error risk.
Client
Multi-site chemical producer
Goal
Utilize handheld railcar reader to document on-site inventory
Applications
Rail Mobile
How accomplished
Utilize Rail Mobile to document inbound, outbound and site inventory, and formatted data to interface to SAP.
Benefits
Handheld reader provided accurate and rapid documentation of on-site car inventory for client's SAP Rail system.
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