Project i-TRACE

Project i-TRACE

Project i-TRACE will underpin Rail’s Digital Future by providing the foundation upon which the rail industry can build its digital capabilities. This industry-wide initiative will standardise the capture of data relating to all assets and materials in the rail industry. In doing so, it will help to improve efficiency, lower costs and deliver better customer service. The Australasian Railway Association, along with GS1, are spearheading this initiative and working with industry to deliver this transformational initiative. The ARA has established a working group involving operators and suppliers who have agreed to a collaborative approach to improving inbound supply chain processes.  Further information on how your organisation can take action is available here.

Benefits

  • It provides critical building blocks upon which digital capabilities and automation of operational processes can be built – a common framework, using GS1 global data standards, to enhance the industry’s digital footprint.
  • The investment requirement is low, but the benefits are high with short, medium and long-term tangible and intangible outcomes.
  • Having consistency of object identification will underpin automation initiatives as the industry moves towards greater digitalisation through the SmartRAIL project.
  • It will allow for predictive maintenance by leveraging data analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence as technologies continue to evolve over time. Having a good digital grounding will be critical to effectively exploiting these capabilities.

Moving towards 2019 implementation

  • The ARA is committed to realising the benefits of improved digital capabilities and has an ambitious goal of rapid adoption in 2019 through extensive industry and government involvement. Rapid implementation is critical to achieving the initiative’s benefits, including:
  • Reduced ongoing costs by automating basic operational processes – many are still manual
  • Improved cash flow – free up unnecessary inventory holdings; move to just in time
  • Reduce costly write offs and waste
  • Risk mitigation and management – guarantee safety through detailed knowledge of asset condition – including all components and maintenance history
  • Reduce reliance on human knowledge – this is not sustainable to support level of industry growth
  • Supports ISO 55000 – improve data quality (consistent and accurate) – today much of our data is captured manually and is incomplete
  • Improved network performance – optimization of assets
  • Best practice across the industry with easily auditable processes and pro-active operations

 

Supporting national construction projects

Major rail infrastructure projects dominate federal and state infrastructure programs, with significant investments earmarked for a range of projects across the country, including Sydney Metro, Inland Rail, Gold Coast Light Rail, Cross River Rail, Perth Metronet and ACT Light Rail and Melbourne Airport Link. Embedding i-TRACE in the early construction phases in these and other projects is critical to delivering cost benefits over the life cycle of the asset, and avoiding the need to retrofit foundational digital capabilities at a later stage.

 

Classroom training

Don't miss this half-day training which will cover a range of topics including why the industry is standardising the way parts and assets are identified and marked.
Register now

Online training

If you're unable to attend training, we also have fortnightly webinars, where you can learn more about Project i-TRACE.

Webinar 1: This webinar is an introduction to Project i-TRACE. An overview of the project, background and next steps will be included.  
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Webinar 2: This webinar is an abridged version of the training session, this webinar includes steps toward implementation.
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Version 2.1 of the Australian Rail Guideline has been released. Additions to the guideline include standardised product labels and/or plate designs to assist you with your implementation (Please refer to Part III of the guideline).  You can download the guideline from the GS1 Australia website here: https://www.gs1au.org/resources/forms/australian-rail-aidc-guideline-request/ 

 

Further information on GS1 standards can be found in the video below.

 

More Information

For more information please contact Duncan Sheppard via dsheppard@ara.net.au or on 02 6270 4531.