Siemens Transportation Systems (STS) is the leading supplier of light rail vehicles in North America, with some 700 rail vehicles in operation. Siemens is also a leading supplier of electrification, signaling and communications systems for mass transit and mainline applications.

STS inspectors were being slowed down by an old, paper-based document management system. Reports were hand-written and placed in binders that remained in the vehicle until photocopies of the reports were distributed to production crews. Once the crews fixed the problems, they would document the repair forms, and place them back in the binders. The paper-based administration consumed up to 40% of the inspectors&singlequot; time, and with over 500 rail systems operating in 10 cities across the U.S., the Sacramento, Calif.-based headquarters needed to create a more efficient way of documenting track inspection reports.

Bear River Associates in Oakland, Calif., was commissioned to computerize the process by creating a database and a Palm application for the QA inspectors. A committee was formed to sketch out the elements needed for the computerized form, as well as its look and feel. Bear River chose Pumatech&singlequot;s Satellite Forms to develop the mobile inspection system. The software allowed for drop-down menus and easy-to-follow processes that could be coordinated with the database at the end of each day. Inspectors could also use the Palm’s capabilities to send work orders to the production crew.

With the help of Bear River Associates and Satellite Forms, STS document management system has become much more efficient. The inspectors and production crew were able to adapt to the new technology quickly and easily, and many are using their handhelds to also manage their schedules and access e-mail.