Siemens Transportation Systems

Challenge

Improve processes to achieve better control, accountability, and security

Solution

Serena TeamTrack

Results

• Streamlined and synchronized business processes
• Accelerated development
• Improved accountability and security
• Improved efficiency
• Improved decision making backed by robust data collection and reporting
• Easier integration with third-party applications and databases

“TeamTrack helps us streamline and synchronize our business processes. It helps us efficiently and reliably provide our customers with timely information on the functioning of our business.”
— Brent Housenga, Quality Assurance Manager, STS ILG Systems

Achieving continuous process improvement

As an engineering and project management firm, the ILG division of STS designs and implements state-of-the-art vehicle location systems that link buses, trains, emergency vehicles, and other mobile units with central dispatch areas, web sites and public information displays. STS solutions enable people to plan trips on the go and provide city officials with the data they need to manage public resources as efficiently and as effectively as possible.

Before STS implemented TeamTrack, they faced a number of significant challenges in managing their business processes. Their homegrown MS Access system used text-based fields to collect freeform data, making it difficult for STS to harness information for performance metrics or trends analysis. In addition, the security of their existing system was not comprehensive enough for STS to ensure accountability or practice continuous process improvement.

STS ILG began their search for a process management solution with a comprehensive list of requirements in hand. They needed a high-performance system that could help them achieve conformance with ISO 9000 standards. The solution had to provide easy deployment, extensive reporting capabilities and support for third-party tools. In addition, STS wanted a customizable system that would enable them to automate existing processes instead of forcing them to adapt to generic procedures. Above all, STS wanted a system with the flexibility to evolve as their business needs changed.

Fast and flexible system implementation and management

After attending tradeshows and consulting with other companies on solutions in the market place, STS identified Serena TeamTrack as their tool of choice. The Web-based architecture of TeamTrack is an especially attractive feature for STS ILG because it enables easy deployment and eliminates the need to install or maintain software on client computers. TeamTrack also gives STS the ability to visually define new process flows. It provides the flexibility they need to identify new workflow steps, alter or remove existing steps, and make changes at the click of a button. TeamTrack manages user access with a variety of optional password controls, and TeamTrack's built-in security features make it easy for administrators to ensure that users are authenticated using their network password.

Streamlining and synchronizing business processes

When STS ILG adopted Serena TeamTrack, they first used it to automate their Inspection Test Record (ITR) and Nonconforming Material Tag (NMT) systems. In the ITR system, TeamTrack maintains the build history of their products, recording non-conformances in the manufacturing process as well as the associated corrective actions, and documenting the final configuration of each unit. In their NMT system, it manages the disposition of nonconforming materials on the production floor and in the field, and tracks that material as it is sent to suppliers for repair.

Over time, STS has extended Serena TeamTrack to gain organization, control and accountability over several other important areas of their business. STS uses TeamTrack to automate their Customer Return Goods application, which manages the return of material from customers. TeamTrack also provides a solid foundation for their Internal Build system, which coordinates the building of subassemblies.

 “We use Serena TeamTrack to streamline and synchronize our business processes,” says Brent Housenga, STS Quality Assurance Manager, TeamTrack administrator and in-house TeamTrack expert. “It helps us efficiently and reliably provide our customers with timely information on the functioning of our business. And it gives us the information we need for continuous process improvement.”

Improving decision making with extensive reporting and unrivaled support

TeamTrack's real-time reporting features provide up-to-the-minute and historical data that STS harnesses for trend analysis and process optimization. Freeform, non-standardized data entry fields have been replaced with customizable fields and drop-down lists to ensure consistent, coherent data collection. The customization features of TeamTrack allow STS to collect the data they need in a format that is convenient for their existing user base.

Housenga has been especially impressed by the tremendous assistance he's received from TeamTrack's support team. “The TeamTrack support team has been able to help me with a number of issues in an efficient and effective manner,” explains Housenga. “They are extremely patient and pleasant people to work with, and they have the ability to stick with a problem until it is solved.”

“Serena TeamTrack has been a superb tool for managing and automating our business processes,” Brent continues. “It is flexible and adaptable to our business as it changes, and it has made it very easy for us to convert raw data into information we can use to make profound business decisions.”