Väylävirasto – Spare Parts Management in a Complex Multi-User Operating Environment

Väylävirasto & Bluugo – Keeping Finland on the Right Track

The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency (Väylävirasto) is an expert agency of approximately 500 employees, responsible for the planning, development, and maintenance of Finland's road, rail, and maritime transport networks, as well as coordinating traffic and land use.

In May 2024, following a public tendering process, Väylävirasto selected Bluugo’s Tracking Cloud® platform for the implementation of a spare parts management system designed to manage maintenance materials for the control and safety equipment of Finland's railway network.

Starting Point: Strict and Numerous Requirements

Väylävirasto needed to replace its previous spare parts management system for critical railway safety equipment with a new solution that would enable centralized management of maintenance materials and spare parts across Finland's entire railway network. The project's unique characteristics and requirements made it exceptionally challenging:

• Extremely tight implementation schedule: The system had to be production-ready within just a few months of project initiation. This timeline would typically have necessitated the use of an off-the-shelf solution, but Väylävirasto’s critical and detailed requirements, numbering in the hundreds, effectively ruled out this option form the start.
• Critical infrastructure & multiple stakeholder groups: The maintenance of Finland’s wide railway network involves several different user groups (e.g. field personnel, logistics companies, equipment suppliers, etc.), complex maintenance processes, and diverse access right requirements.
• Limited in-house resources: Väylävirasto did not have sufficient resources for allocating its own project manager to lead the project. As a government agency operating under a defined buyer-producer model with extensive outsourcing, Väylävirasto required the solution provider to take full responsibility for managing the project and delivering a turnkey implementation.
• The typical "ask from the client" approach was not possible: Given the previously mentioned constraints, the implementation model of the new solution needed to rely on deep business expertise in spare parts management processes, as the tight timeline and limited resources did not allow for continuous communication or guidance from Väylävirasto.

What Did This Mean for Bluugo?

The list of complex requirements set the bar high for the entire project from day 1 – at the same time it presented an opportunity to demonstrate Bluugo’s ability to deliver a solution that meets all the critical business requirements of the customer, even with an extremely tight timeline. Key factors for a successful project included:

• Hyperadaptive solution: Bluugo’s Tracking Cloud® platform can be easily adapted to match the unique needs of each customer without requiring any custom code changes.
• Strong practical expertise in maintenance and spare parts management processes: This enabled the project to be executed efficiently without the need for continuous guidance from the customer.
• Bluugo’s onboarding model: Designed to enable effective and self-directed implementation, even in challenging initial conditions and tight schedules.

"The tight project timeline and high number of requirements demanded a deep understanding of maintenance and spare parts management processes from the supplier. Bluugo adapted its solution to our specific needs and took full responsibility for the project management, enabling the implementation without requiring additional meetings or time investment from our side," comments Aki Härkönen, Development Manager for Railway Maintenance at Väylävirasto.

"At Bluugo, we've always believed that the tool must adapt to the customer's needs – not the other way around. This project demonstrated that principle more clearly than ever before. A project of this scope and complexity could not have been completed within this timeline using traditional IT tools or off-the-shelf software," adds Katja Penttinen, Service Manager at Bluugo.

Solution: A Unified Platform for Critical Maintenance Management

Bluugo’s Tracking Cloud® platform connects all the various stakeholders, locations, and processes related to maintenance materials and spare parts management onto a single shared platform. The solution provides a real-time view of maintenance activities for control and safety equipment across the entire railway network, enabling efficient operations at all levels.

For end users, Tracking Cloud® offers clear and user-friendly tools for daily tasks, such as part transfers and inventory logging. The system is designed to support extensive multi-stakeholder environments, such as Väylävirasto’s over 200 users from various user groups, including:

• Maintenance contractors for the railway safety equipment
• Equipment & hardware suppliers
• Väylävirasto’s railway asset managers
• Staff from logistics companies and equipment service providers

The Tracking Cloud® platform also eliminates overlapping tasks and duplication of work and improves collaboration among the various stakeholder groups in general. Its flexibility and adaptability ensure it meets even the most stringent client requirements without customization, while supporting efficient and precisely managed maintenance operations.

"The solution was implemented not only to meet the client's strict requirements but also to simplify the management of a large multi-stakeholder environment and daily maintenance tasks on a concrete level," explains Penttinen.

End users have quickly adopted the new system, and the feedback has been positive.

"Now here’s a system provider that clearly has experience in delivering similar solutions to other clients. Tracking Cloud® is a massive improvement compared to previous systems – it’s evident even after a short period of use," notes one of Väylävirasto’s subcontracted maintenance contractors.

Spare parts for railway safety equipment are used around the clock, year-round, in all seasons. Active maintenance ensures smooth operation and safety of the railway traffic. Picture by Aki Härkönen.

The Results: Efficiency, Visibility, and Cost Savings

The system has been in production use for only a few months, but user experiences and observed impacts have demonstrated that the solution is performing as expected:

• Real-time access to information: Field personnel can quickly and easily check the necessary information and the locations of spare parts, simplifying their daily tasks.
• Clear and intuitive user interface: Users have praised the exceptionally clear interface, which has made adopting the new system easy and seamless.
• Effective and practical multi-stakeholder environment: All the various stakeholder groups now use the same shared platform, improving collaboration and reducing overlapping tasks and duplication of work.
• Streamlined inventory management: Since the implementation of the new solution, inventory data has been efficiently entered into the system, helping to maintain an up-to-date view of critical spare parts at all times.
• Significant cost savings: Over the five-year contract period, the system is estimated to generate cost savings in hundreds of thousands of euros.

"At this stage, we can already confidently say that the system has met the expectations set for it. It has significantly streamlined spare parts management and daily maintenance tasks, and we know that over the long term, we will achieve substantial cost savings," Härkönen states.

Key Success Factors for the Project

All in all, the project was very successful despite the challenging starting conditions and the tight schedule. The success can be largely attributed to the following factors:

• Clear requirements: Väylävirasto had well-defined requirements and a clear vision for the solution’s objectives.
• Hyperadaptability: Thanks to its hyperadaptability, the Tracking Cloud® platform was able to meet hundreds of detailed requirements with simple configurations. This enabled a rapid implementation within the tight schedule.
• Project management: Bluugo assumed full responsibility for managing the project, freeing up Väylävirasto’s resources for other tasks.
• Efficient onboarding model: Bluugo’s onboarding model minimized the required time investment from Väylävirasto and ensured the system was smoothly implemented without disruptions.
• Comprehensive user support: Tracking Cloud® includes user-friendly video guides and training sessions hosted by Bluugo, which have facilitated a seamless transition to the new system. Additionally, Bluugo’s support team responds quickly to all user queries via phone or email, which has earned praise from the end users.

"This project demonstrated how crucial it is for the supplier to be able fully adapt the solution to the client’s needs and independently manage the entire process. Bluugo’s solution met our precise requirements, and the implementation was completed within a tight schedule without burdening our own resources. The solution enables significant cost savings and provides us with better visibility and management tools for critical maintenance of the railway network," Härkönen summarizes.