SMART

service monitor
and recovery tool

Overview

Making decisions to improve the customer experience

SMART will analyse historical data, events, and outcomes to provide a Controller with a range of options and scenarios to choose from using a wizard style process.  

Historically, the rail industry has not used data, knowledge, and historical events to learn and improve decision making and information for staff and customers. Often, decisions are taking using the knowledge and experience of the Controller on duty (which sits inside their head).

This means that incidents are resolved and recovered in different ways each time, delivering inconsistency of outcome and information.

ITAL has developed SMART (Service Monitoring and Recovery Tool). This uses Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help Controllers resolve an incident quickly and efficiently, getting the train service back to timetable as quickly as possible.

SMART Features

Using Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help Controllers resolve an incident quickly and efficiently, getting the train service back to timetable as quickly as possible.

Centralising and aggregating data to help make better, more informed, and consistent decisions  

Can aggregate any data set 

Forecasting and predicting problems before they occur 

Ensuring minimal impact for customers

Focus on the customer experience 

Allows early intervention to minimise delays and impact

Consistently using historical knowledge and expertise to deliver the best outcome 

SMART Benefits

  • Improved, quicker decision making
  • Increase the quality of information for staff and customers
  • Increase the consistency of information (it is not based on a Controllers capability)
  • Reduced disruption and delay minutes
  • The average dwell time of customers on board a service
  • Operational efficiencies
  • Improve train service reliability and performance
  • Improve the customer experience
  • Reduce complaints
  • Potentially increase patronage and revenue

Customer Experience Vs Operations

SMART is also designed to ensure decisions are taken in the interest of the customer, rather than purely an operations decision to get back to timetable.

A Controller may take a decision that had already been taken in previous days or even the current day. This can be a regular occurrence when different Controllers are on duty or there is a shift change. SMART will inform a Controller that a similar decision had already been taken and when, meaning a different approach can be taken, not impacting the same customers again.

SMART also has an awareness of busyness of trains, so if there is a choice of five services to cancel, cancel the service with the fewest passengers on or cancel a service that keeps service frequency to a minimum.

Combine loading, reservation, and gate line data to see the impact a cancellation may have on later services and stations.

SMART can formulate decisions on customer sentiment, complaints, and feedback. SMART is the complete tool to ensure you minimise disruption and makes decisions with the customer in mind.

Problems we solve

  • The rail industry does not use previous knowledge or incidents to rectify problems
  • Knowledge and experience is often in the head of a controller, resulting in inconsistent delivery of information
  • Decisions are taken to get back to operational timetable as quickly as possible, rather than the best outcome for the customer

Want to find out more?

Download the ITAL Guide to SMART