The Benefits Of Real-time Reporting

Real-time. The buzzword phrase of the 21st century, but what does it even mean and how will it benefit us?

The dictionary describes real-time as ‘the actual time during which a process or event occurs’ which I think sums it up really nicely. Imagine a world (we’re not far of as it stands!) where all everything you need is available to you almost instantaneously.

So, how can we apply this concept to the rail industry?

In just about any project, big or small, whatever the discipline or activity, communication between site teams and office-based teams is absolutely essential.

Real-time updates across projects mean that everyone, from senior management to site-based construction managers are accessing a single source of the most up-to-date information. As an industry, it is time for us to move away from laborious, paper-based or excel based back and forths that result in the chasing or loss of information that we all know too well.

Table of Contents

Proactive Project Management

Real-time data means you can take a much more proactive approach to project management and have the visibility to see change. You can understand delays and the reasons for any unproductive working time as they take place rather than waiting until the end of a shift, week or even period to first hear about them. This means that you can mitigate any problems before they become too big and expensive for the business. Let’s move away from having those difficult conversations at the end of the project.

Understand Progress

Having a real-time view of shift or project progress even when you’re not physically on-site is pretty indispensable. As data is entered into digital systems on-site means that different people with different roles and responsibilities can hop in and understand progress with the touch of a button. Clients and senior stakeholders can immediately see what matters to them without the constant need to be firing emails or phone calls back and forth. Raildiary gives contractors the ability to gather data from a wide range of data sources and inputs and that update live dashboards in real-time thanks to our handy integration with visualisation tools such as PowerBi.

Understanding real-time reporting, Source: Revenue

Improve Your Processes

The world is changing – meaning the way we work is changing too. You’ll have heard the phrase ‘big data’ flying around, this means that all our processes, methods and the way we do things will soon by entirely data-driven, dependent on trends and historic projects. We can only learn from our data if the data is actually there and readily available, especially in real-time. Learn more about long term learning here.

Let’s imagine a scenario where the most up-to-date data from your projects, from the progress of activities and the on-site resource to the latest task briefs and close calls data were all available on one single platform, accessible from anywhere in the world and available to download in a format that best suits you. Sounds good right? This is exactly what we do here at Raildiary. Get in touch with us below to find out more.

In conclusion, real-time reporting has the potential to transform the railway industry by providing real-time insights and improving decision-making processes. While it comes with challenges, the benefits of real-time reporting are clear, and rail companies must embrace it to remain competitive in the digital age. Ultimately, the effective use of real-time reporting requires a strategic approach that is aligned with the company's broader goals and objectives, and it is important that rail companies invest the time and resources necessary to achieve success in this area.