Harbor Rail Services API DEVELOPMENT

Transportation

May 28

ORGANIZATION: Harbor Rail Services

Challenge

Harbor Rail Services is an industry leader in freight car inspections and repair. Headquartered in Pasadena, Harbor Rail Services operates offices nationwide and processes thousands of repairs per day to essential infrastructure.

The team at Harbor Rail Services approached us modernize their data input system. The existing system was inefficient and did not allow for integration with newer systems. Inaccurate or indiscernible data could be disputed as per the rules and bylaws of the Association of American Railroads. The legacy system also impacted billing as it did not allow the Harbor Rail Services team to efficiently track or report repairs by types of train cars.

Objectives

01 Analyze our client’s domain and identify places for workflow improvement

02 Modernize the system interfaces including both user interfaces and machine interfaces

03 Create a new data entry mechanism that could be used on the field by technicians performing repairs for the new type of billing

04 Digitize the repair data and make it parsable for reporting

Process

For each objective, we began with accessing the scope of the work, breaking down each item into smaller tasks, and building a realistic estimate of the time necessary to complete each item and subtask.

01 Analyzing and identifying performance gaps
We created a model of the client's known world to get on the same page as them. We also made connections to their day-to-day duties to the systems that they use to complete them. There, we found improvements and could see where the gaps were between their current technological solution and where the gap could be filled with modern technology that would enable efficiency for them.

02 Modernizing system interfaces
Where applicable in their running applications, we created API connections to systems to better efficiencies in their day-to-day work. Our team created easy-to-use graphical user interfaces to make it easier to complete the work. We also modernized the software development processes by introducing source control and project management tools such as git/Github and Trello for maintainability and longevity of their projects.

03 Data Entry Mechanism
We created an operating system agnostic mobile platform using the Ionic Framework with Angular. The application is cross-platform - desktop, Android, or iOS. The mobile application is connected to the web portal's API that provides a gateway to third-party services such as their invoicing service.

04 Digitalizing Data
Our team used open source technologies such as Ruby on Rails and Postgresql to create a web portal that system administrators can log in to to retrieve data in an intuitive manner. The web portal is hosted in AWS using managed services for security, scalability, and maintainability.

Results

The HAYANOVA crew focused on creating a stable, maintainable, and future-proof solution. We used software best practices and architectural patterns such as microservices. We also implemented a DevOps process that runs automated tests focused on application features versus user behavior to ensure that any code changes will be thoughtful and bring value to the end user.

We also future-proofed our application for real-world conditions by creating an offline mode to store data if on-site technicians found themselves working in areas with inconsistent internet connectivity. The data would sync when a connection was available; this increased overall confidence that input data was accurate and removed the need to take handwritten data, which was sometimes indiscernible.

HAYANOVA’s modernization efforts took a 10-12 hour process down to 11 minutes allowing the Harbor Rail Services team to receive near-instant accurate data that informed decisions in their day-to-day operations.