Strengthening the customer information process at Great Western Railway
Introduction
Rail transport has more advantages than other modes of transport in terms of effects on society and ecology. It is undergoing a transformation to respond to rising market demand leading to increased market share and continued growth than other modes. The increase in demand, however, has led to issues such as the rapid degradation of the railway tracks. Great Western Railway (GWR) manages over 197 locations and its trains serve over 270 stations. It mainly runs long-distance journeys and also offers commuter and outer suburban services.
The mainline is undergoing extensive improvement to realize and sustain substantial passenger benefits and specifically offer more amenities and fresh connections. Electrification of routes, modernizing signaling and infrastructure, and enabling fleet upgrade will benefit passengers in all the routes. In 2019 the company introduced a new timetable together with the modernized fleet. Customers are experiencing benefits such as comfortable journeys, more services, more seats, faster journeys, and more connections.
The improvements are as a result of increased investment, support from the customers, skilled train and freight operators, supportive line side residents, and other businesses. The company is enabling higher frequency, long-distance services, metro frequency services, and new connections through its improved services. The result: is a safer railway that enables the customer to reach their destinations safely, improved passenger and workforce safety, and reduced risk at railway crossings.
Methodology
The methodology chosen to strengthen the customer information process at the company is a failure prevention analysis. It is a proactive tool, technique, and quality method, which enables one to identify and prevent problems before they manifest. The potential problems that could arise are prioritized according to the potential seriousness of the consequences, frequency, and early detectability. The approach recommends taking action on highest-priority issues first. With the Great Western Railway currently undertaking a revamp of its railway tracks and acquiring a new fleet, failure prevention analysis will be a useful tool. The procedure to identify potential failures included assembling a cross-functional team of diverse knowledge, identifying the scope, and filling the identified information in a chart according to priority the management should adopt.
The Western rail covers the Thames valley to Oxford, the Cotswolds, Worcestershire, and wales. It connects some of Britain’s busiest towns. The company: operates over 2,200 trains a day, has an annual footfall of 65 million in its stations, 2,600 employees, makes over 92 million journeys a year, maintains over 2,974 kilometers of tracks, and approximately 650 level crossings. Currently, it requires about £7.5 billion investment to electrify its lines and £2.1 billion to operate, renew, and maintain existing railways.
Problems Identified
The highest priority problem identified is safety. The company places safety at top of its priorities and endeavors to be the safest in Europe. It is devoted: to continually improve for workplace well-being through effective design and transport, refining trackside operations, manual handling, minimizing slips, trips, and falls, and focusing on expert driving. Funding for the route workforce, safety, and health optimization initiatives are also a priority for the company. The focus is on reducing fatigue among signalers and generally improving the health and safety of its entire workforce.
Another problem identified in the process is improving customer service. The company aims to delight its customers by asset dependability, quality in operations, robust timetables, and collective working with all stakeholders. Customer feedback is important to ensure the punctuality of trains at all recorded train stations. Serving over 20,000 customers a day from the world's busiest airport Heathrow while supporting over 114,000 local jobs, the company strives to ensure services to the airport are optimal through the Heathrow Express and MTR Crossrail. In 2016, the company established a partnership with GWR for improvement in operations, human resources, commercial development, and safety and communications.
The third problem identified is maintaining a good working relationship and safety of the train and freight operating partners. The Western Route is the second-busiest line into the city of London in the United Kingdom. It contributes approximately £30 billion to the GDP of the country annually. Therefore, it is a crucial component to support vital industries in the port of Bristol, Swindon, Oxford, Somerset, and Berkshire. It is crucial to cut the time of the journeys with the New Elizabeth line expected to do so by sustaining longer Class 345 trains, direct links, and resulting in journeys from Paddington to Liverpool Street in 10 minutes. Another core issue identified is making their services affordable and efficient. Refurbishing and preserving the railway is a priority to ensure it is safe, dependable, and inexpensive. Some of the lines were built during Victorian times meaning repair and renewal is a priority. The process has to cause minimal disturbances to operators and passengers to improve reliability and make it more affordable to passengers.
Another priority identified is continuing to support jobs, housing, and growth. The western route offers rail and freight services to essential, vibrant, and developing economies. It is important to the housing and overall growth in the Thames valley and the South West. Another problem identified is maintaining a great workforce with a great culture. The workforce is a valued asset and the company must continue to invest in their development to enable them to achieve optimal potential possible. Finally, is investing in the future of the Great Western rail franchise. The Department for Transport is currently reviewing the rail franchise. Supporting the initiative is important to the future of the Western Rail Franchise. Preparing accordingly and implementing decisions made by the government will determine the future and service levels secure the future of the Great Western franchise.
Ideas for improvement
Efficient and timely communications within any organization is one of the factors that have been realized to increase productivity between each team. The reason for that is because it increases the morale of the workers and that of the customers that they serve. The channels used and the type of communication also has the propensity of improving working relations. The Department of Transport is mandated to come up with better industry programs. The significance of such programs is the one that can aid in the modernization of the Great Western Route. Within that route, the integration of the trains, operator license, and infrastructure program are perceived to enable the industry to offer considerable benefits to all passengers (Sathiakumar et al., 2014, p.170).
Conversely, the mechanisms that are used for delivering critical information to colleagues and customers should be based on the recommended protocols. Following that will ensure that all workers are committed to improving the services that they offer. The dependence of bespoke information will also be easier in delivering the required information to customer locations. Regardless of the means of communication that is being utilized by the organization, it is important to take into consideration the responses that customers have regarding the services that do receive. By considering that, it means that the management authority of the company will have the propensity of responding to customers' complaints on time (Bissell & Dolan, 2011, p.50). The information is to be dispatched to each potential customer should have to be based on individual requirements. What this implies is the fact that the management authority should ensure that each employee has complied with the requirements that were laid upon i9n making the organization to prosper. In this case, there should be a balance between the responses being given and how each customer responds to them. This paramount because it will enable the company to recognize any issue that might evolve soon (Sathiakumar et al., 2014, p.170).
As a means of modernizing the perspective of the company, it is paramount for the organization of the Great Western Railway to provide the means for servicing those customers who could have been dissatisfied with their services. Some of the government-funded programs should also be aimed at supporting the dissemination of customer complainants to the organization. For the essence of a satisfactory conclusion, the focus of the transpiration industry should embrace the need and the significance of offering various reliable websites to customers that can improve the service that they offer to them. Equally, instead of depending on automated announcements, manual dissemination of critical information should also be considered.
The same should be based on the essence of ensuring that front-line staff members have been provided with updated information that they can later relay to customers. Furthermore, the management authority of the company needs to ensure that all its operators have maintained transparency and honesty with the information that they will be relaying to the esteemed customers (Bissell & Dolan, 2011, p.50). Because of that, it will be easier for their customers to understand the reason for transpiration or train booking delays. This is what will enable the customers that have trust with the company to make informed choices when disruptions or delays do occur.
Conversely, throughout the world, it has been realized that the railway organization has been making significant efforts in ensuring that customer information has been disseminated as required. Therefore, with the case of the Great Western railway, it is important to facilitate the use of the available channels in enhancing the growth of the organization. Public communication the enterprise and the use of modern social networks have the likelihood of improving the safety and the reliability of the information being sent to them. For the delaying of passengers, it is important for the operators to ensure that they have provided timely information on their recommended websites (Peng, 2011, p.146). The reason for that is because is the one that can enable them to adjust their traveling time as required.
Significance of the tool used: A failure prevention analysis
The use of the failure analysis is important because it provides the methodologies for determining what is required to rectify or prevent the failure of the organization. As a result of that, it was possible to project some of the liabilities of the company and the workers in improving the transportation services being provided. Ideally, the use of this indicates that it offers the propensity of enabling the researcher to come up with better prevention measures. With those measures, it means that it was possible to identify some of the available issues within the company that will have to be resolved (Mcevily, 2002, p.2). For instance, it was easier to recognize the fact that the enterprise needs to provide automated compensation information to all customers who could have received transportation delays. The compensation that is being made should be based on the effectiveness of the information that is to be sent by the organization as well as the provision of approved claim forms.
References
BISSELL, GAVIN, & DOLAN, PETER. (2011). Organisational Behaviour for Social Work. Policy Pr. Bissell, Gavin.; Dolan, Peter
MCEVILY, A. J. (2002). Metal failures: mechanisms, analysis, prevention. New York, Wiley. http://www.aspresolver.com/aspresolver.asp?ENGV;2109927.
PENG, G. (2011). Inter-organizational information exchange, supply chain compliance and performance. Wageningen, Wageningen Academic Publ.
SATHIAKUMAR, S., AWASTHI, L. K., MASILLAMANI, M. R., & SRIDHAR, S. S. (2014). Proceedings of International Conference on Internet Computing and Information Communications: ICICIC Global 2012. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-1299-7.
