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"Yes, we can!" – ProjectNetWorld® supports the change management processes at ÖBB (Austian Federal Railways)
At the start of the new decade, ÖBB began reorganizing the group's internal infrastructure. It is doing so primarily by merging the previously independently operating companies
ÖBB-Infrastruktur Betrieb AG and ÖBB-Infrastruktur Bau AG to form ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG. The goal of this fusion, in addition to a synergistic savings potential of about 20 million euros, is to eliminate duplications and competency entanglements in the areas of operations and construction. This should result in a notable increase in quality for the entire ÖBB railway network.
In view of the complexity, a comprehensive change management process was established under the leadership of Chairman Andreas Matthä. The approximately 30 individual projects of the process were systematically mapped and handled in an interdisciplinary way.
Under ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG there are five new functional divisions: Operations, Asset Management, Service Provider, Project Management/Technology, and Finance and Service.
The program operation is being implemented under the leadership of Ing. Kurt Hrdlicka. Standing by his side is a steering committee, consisting of the five board members of ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG, change agents, representatives – who serve as communicators in the individual management divisions – and mentors.
To support the program and the individual projects, ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG decided to use the web-based project management platform ProjectNetWorld®. This is a SaaS solution that had already proven itself in other projects within ÖBB.
Program manager Kurt Hrdlicka on ProjectNetWorld®: "Coordination and communication are extremely important particularly for change management processes. Because we had to inform locations all over Austria about goals, intermediate results, and decisions in the course of program, the use of a web-based project management tool was very helpful. Decisive for us was that ProjectNetWorld® could be used immediately without training and could be easily adapted to the different requirements of the program and the individual projects because of the high flexibility of the project management platform.
One of these projects is to create the Asset Services Division under the management of DI Dr. Rudolf Schilder.
As the general contractor for inspection, maintenance, and correction and as the contractor for repairs, renovations, and new-construction tasks, this new division ensures safety and track availability over the entire railway network.
Change management processes require modern project management methods and tools - particularly if a relatively large number of project processes must be handled in a decentralized work environment. ProjectNetWorld® provides all project employees with a central work environment in which all project steps can be documented and project-related topics worked on. This ensures complete communication and keeps the coordination effort relatively low, which is extremely important in complex projects.
Franz Lehr (project management leader of the "asset services" organizational projects): "Because changes often cause anxiety, it is especially important to us to inform employees about the extent of changes and the company's plans in a timely and thorough manner. This can greatly improve acceptance in change management projects. ProjectNetWorld® fosters open communication, makes possible complete, location-independent information flows, and creates clear structures – this strengthens the confidence of employees and makes the project work easier."
For example, the following modules were used in the asset services project:
By illustrating the project structure in a schedule including all project phases, milestones, and work packages, the project progress is visible to the entire team at all times. Tasks can be assigned and monitored.
Large amounts of data can be easily structured and managed using forms. The project team of asset services uses the forms to define and assign measures, to document decisions, etc.
All relevant schedules are created and managed here – from project meetings and milestones to simple to-do's. The result is a complete project calendar that is always up-to-date and clear.
