Hello requesting assistance with this case study, I am Manager, Finance and Accounts. Please see attached

Introduction

The Dutch Railway system processes 1.3 million passengers and more than a million

tons of cargo daily with high reliability and safety and a low CO2 profile. In the

coming 10 years, the daily number of trains will need to grow 30% to enable train

operators to deliver on the growing demand for Passenger and Cargo traffic. This

is a major challenge for the Dutch Railway infrastructure manager, ProRail Traffic

Control.

An obvious choice would be to change and grow the rail infrastructure

within the Netherlands. But growing the infrastructure would require a multi-billion

Euro investment and may take too much time and space in urban areas. So to meet

this growing demand, ProRail Traffic Control needs to invest in technologies that

make it possible to automate and digitize large parts of the now manual traffic

control process. This way the transportation capacity can be increased with the

current infrastructure. This case study will focus on the strategic workforce

challenges for the 700 Train Traffic Controllers and 150 operational planners

whose jobs will change tremendously because of this.

Where we stand now

In the past decades, the level of automation at ProRail Traffic Control has increased.

At the moment, the train schedule runs automatically if it fits into the pre-planned

train schedule. However, the core of technology like signalling and safety

systems has not had a fundamental upgrade in decades.

When the trains run as scheduled, the system requires minimal intervention by

operators. But in case of a disruption, a lot of manual actions are required of the

operators. This means all workstations are manned for handling disruption and result in

extremes in highs and lows in stress on the operators.

Planning for the future

To achieve the projected capacity growth for the Traffic Control business unit,

management and experts from the technical staff developed a 10-year vision on the

required changes together with IT and the scheduling department. As the means

of digitizing the traffic control process is central to this vision, it was dubbed Digital

Vision.

Digital Vision noted the following:

1. Business continuity: All workstations must be manned by a certified employee

at all times, so 24/7.

2. Re-schooling: European governments and national train management

companies decided to unify the technology of train safety management

to a European standard (ERTMS). This will require a re-schooling of large

numbers of people.

3. Turnover: Due to f i n a n c i a l co n s t r a i n t s , t h e nu m b e r of em p l o y e e s

r e q u i r e , f o r t h e di g i t i z a t i o n pr o c e s s e s , wi l l be r e d u c e d by 10 % .

However, it is anticipated that 30% of the workforce will be lost to retirement

over the next 5 to 10 years. Recruitment must take into consideration the

specific competencies required for Train Service Managers as noted in the figure

below. Operations Department comprises of the technical staff such as traffic

controllers, railway and train service managers, Railway monitoring officers,

operation staff, engineers and others.

Capacity growth without rising costs. The major driver for the Digital

Vision was enabling the required capacity growth without rising costs. For the

last 5 years ProRail has only been able to breakeven and in order to fund the

Digital Vision has acquired a loan of 500 million Euro.

5. Trade Dispute: The union representing the Train Operators and Traffic

Controllers demand an increase in vacation days from 11 standard working days

(Monday to Friday) to 15 working days and an increase in salary by 8%. The last

increase was in 2019 of 5%.

Assignment requirements:

The Netherlands is ranked the sixth in the world in terms of the quality of

railroad infrastructure. However, in order to prepare for the future, the

currently existing infrastructure needs a 30% increase in capacity and tremendous

changes in the current workforce.

ProRail Traffic Control has put together a team to assist in drafting a strategic

workforce plan that will help it achieve its objectives. The team is required to

discuss the role of HR in terms of

1. recruitment and selection for operation and technical staff,

2. Communication to staff on pending changes and other relevant information re

ProRail Traffic Control Digital Vision Project.

3. Training and development and compensation and benefits administration

4. Preserving the brand of Dutch Railway Infrastructure- ProRail Traffic

Control Digital Vision to maintain its local and global standing.

Each group member should assume one (1) of the following roles of the Executive Team:

Manager, Human Resources

Manager, Operations

Manager, Finance and Accounts

Manager, Legal Services

Manager, Communiction nd PR

Key profile traits for Train Service Managers Focused and on high alert for long periods of time during railnet monitoring (also at night) Quick and decisive action in times of disruptions on the railnet Excellent analytical capabilities Excellent communication skills to colleagues and third parties Excellent stress resistance