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WHO we are,
WHAT we do,
HOW we do it
WHO We Are,
WHAT We Do,
HOW We Do It
Investors Edition – 2013
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Embedded in Everything We Do
CN is an incredibly sophisticated organization and running it is
a hugely complex job. With its 34,000 kilometres of mainline
tracks, 13 major yards, 14 intermodal terminals, 70,000 railcars,
1,800 locomotives and 22,000 employees, CN moves more than
4.7 million carloads annually and generates over $9 billion in
annual revenues.
To make it all happen, CN harnesses the power of information
every minute of every day to make better decisions. From
analyzing the repair history on a heavy-haul locomotive to
orchestrating the safe movement of traffic across our network,
almost every aspect of CN’s business relies on technology.
From Selling our Service to Invoicing
At CN, technology comes early in the shipping process. In fact,
it comes right when a customer decides to ship goods with us.
Whether he’s looking to ship carload or intermodal, the customer
has access to an extensive suite of electronic tools to plan and
optimize his transportation solutions.
Once the customer has placed an order through Electronic Data
Interchange (EDI) or CN’s eBusiness Internet tools, these systems
create a document called the waybill, which provides details
and instructions relating to the shipment such as what the load
is and where it is going. The waybill then synchronizes with CN’s
operational systems to create the shipment itinerary and service
scheduling.
After the route has been established, the train is assembled using
various leading-edge technologies to determine the weight of
each car, length of train, horsepower needed for each locomotive
and so on. Based on crew management and scheduling systems,
a train crew is simultaneously assigned to move the train.
Before a train departs, all kinds of powerful technologies, which
are designed to ensure that the equipment is safe and reliable
at all times, are employed. Whether it’s to inspect or repair cars,
tracks or locomotives, again, technology plays a central role in
all CN’s maintenance activities.
During its journey, the train will constantly be monitored, scanned
and tracked to make sure it arrives at destination safely and on
time. Tracks and other trains in the surrounding area are also
monitored at all times to prevent any disruption in rail traffic.
Once the shipment has arrived safely at destination, revenues
must be collected, managed, disbursed to suppliers and
shareholders, invested in new railcars and locomotives, and
so on. Dozens of systems are in place to help the various
functions across the company whose role is to support CN’s
core operations.
Technology: A Serious Business at CN
While it is primarily used in every step of moving a train,
technology is equally critical for all support functions across the
company. This is why CN invests around $100 million each year
on information technology to improve the efficiency and reliability
of its operations.
Using a wide variety of technologies, we build efficiency into
every train we assemble, enabling our employees to work smarter
and, ultimately, deliver more to our customers. We have some of
the best business solutions and continue to lead the industry in
the use of technology to manage our network.
At CN, technology is not only embedded in everything we do.
It’s what enables us to move trains safely and create value for
our customers.
The Role of Technology at CN
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Our Six Principles
The following principles guide IT in day-to-day decision-making,
governance, and service delivery. Each of the six principles drives
objectives to maximize IT’s contribution to business success.
1 - Use business value to drive all IT investments
Our first principle aims at enhancing investment decisions
for optimal alignment with enterprise goals and maximum value
creation. The main objective is to increase understanding and
transparency of costs, risks and benefits to make effective
investment decisions.
2 - Position CN to become a true supply chain enabler
Our department is currently adapting its architecture, systems,
and delivery methods to provide end-to-end visibility and
collaboration for the management of customer shipments across
multiple supply chain partners. The objective is to build a flexible
architecture that can sustain business demand across multiple
supply channels, and adapt our technical maturity levels to those
of our stakeholders.
3 - Become brokers of information, applications and services
IT must extend its service offering in order to become an end-to-
end business solution provider covering all components of the
solution delivery process. By extending our capabilities to support
management of increased solution diversity and delivering in
the most efficient and cost effective way possible, IT will become
the broker of choice for its business partners.
4 - Provide solutions to support workforce enablement
IT’s role is to design solutions that support a self-serve workforce
and encourage employee and customer autonomy. To make this
happen, we plan to deliver solutions as mobile as the people
who use them and establish a flexible architecture focused on
securing the data and applications, not just the device.
5 - Develop roles and capabilities required to ensure success
Identify and develop critical IT roles required to sustain and grow
our business capabilities, and align them to IT services and CN
lines of business. We want to attract, engage, and retain versatile
employees by focusing on competencies and skills, increasing
training, and fostering innovation.
6 - Apply a risk-based approach to service delivery
The goal with this last principle is to make sure we adapt our
service delivery approach based on a consistent assessment of
risks. The department will also adopt alternate delivery methods
– such as iterative, cloud – and provide options based on risks,
costs and value profiles, avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach.
The Six Principles That Guide Our Decisions
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Enabling our Partners to Succeed
The Business Transformation and Solutions team is the first point
of contact in IT for all CN internal departments. The group is
composed of three sub-teams: Business Solutions Management,
Business Analysts team and Business Transformation Services.
Business Solutions Management
With deep knowledge of CN’s business areas and a good sense
of technology trends, the Business Solutions Management team
works very closely with business partners (IT customers) to
identify and develop opportunities to leverage technologies in
order to improve their business and enable them to succeed.
The Business Solutions Managers (BSM) are the voice of the
business partners in IT throughout the entire project. In colla-
boration with CN Financial Planning and the business partners,
the BSMs define the capital budget for the following year and
determine what projects will go forward based on the best return
on investment for the company.
They are also responsible for ensuring that for a new opportunity,
the business requirements and benefits are properly documented
to support a sound business case. They are in charge of comple-
ting the documentation to support the Approval for Expenditure
(AFE) process and ensure that finance confirmation is obtained
throughout the process to release funds for all new initiatives.
Business Analysts
The Business Analysts team’s role is to carry over the initiative
when it is officially an IT project or, more precisely, when the
Assessment and Planning (A&P) phase begins.
Business Analysts (BA) are not assigned to every IT project. Their
involvement varies based on several factors such as complexity,
risk, length of the project and the level of involvement from the
business partner.
During Assessment and Planning, the Business Analyst details
the requirements with the business partners and works with
architects to define the solution. Throughout the project, he
manages the communication between IT and the business
partners, ensuring that the IT project teams understand the
business requirements, and that partners have a good
comprehension of the complexity and challenges associated
with technologies involved.
Business Transformation Services
The Business Transformation Services team, commonly referred
to as BTS, can be viewed as an internal consulting organization
that extends the traditional IT service offering. The team’s
approach is to look at the business processes and the roles and
responsibilities first, then analyze the technologies supporting
it all. The team offers a broad range of services including
business improvement, opportunity identification, business
process optimization, facilitation of workshops, change
acceleration and value management.
The Business Optimization Specialists usually get involved
when business partners face a business problem, even before a
technology need or an opportunity is identified. The goal is to
scope the business problem in a project statement and define
opportunities for optimization. They can also help implementing
the recommendations if requested by business partners.
Business Development
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Creating a Culture of Innovation
At CN IT, innovation is at the heart of everything we do.
To support employee innovation, the Innovation Services team
has put in place a program that opens the door for IT people to
translate their creative thinking into tangible innovations.
Employees can share their ideas with the team through any of
the program’s four innovation channels:
Individual: IT employees who have innovative ideas can directly
share them with the Innovation Services team. Ideas are then
analyzed and validated, and if it’s something that has potential,
the team will offer support and possibly micro funding to test
and prototype the idea.
Business Solutions Management team: The Innovation Services
team also partners with the BSM team to identify business
opportunities where IT could deliver more value by doing things
differently and use a non-traditional solution delivery approach.
Group thinking: The team holds frequent group-thinking sessions
where a number of employees gather to generate ideas and
determine if they are worth devoting time and energy. These
sessions aren’t exclusive to IT people, and are intended for any
CN employee who has a keen interest in innovation.
Islands of innovation: This concept consists of building a
community of employees from various areas of IT who will put
a plan together to evaluate an innovation in a certain area and
undertake a Proof of Concept (POC). One of our current islands
of innovation is the cloud-based infrastructure concept, where a
group of employees from key areas of IT will evaluate the new
technology and assess where we could leverage it.
An innovation can come from any of the above channels. What
is important for the Innovation Services team is really to let IT
employees know that they have a place to go with innovative
ideas, and opportunities to participate in learning how to do
things differently.
Innovative Ways to Deliver Value
Out of the four innovation channels, the team identified a number
of projects where they believed an innovative and non-standard
solution delivery approach could add more value to the business.
Here are two concrete examples:
Marketing approached the Innovation Services team to discuss
the possibility of developing a rich mobile application that would
enable CN customers to track and trace their shipment through
their iPhone or iPad. Because CN IT had no expertise or
experience in Apple/iOS mobile development, the team partnered
with a local firm to build the app and guide them through the
various steps of publishing an app on iTunes.
The Innovation Services team put all the pieces together and
delivered a modern-looking app that also contains information
and videos about CN, and integrates our map-based job
postings. The app has been downloaded thousands of times
since its implementation in early 2012, and currently processes
over 1,000 track and trace transactions every day.
Another success story is the tablet-based training for Conductors.
CN Operations were looking for ways to make their training
content more interactive for CN’s largest population of new hires.
The team helped them develop dynamic training content on a
tablet. As it turned out, this new intuitive tool completely
transformed the training course into a fully interactive experience,
thanks to the inclusion of 3D models, simulations, videos, games
and more.
Trainees are not only more engaged, but they also tend to have
better scores at exams because they absorb information in a more
intuitive way. Instructors also love the new tool since it provides
them with metrics highlighting where students are struggling,
which enables them to be proactive in helping students succeed.
Innovation Services
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Turning Data Into Information
Business Intelligence (BI) is comprised of the processes, tools
and technologies required to turn data into the information and
knowledge that drive fact-based decision-making and business
process management.
In many ways, BI is to data what a refinery is to oil. Similar to
how crude oil is extracted, refined and blended into products
such as asphalt and gasoline, BI extracts raw data from a
multitude of sources and turns it into information products.
In fact, with society transitioning from an industrial to infor-
mation economy, data is being referred by many as the new oil.
CN’s Business Intelligence Ecosystem
At the heart of our BI ecosystem is the Data Warehouse
(DW) which serves as a centralized enterprise information
repository. Data from transactional operating systems such as
Service Reliability Strategy (SRS), Revenue Management System
(RMS) and SAP is extracted, transformed and loaded each night
into the data warehouse for business users to access and utilize.
Typically, managers and executives use scorecards, dashboards
and reports like DataCity and Intermodal Performance Measures
(IPM) to monitor processes and take action when metrics are
trending poorly, while Business Analysts use tools like Business
Objects (BO) and Business Warehouse (BW) to do root-cause
analysis, test hypotheses or uncover patterns.
CN IT’s BI team is made up of a number of practices whose role
are to build and manage the data integration of the reporting and
analysis environments.
Data Modeling manages the models that represent logical views
of business activities in a specific area such as accounting, HR,
repairs, shipments and crew.
Extract, Transform and Load (ETL) manages the batch jobs that
apply the logic necessary to integrate data from multiple sources
into the models.
Business Objects (BO) and Microsoft BI both manage the
applications and tools that provide users with access to the
information for reporting and analysis.
Business Warehouse manages the data warehouse that is used
for SAP applications, which is also called Business Warehouse or
BW. This data warehouse differs from all the others since the ETL,
data modelling, reporting and querying are all managed in one,
dedicated application.
Geographical Information System (GIS) is a specialized form of BI
that supports the visualization and analysis of spatial information
of CN’s network in a way that is very similar to Google Earth.
The delivery of new BI solutions or enhancements to existing
ones is managed by BI Delivery. The delivery process starts with
the logging and prioritization of requests, and follows with a
detailed analysis of the business objectives and the information
necessary to support them. The work is then organized into
sprints and delivered using an agile/scrum approach of
incremental and iterative development, with resources and
architectural direction provided by the other BI practices.
The success of Business Intelligence depends on the partnership
between IT and business users to ensure the information
generates actionable insights that have a meaningful impact.
BI/DW by the Numbers
5,000 nightly ETL batch jobs.
300 business processes (models).
20,000 reports.
1,500 BW & BO users.
3,000 DataCity users.
Business Intelligence
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In Every Corner of CN’s Business
As seen previously in this document, CN IT is involved in almost
every corner of CN’s business. Below is a brief list of the major
business initiatives currently underway. Of course, we could’ve
listed more, but the following represent the main programs with
significant IT involvement.
CustomerFIRST
One of CN’s key objectives is to transform into a more customer-
centric company. To improve dialogue with its customers and
continuously raise the bar in terms of service, CN put in place
the CustomerFIRST program. Comprised of many initiatives, the
program aims at engaging customers and partnering with them
to improve some of our key processes.
Since the program’s launch, CN IT has been involved in numerous
initiatives to improve many aspects of CN’s customer service,
notably by making the company’s car supply more efficient
(Evolution of Car Management) and increasing reliability at the
most critical part of customers’ supply chain (First Mile/Last Mile).
Training Excellence Program
CN’s employee demographics will continue to drive a significant
demand on hiring in the upcoming years. These new employees
represent a younger workforce with different learning styles and
work expectations. Therefore, it is vital for the company to
connect with them early in their CN career.
The Training Excellence Program aims at revitalizing training to
support the learning needs of our existing workforce as well as
our new railroaders. CN IT is involved in many different initiatives
to support the program, whether it is by developing new tools
for onboarding or enabling innovative training solutions such as
tablet-based training courses.
Positive Train Control
Positive Train Control (PTC) is a U.S. Government regulated
initiative for railroads to mitigate potentially catastrophic events
caused by human error. As the name suggests, PTC will control
the breaking of the train should the Locomotive Engineer fail to
respond to a condition requiring a reduction in speed.
The objective of PTC is to prevent train-to-train collisions, over-
speed derailments, train incursions into established work zone
limits, and train movements through improperly lined switches.
This program is mandated to be complete by December 31,
2015, in the U.S. At CN, we will install PTC systems along
approximately 4,300 miles of mainline track in the U.S.
Fuel Management Excellence
Fuel represents one of CN’s largest expenses each year. Although
rail is the most energy-efficient method of moving freight, this
level of fuel consumption also means significant greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions. To improve fuel efficiency, CN initiated the
Fuel Management Excellence (FMX) program a few years ago.
The program aims at driving both fuel efficiency and environ-
mental benefits. CN IT is involved in the FMX program in various
ways, including putting in place a new inventory management
solution and modernizing the hardware and software to capture
fuel measurements accurately.
Transportation Renewal
Kicked off in 2008, the TR program aims at replacing CN’s core
mainframe transportation systems with more intuitive, integrated
midrange applications. Renewal projects to date include the new
Locomotive Management System (LMS), CrewTalk Interactive
Voice Response, SmartYard, and the recently delivered new
business capabilities in Right-Time Business Intelligence (RTBI).
Much has changed and many lessons have been learned over
the last five years. The next phase (TR 2.0) reflects a much longer
expected lifespan for mainframe technologies (10 years+) so we
have the time to allow business value, not just technology, to
drive the priority and sequencing of the next wave of TR projects.
Intermodal Dispatch Excellence
Intermodal remains one of CN’s fastest growing and most
profitable lines of business. In support of that growth, CN
launched the Intermodal Dispatch Excellence (IMDX) program
to modernize order management, truck driver payments, safety
and compliance, and the centrepiece of truck dispatching.
These projects are well underway and will be deployed within
the next two years.
Lead-To-Cash
This program aims at improving CN’s interactions with its
customers by better connecting what we sell to our customers
with the services delivered and the revenues collected. It
complements TR 2.0 as it will allow CN to retire other legacy
mainframe systems (SRS Waybill, RMS, etc.), move financial
processes out of the core transportation systems, and improve
CN’s supply chain enablement capabilities.
North American Class 1 railways are working together with
selected shippers and SAP to define and implement an integrated
application solution architecture that covers the Lead-To-Cash
business processes.
Current Business Initiatives
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What Information Security Means at CN
By definition, information security means protecting corporate
information regardless of the form that it is in – paper or
electronic documents as well as voice conversation.
As CN’s business continues to grow and evolve, the need to
share information and integrate various technologies is more
present than ever before. This includes sharing more information
to make it easier for customers to do business with us, collabo-
rating with other railways to improve service, and working with
suppliers to maintain the safety and integrity of our rail traffic
systems.
While this sharing of business information and technology is
essential to delivering on our corporate objectives, it also requires
a delicate balance to ensure that the availability, integrity and
confidentiality of our information remain well protected. CN’s
Information Security Program is designed to keep our information
assets safe by ensuring that employee, customer and partner
information is adequately protected, and that we comply with
laws, contractual obligations and audit requirements.
Corporate Information Security Unit
The Corporate Information Security Unit (CISU) manages CN’s
Information Security program through policies, standards, risk
assessments, awareness, incident responses and investigations.
The team’s mission is to improve CN’s overall posture in the
information security and risk management fields by helping
decision-makers to make informed decisions regarding CN’s
information assets.
The Information Security Program is comprised of the following
components:
The Information Security Policies provide a set of common
practices built on two pillars: ensuring that employees are
aware of their responsibilities in protecting CN’s information,
and establishing sufficient controls to protect vital business
information.
The Information Security Awareness Campaign represents a
significant part of the program because many attack types rely
on human intervention to succeed. CN employees are the first
line of defense when it comes to security.
The Information Risk Management Practice helps identify, assess
and manage information security risks within CN in order to
ensure the information and business operations are adequately
protected.
The Incident Response Process assists various departments like
CN Police, Legal, Internal Audit and HR in collecting and
processing electronic forensic evidence. Through the interaction
with other IT areas this process ensures our systems are protected
against cyber incidents.
The Regulatory and Compliance Process manages the compliance
to CN’s information security policies and standards, the IT SOX
program and, through contacts in the rail industry and govern-
ment agencies, monitors any additional regulatory and privacy
regulation requirements for information security.
Information Security
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What is Disaster Recovery?
Power blackouts, ice storms, floods and terrorist events –
nowadays the list of potentially business-disrupting events
seems endless. Because companies like CN rely on their
information systems as a critical part of their operations,
protecting irreplaceable data and ensuring quick recovery
in the event of a disaster has never been more important.
Disaster Recovery – or DR as it is commonly referred to – is
the process an organization uses to recover access to their
software, data and IT infrastructure that are needed to
resume the performance of normal, critical business functions
after a natural or human-induced disaster. The Disaster Recovery
Plan (DRP) is a set of processes, policies and procedures that
describe how an organization is to deal with potential disasters.
While business continuity involves planning for keeping all
aspects of a business functioning in the midst of disruptive
events, disaster recovery focuses on the IT or technology
systems that support business functions.
How it Would Impact CN
In the event of a disaster, CN could suffer a major impact.
Depending on the criticality of the situation, CN could eventually
be forced to dramatically slow down or halt its operations,
disrupting the flow of traffic and seriously affecting CN customers.
In short, any type of disaster presents risks to our operations.
A simple outage had huge consequences in CN’s Brampton
Intermodal Terminal in 2010.
In any kind of disaster, our number one priority is to restore
critical operational systems (SRS, eBusiness, etc.) within 8 hours.
Our second priority is to recover critical administrative systems
like SAP within a 72-hour window. Once all critical systems have
been successfully recovered, the team continues to work until
all applications and systems impacted by the disaster are fully
operational.
Our Readiness Strategy
Not all disaster recovery situations are major catastrophes.
However, even a small water leakage can have adverse
consequences. This is why CN places the highest importance
on disaster recovery and put a strong DR plan in place to make
sure that we are ready to face any type of disaster.
To minimize the impact of a potential disaster, all CN’s operating
systems, applications and data are protected in many different
ways. The most important one is the mirror copy of all critical
data that reside in Montreal HQ. The copy is being kept off-site
by CN IT’s availability services provider. When a disaster occurs,
our provider initiates the recovery, and our infrastructure teams
perform all recovery and data preparation activities. Once the
recovery is completed, our various application teams test the
interfaces and connectivity. All DR recovery and test scripts are
documented and kept off-site.
CN puts its disaster recovery plan to test twice per year: a
simulation is usually conducted around the month of April
and an audited certification in October. Both tests take place
in Montreal and involve close to 250 employees from several
IT areas such as Mainframe, Midrange, Access Management,
Service Desk, and several others.
DR at CN: It’s Everyone’s Business
Having an efficient disaster recovery plan in place doesn’t mean
that we can all sit back and relax. Everyone in IT has a role to
play in CN’s DR success. It’s critical that our documentation is
constantly up-to-date, that our personal contact information in
SAP is current, and that we take DR into consideration for all
new projects or enhancements. Remember, DR must be part of
our everyday job.
Disaster Recovery at CN
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An Impressive Array of Systems
Our department supports more than 300 CN systems and
applications, all varying in size and criticality. All these
systems and applications are mapped to one of the following
five functions to support CN’s activities:
1. Plan our Business.
2. Sell our Service.
3. Deliver our Service.
4. Collect for our Service.
5. Manage and Support our Business.
Five Functions to Support CN
The Plan our Business function includes capabilities that cover
the corporate responsibility for strategic long-term planning
and development of things such as service packages or target
markets/offerings in response to changing market conditions.
Examples of systems and applications contained in the Plan our
Business function are Intelligent Train Scheduler (ITS) and Route
Capacity Model (RCM).
The Sell our Service function is comprised of capabilities
responsible for following a business opportunity from lead to
acquisition and performing the analysis of delivery performance
to ensure our services are performed to the level of customer
agreements. Examples of systems and applications included in
the Sell our Service function are Facilitated Action Sales Tool
(FAST), Pricing and eBusiness.
The Deliver our Service function includes capabilities that are
responsible to deliver the level of service contracted with our
customers, while maintaining an efficient and cost effective
transportation network. Examples of systems and applications
included in the Deliver our Service function are Service Reliability
Strategy (SRS), SmartYard, Locomotive Management System (LMS)
and Crew Assignment and Timekeeping System (CATS).
The Collect for our Service function encompasses capabilities
that ensure accurate and responsive billing to and collection from
CN customers for services rendered. Examples of systems and
applications included in the Collect for our Service function are
Revenue Management System (RMS) and Interline Settlement
System (ISS).
Last but not least, the Manage and Support our Business function
is composed of capabilities responsible for corporate resource
management of people, places, assets, as well as financials, risk
management and vendor management. Examples of systems and
applications included in the Manage and Support our Business
function are SAP, Track Inspection System (TIS), CCID (Corporate
Customer Information Database) and DataCity.
CN’s Most Critical Systems
Providing an overview of each of CN’s 300-plus systems and
applications represents quite an arduous task. However, the next
few pages will provide you with a short description of more than
30 of the company’s most critical systems, accompanied with an
icon indicating in which function the system is mapped to.
Application Portfolio
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Application Portfolio (A-B)
Automated Gate System (AGS)
The Automated Gate System (AGS) is used to manage trucks entering and exiting
CN intermodal terminals across Canada and the U.S. It is currently installed in all key
terminals. It consists of various technology pieces such as an imaging portal, gate-
stand and sensors, all of which link to a central system controller application that
organizes the data and sends information back to OASIS.
As a truck enters the terminal, cameras record its movement and scanners identify the
equipment. The driver then identifies himself using a fingerprint scanner at the gate-
stand. The system verifies the information and, if valid, allows the driver into the
terminal.
Business-to-Business Tools
CN provides many electronic communication methods to its customers and partners in
order to exchange information with them. Methods vary from emails, fax, File Transfer
Protocol (FTP) and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI).
CN’s primary exchange method is EDI, which are industry formatted messages to
exchange information between parties. CN supports a large variety of EDI such as
waybills, train consists, freight invoices and status updates. The information can be
exchanged between CN and its customers or partners such as other railways or ports.
For more information on CN’s EDI capabilities, please refer to the EDI guidelines
available on the corporate website.
Business Warehouse (BW)/Data Warehouse (DW) The Business Warehouse/Data Warehouse (BW/DW) is the enterprise repository of
information for reporting and data analysis. The BW/DW supports both strategic
decision-making and questions concerning day-to-day operations.
The information in the DW/BW is built from transactions recorded within our key
operating systems such as SAP, SRS and CATS. These transactions are the source of
the measures and key performance indicators that serve corporate and business unit
needs. BW/DW also hosts historical information for data mining and pattern analysis.
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Application Portfolio (C)
CrewTalk Interactive Voice Response (CrewTalk IVR)
Each month, CN’s Crew Management Centres handle some 270,000 inbound and
outbound calls. To reduce the amount of time Crew Dispatchers spend making
outbound calls and increase their availability to answer incoming calls, CN uses
the CrewTalk Interactive Voice Response (CrewTalk IVR) system.
Once Crew Dispatchers identify candidates requiring a call for service, they trigger
CATS to complete the call via CrewTalk. CrewTalk then auto-dials the employee’s
phone number and delivers a pre-recorded message using the employee’s name.
The system also provides running trade employees with a number of self-service
options such as getting information on their assignment and requesting a wake-up call.
Crew Assignment and Timekeeping System (CATS)
The Crew Assignment and Timekeeping System (CATS) is the primary tool used for
selecting and assigning train crews. It is a mainframe system developed to help Crew
Dispatchers make crew calling decisions, based on an analysis of the most up-to-date
information on every employee including the employee’s assignment location, type of
service, position and run number, seniority date, rest, etc. The system identifies and
selects the appropriate employee to be called for a particular job, based on the various
collective agreements.
Corporate Customer Information Database (CCID)
The Corporate Customer Information Database (CCID) is a mainframe system used to
store and manage master data information on customers such as locations, stations
and interchange points. It is a centralized storage area for many of the key data
elements used to operate the railway, and it sends critical information to systems
like SRS, RMS and eBusiness.
CCID includes interfaces to Railinc – a corporation providing rail data and information
technology services to the North American freight railway industry – which allow CN
to exchange data with other rail carriers to ensure we are all using the same master
data to simplify communication.
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Application Portfolio (C-D)
Centralized Traffic Control Systems
Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) systems are used in high-density rail traffic areas.
The systems are part of a whole suite of safety critical systems that Rail Traffic
Controllers use to facilitate the safe and efficient movement of trains as well as
manage the equipment on the mainline.
Train and track occupancies are visually displayed on a map where the Rail Traffic
Controllers can control switches and signals to regulate and manage train traffic flow.
Rail Traffic Control II (RTCII) is the system used in Canadian operations while Train
Management Dispatch System (TMDS) is used in U.S. territory. Both systems are
not supported by CN IT but by CN’s Signals and Communications (S&C) group and
external vendors.
DataCity
Built on top of CN’s Data Warehouse (DW), DataCity provides a single source
of management information for strategic decision-making on all aspects of the
company’s operations: service, asset utilization, safety, financial performance and
people. DataCity is an internal web-based portal providing access to over 200 reports
and key performance indicators based on the previous day’s data from more than
20 transactional systems.
The definition, source data, business rules and ownership of each measure is clearly
defined and agreed-upon across the company as definitive. There are measures for
Marketing, customers, all aspects of operations and service performance as well as
performance reports on profitability, financials, people, legal, regulatory and safety.
Dark Territory Control Systems
As opposed to CTC systems, the dark territory control systems are used in low-density
rail traffic areas. They assist Rail Traffic Controllers in managing locations where there
are no signals, no track circuits to show occupancy, and no office controls on the
switches.
Two systems are leveraged to support dark territory: Computer Assisted Manual
Blocking System (CAMBS) for Canadian operations and Train Management Dispatch
System (TMDS) for U.S. operations. Synonymously, Track Warrant is usually referred to
as U.S. dark territory control and Occupancy Control System (OCS) for Canadian dark
territory control. Systems mentioned here are not supported by CN IT but by CN’s
Signals and Communications (S&C) group and external vendors.
16
Application Portfolio (E-F)
Facilitated Action Sales Tool (FAST)
The Facilitated Action Sales Tool (FAST) application is a Customer Relationship
Management tool that is used by Marketing to manage contacts, opportunities and
customer information. The system also provides extensive price creation and
management options to internal and external users.
FAST allows users to request price quotes for various CN services, manage customer
proposals, retrieve agreements on rates and allow joint pricing with other carriers.
Price quotes can also be requested via the CN website, which interfaces with FAST.
Fleet Productivity System (FPS)
The Fleet Productivity System (FPS) is a mainframe application managing all carload
(empty cars) fleet assets. It is primarily used by the Car Management Group to get
empty cars delivered to the right place at the right time for CN customers. The system
operates in conjunction with SRS to create and maintain Customer Car Orders (CCO)
and Guaranteed Customer Car Orders (GCO), which are commitments that CN has with
some customers to provide a certain number of cars of a certain type on a specific day.
FPS is also used to maintain pool information and disposition information for foreign
empties (cars owned by other railways) on CN lines. If the car can be used by CN, FPS
will automatically assign it to a customer as per Car Management’s instructions. If the
car can’t be used by CN, FPS will return it to its rightful owner.
eBusiness
Started as a simple electronic exchange of structured information between computers
in the early 2000s, eBusiness has since grown to extend into all aspects of the
business. Through its official website, CN has transformed eBusiness into a collection
of tools providing new and existing customers with access to everything they need
to do business with CN.
By using eBusiness, customers can look up prices, determine the route of their
shipment, look up transit times, send shipping instructions, order equipment, track
their shipment, manage invoices and payments, and so on. For more information,
visit the Customer Centre section on CN’s corporate website.
17
Application Portfolio (G-I)
General Bulletin Order (GBO)
The General Bulletin Order (GBO) system is used to manage general bulletins that
trains must adhere to. These bulletins highlight track conditions, restrictions, slow
orders and other information that can affect the safety and movement of trains.
A Tabular General Bulletin Order (TGBO) is a document compiling all GBOs for a
specific train. A TGBO must accompany the Conductor and Engineer at all times on
a train, and no train departures are allowed without it. TGBO updates can be sent to
the train crew en route via radio through read and repeat process between the crew
and dispatcher. The U.S. has TGBO incorporated into TMDS and the Canadian
operations use an in-house system that is text-based.
Hump Process Control System (HPCS)
The Hump Process Control System (HPCS) is an application that controls and classifies
traffic in a hump yard. The system has two goals: deliver freight cars to assigned
classification tracks based on their destinations, and ensure that cars will arrive on
the classification track fast enough to reach the cars already on the track but slow
enough for safe coupling.
While achieving the above, HPCS protects personnel and cars moving through the
humping area, monitors and displays the status of the hump, records its own
operation while humping is in progress and collects data for detail analysis of
performance. CN is currently replacing HPCS with a third party solution known
as Classmaster 2, developed by Trainyard Tech.
Intermodal Excellence (IMX)
Intermodal Excellence – or IMX – is a reservation system similar to airline bookings.
All intermodal customers that deliver containers to CN terminals require a reservation
for a slot on the train. The IMX system allows customers to book slots ahead of time
based on their priority, equipment type, and origin/destination. The system provides
them with a reservation number that they can attach to a shipment coming into a CN
intermodal terminal.
In addition to train slot reservations, certain CN terminals also require a gate
appointment due to high volume. At locations where this is required, truckers can
access the online application to book slots to enter the terminal based on available
capacity.
18
Application Portfolio (L-P)
Locomotive Management System (LMS)
Assigning the right locomotives with the right amount of total horsepower to haul
the train to its final destination is a critical part of train operations planning. The
Locomotive Management System (LMS) is an SAP-based system that facilitates the
locomotive allocation process by allowing employees to see all locomotives available
for assignment.
By interfacing with SmartYard, SRS, SAP and TOPC, LMS provides accurate information
about a locomotive’s location, trip status, estimated time of arrival and departure, and
maintenance schedule requirements. It also provides tools to manage the repositioning
of locomotives on a train, including details about a locomotive’s next assignment.
Pegasus
The Pegasus system allows Truck Dispatchers to manage the 850-plus trucks that
provide CN with pickup and delivery services across its network. The application
provides dispatchers with a view of all the shipments and empty containers to be
moved, along with the supply of drivers and their current assignments. Dispatchers are
able to plan drivers to move and update information which is then sent back to SRS.
Drivers also have a mobile device application called NorthStar that interfaces with
Pegasus. NorthStar receives all assignments from Pegasus and allows the driver to
update his activities in real-time.
OASIS
The Optimization Alternatives Strategic Intermodal Scheduler (OASIS) is an intermodal
terminal management and reporting system that manages the movement of containers
and chassis in CN intermodal terminals. The OASIS application allows users to view a
real-time inventory of all equipment in and in transit to the terminal, providing them
with the information required to develop optimal train loading and unloading plans.
OASIS also includes devices installed in all yard equipment (shunt trucks and cranes)
to feed assignments to the equipment operator and receive updates on activities.
19
Application Portfolio (P)
Positive Train Control (PTC)
Positive Train Control (PTC) is a U.S. Government regulated initiative for railroads to
mitigate potentially catastrophic events caused by human error. It is a suite of
technologies that work in conjunction with existing methods of train operations,
designed to automatically stop a train before an accident occurs. It is designed to
prevent train-to-train collisions, derailment caused by excessive speeds, unauthorized
train entry into a section of track where repairs are being made, and the movement
of a train through a switch left in the wrong position.
PTC is composed of four major components: wayside technology, on-board locomotive
controls, back-office systems and communication networks. These components work
together to ensure a continuous flow of information from both wayside and back-office
systems to the on-board controls. PTC hasn’t been delivered yet and is currently at
various stages in the development life cycle.
Pricing
Pricing is an integrated database with over a dozen applications to manage, query and
publish freight and optional services contracts and tariffs. The Price Upload/Download,
Compass and Chess Capture are the main applications used to manage the contracts
and tariffs.
The Price Database Inquiry (PDI) and Chargeable Services Electronic Support System
(CHESS) applications provide extensive query access to the data. The Rate EDI Network
(REN) application sends and receives prices for interline authorities to and from other
railroads via REN central at Railinc – a corporation providing rail data and information
technology services to the North American freight railway industry.
Performance Monitoring and Rule Compliance (PMRC)
The Performance Monitoring and Rule Compliance (PMRC) system is designed to
support CN’s efficiency testing process and our drive for rules compliance. Efficiency
testing is conducted on employees involved in railroad operations to determine their
level of compliance with operating rules and procedures.
Through these efficiency tests, CN can eliminate accidents caused by human error,
maintain the employee’s focus on rules and compliance, and increase awareness
in problem areas. The efficiency test results are captured in the PMRC system as part
of the employee’s historical records and for follow-up.
20
Application Portfolio (R)
Recruiting, Onboarding and
Employee Self-Services Applications The recruiting, onboarding and employee self-services applications are keys in the
renewal of the CN’s workforce. Approximately 2,000 employees will depart from
CN each year over the next five years. Therefore, Human Resources need to attract,
identify, and onboard new candidates in a compelling, efficient and consistent
manner in order to develop the best railroaders in the industry.
These applications vary from cloud-based solutions to on-premises solutions, and the
functionalities vary from applying to jobs, finding key information about the company,
and consulting policies. A key aspect of these applications is the ability to be used
internally or from the comfort of the employee’s home.
Right-Time Business Information (RTBI) The Right-Time Business Intelligence (RTBI) system provides a graphical view of the
CN network with near real-time information on trains and locomotives. Efficient and
intuitive navigation as well as search capabilities provide access to summary and
detailed information about CN’s key mobile assets.
The first release of RTBI displays the CN rail network and all its components with a
detailed accuracy, as well as right-time asset information on position and status of
both locomotives and trains. Release 2 components will include incidents, crew
information, car details and weather information.
Revenue Management System (RMS)
and Interline Settlement System (ISS) The Revenue Management System (RMS) is an integrated database mainframe system
that estimates and calculates revenue, controls invoicing to customers and supports
the collection of revenues associated with the movement of rail freight – local or
interline – and for revenue generated by optional services and similar activities.
It also supports the validation process for non-revenue billing and ensures that the
company revenue is protected when required. The Interline Settlement System (ISS)
distributes freight charges among the railways involved in CN’s interline shipments
based on divisions identified in the price.
21
Application Portfolio (S)
Service Manager (SM)
Service Manager is a critical application for CN IT as it enables the department to
efficiently and effectively provide support services to the business. Designed by
Hewlett-Packard (HP), the system is used by different IT areas such as the Service
Desk, IT Operations and Application Support for various capabilities like incident
management, change management, configuration management and
IT Services.
Service Manager is also used by IT to manage all end-user equipment – desktops,
laptops, mobile devices, etc. A number of non-IT functions like Signals and
Communications (S&C) also use the application for managing incidents on signals
and wayside equipment.
SmartYard
SmartYard is a yard-management application that enables better asset utilization
in CN’s major switching yards. SmartYard takes information from various CN systems
like Service Reliability Strategy (SRS), combines the data, then provides the best
sequence for processing cars. The system assists CN’s yard employees in making
better decisions by helping them to anticipate and react to changing yard decisions.
By providing increased efficiencies, more predictability and better communication,
SmartYard lowers dwell time. As a result, it allows CN to handle bigger volumes of
traffic through its yards without additional capital investment in the physical plant.
SAP
Since 1999, SAP implementations have replaced over 250 legacy systems with a
single, integrated platform. The integration of SAP with CN’s operating systems has
also generated significant value in CN’s mergers and acquisitions by enabling rapid,
seamless integration of people, processes and information.
Following the success of SAP back-office systems such as Materials Management,
Financial Reporting, Time Reporting and Payroll, CN began implementing the platform
for the management of operational assets and processes including locomotives,
railcars, repair shops, freight claims, safety, engineering inventory, track maintenance,
safety and many others. More than 20 different SAP modules are currently leveraged
at CN, which is more than any other railway in the world.
22
Application Portfolio (S-T)
Service Reliability Strategy (SRS)
The Service Reliability Strategy (SRS) system is a critical mainframe application
implemented at CN in the mid-90’s. SRS is the core Transportation system managing
and recording almost all aspects of rail service delivery. It provides integrated
information of transportation assets and services, allowing CN to manage both
shipment performance and operations efficiency. SRS is made up of four major
application components: SRS-Waybill, SRS-YIT (Yard Industry Train), SRS-Service
Scheduling and SRS-IM (Intermodal).
SRS interfaces with a large number of CN systems including SAP, Train Operations
Planning and Control (TOPC), Fleet Productivity System (FPS), SmartYard and many
others.
Track Inspection System (TIS)
The Track Inspection System (TIS) is an SAP-based mobile system that is used by
engineering employees to manage the track inspection process. It serves as an
integrated inspection and defect management platform for all engineering rail-related
assets, replacing a variety of stand-alone systems and paper-based reporting.
The system provides a territory dashboard to manage the track inspection process,
summarizes inspection status on that territory, and incorporates condition information
from both automated and visual inspections. It also helps to ensure CN’s regulatory
and environmental compliance. TIS is installed on a rugged laptop called Toughbook,
allowing employees to perform their work while in the field.
TOPC
Train Operations Planning and Control (TOPC) is a schematic graphical user interface
application. TOPC provides visibility by integrating train relevant information from SRS,
CATS, LMS and SmartYard to Rail Traffic Controllers, Network Operations Control (NOC)
and others. TOPC assists in the effective planning, monitoring and exception
management for train operations. It also helps Rail Traffic Controllers in the planning
and tracking of the return trip for away-from-home crew assignments.
Some components of TOPC will soon be replaced by the Right-Time Business
Intelligence (RTBI) system.
23
Application Portfolio (T-W)
Track Occupancy Request Systems
Track occupancy request systems are automated capabilities for Engineering Foreman
to request an authority to occupy mainline track in order to perform their duties. Two
track occupancy request systems are being used at CN: Employee in Charge (EIC) for
U.S. operations and Electronic Track Occupancy Permit (ETOP) for Canadian operations.
In areas where electronic coverage is not possible, a manual radio request with read
and repeat process is available between dispatcher and employee. Systems mentioned
here are not supported by CN IT but by CN’s Signals and Communications (S&C) group
and external vendors.
Wayside Health Network (WHN) The Wayside Health Network (WHN) system is an application used by the Mechanical
department to identify potential wheel-related problems before they cause equipment
failures. The system gathers details on railcars’ condition from wayside detectors
installed along the tracks and, based on detectors’ reading, identifies cars that
require immediate attention.
The system also maintains a health profile history for each car, which enables
CN to take more preventive actions, and therefore, enhance rail safety while
improving asset utilization and customer service.