An Ontario based story of successful collaboration Mark Willer Product Manager Bombardier Transportation 4164343558 markwillercatransportbombardiercom TrackSafe Introduction Railway Industry ID: 227197
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TrackSafe An Ontario based story of successful collaboration
Mark
Willer
Product Manager
Bombardier Transportation
(416)434-3558
mark.willer@ca.transport.bombardier.comSlide2
TrackSafe - Introduction
Railway Industry
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conservative, risk averse, very expensive & slow to innovateTrackSafe - Railway track worker safety system, designed and developed in Ontario in an agile, affordable and relatively quick mannerResult of a successful collaboration between Bombardier and McMaster UniversityCollaboration enabled in large part by the Ontario Centres of Excellence
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How did the collaboration get started?
Bombardier engaged McMaster RFID Applications Lab (MRAL) to validate and develop a real-time track worker system, based on a patented concept (July 2009)
Through initial discussions the team realized that the initial concept was not going to be commercially feasible (too expensive to deploy and maintain) (July 2009)
OCE was approached to fund a Collaborative Research & Development project (Winter 2009)Team has not worked with each other beforeBombardier team was based in a sales organization with limited background in Research & DevelopmentAcademic team had to commit to working on commercial timelines from the get go
Wanted to move forward with getting the project underway quickly (OCE was very responsive)
OCE was critical in enabling this collaboration. The CRD program really helped Bombardier undertake this project as it enabled Bombardier to leverage funding for an initiative that carried too many risks (new type of project, new collaborators, taking a chance on students)
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How has the collaboration worked?McMaster setup a team of Ontario based graduate and undergraduate students
Able to access multi disciplinary skills as required (User Experience Design, Hardware Design and Development, Software Design and Development, Product Placement Strategy, Risk Management)
Principal Investigator (Dr.
Rafik Loutfy) approached the project in a very flexible and industry friendly manner. Recruited students that were capable of working with Bombardier, on commercial timelines and provided them with the support needed to focus on project activitiesBombardier engaged the academic team on all aspects of the projectAcademic team worked with Bombardier on all aspects of the project (Concept Development and Validation, Technology Development, Managing Production, Piloting
TrackSafe, Sales and Marketing Efforts with Transit Agencies)
Academic team considered to be an extension of the Bombardier team; included in all strategic and tactical discussions by Bombardier
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Results
TrackSafe
designed and developed in under 3 years
TrackSafe currently being tested at MARTA (Atlanta) through support from the US DOTIP developed for TrackSafe is being used to develop 2 additional products – PlatformSafe (team is working on piloting this with GO Transit in the next few weeks), YardSafe (will be piloted next quarter)
Team has supported Ontario based SMEs through outsourcing production of technology (over $500,000 has been spent with Ontario based SMEs so far)
TrackSafe recognized through several awards, including the global award for embedded safety system by IET for 2012
1 patent applied for and 4 additional patents being discussedGreat training opportunity for Ontario based students. Key was to provide students with an opportunity to develop soft skills to compliment their technical skills
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Critical Factors for Success
OCE has been critical in enabling and supporting this collaboration. Without the OCE CRD program this collaboration would not have been possible as Bombardier would not have taken the initial risk to engage with a new academic partner
Bombardier has been critical in continuing to foster the collaboration. Flexible approach towards team and willingness to engage students in all aspects of the project so they are invested in the success of the project. Care for development of students and their critical skills and as such work proactively to develop experiences that are beneficial for the students as well as Bombardier
Academic team led by Dr. Loutfy focuses on solving industry problems, in a commercially viable manner, while honoring commercial timelines. Problem solving for end users a key focus as opposed to publishing papers. Team setup in a flexible manner to allow bringing in key skills as required by project needs
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