Change and Transformation in the Public Sector Finalist 2022: Cognizant with Network Rail

Change and Transformation in the Public Sector

To make possible the 1.8 billion rail journeys that people take every year on the UK’s railways, Network Rail (NR) employs engineers who are responsible for maintaining and improving an asset base comprising 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, 40,000 signals, 2,500 stations and thousands of viaducts, level-crossings and points, some of which are between 50 and 150 years old.

To achieve NR’s goal to maximise value for taxpayers, improve the passenger experience and keep its engineers as safe as possible, the organisation has embarked on an ambitious programme to digitise its assets. The scope of the programme covers 14 routes (across five regions of the UK), each managing assets according to local practices. To transform effectively and embed technology in asset maintenance and operations across the organisation, a massive change to local ways of working was required. Partnering with NR, Cognizant’s consultants delivered an end-to-end solution, developing a vision, designing a roadmap and implementing an AI-based digital solution.

The overall aim? To embed “Agile at scale” across the organisation. This approach not only reduced the time to deliver digital solutions but also instilled cultural change through a new operating model. The programme is helping reduce service failures by 10%, passenger delays by 15% and, by using analytics, and has made NR a global leader in preventing derailments on the network.

The focus on asset digitisation and analytics supported by a lean and agile operating model has created a real step-change in the way the organisation now embraces digital innovation.

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