Where the computer tai won't wag the doc
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FOR MANY BUSMEN the thought of using computers is probably less than appealing as there can be no doubt that the bus industry has deep roots in tradition and doesn't often welcome change with open arms.
It may be unfortunate but it's inevitable that clinging to traditional ways spells danger in an age of rapid technological change. Industry rooted in oldfashioned ways isn't likely to attract young people on whom it depends for its future survival, Today, with guaranteed markets a thing of the past, industry must be competitive and efficient and maximum use of available resources becomes paramount.
Greater Manchester Transport are beginning to make use of computers although their introduction has been gradual and not without problems.
With about 70 per cent of bus operating costs taken up by staff expenditure, GMT decided to share a computer with the newly formed Metropolitan County Council so a secondhand IBM 360/50 was bought for about £150,000. This machine was already nine years old, and as computer staff are easier to attract and prefer to work on the latest equipment, a new IBM 43/41 machine has now been bought with a second machine to come.
To ensure that computer systems were not just bought for the sake of their image and did more than merely pay lip-service to modern technology, a Systems Steering Group was set up and is chaired by the PTE director-general.
Requests for computer systems come from second-tier "users" to the computer department which then designs a relevant system to meet their specific needs.
A whole series of systems has been developed by the PTE to increase its efficiency and many have already been implemented.
One of the major systems is PTE Computer Assisted Bus Scheduling (known as CABS) and this is now partly live.
It compensates for a shortage of traditional bus scheduling skills by doing everything a manual scheduler does — but quicker.
The computer also speeds up other aspects of bus operation, and systems have been developed to help accounting, traffic and engineering departments. Systems known as TOPIC (Traffic Operating Information Capture) and EPIC (Engineering Procedures Information Capture) have also been produced.
A DEC 11/70 machine has also been bought to be used at outlying garages where input and • output terminals (visual display units) are situated.
Research suggests that effective computer investment should be about one per cent of financial turnover and this was GMT's original target. In De cember 1978, investment hi reached 0.7 per cent.
Guidelines agreed by Great Manchester Transport before computer systems programn can be developed are: • Computer system desic teams will be led by a user d partment manager and consi of a mixture of computi specialists and users.
• The systems and comput department design staff will ph a creative rather than passe role in building up comput systems by achieving a clos understanding of the needs the PTE as a whole, and by e suring that overall benefit is o tamed from any one system pr ject.
System design is, wherev possible, on a corporate rath than departmental basis.
• All departments within ti PTE will obtain computer SE vices from PTE computer depal merits. Wherever possible sin service shall make use of i ternal equipment.
The use of external resourci (bureaux) shall also be under ti overall direction of the systen and computer department ma agement who will define ti procedures to be followed, ar vill be responsible for the budlets.
• In normal circumstances, J II analysis of potential costs nd benefits of proposed appliations will be carried out. Benets which can't be quantified irectly will be defined as preciely as possible to help future udit requirements.
Priorities for systems deelopment will generally be lased on economic factors.
• The operations of the corntiter in terms of effective reources utilisation will be udited regularly by an inciepenlent agency.
All this means that Greater lanchester Transport will not se its f1/2 million worth of cornuter equipment unless it makes ure that the benefits are real and it saves money to do so.
The direct involvement of the director-general ensures that the economic position of the Executive and its well-being takes advantage of new technology and that "new technology" does not simply come into use as an exercise — the computer tail is not allowed to wag the bus operation dog.
In many cases the cost of implementing a system is paid back in benefits within a year,. and almost all within three years. Once the system is put on stream its cost benefits remain year after year.
In practical terms, computer technology allows engineers to identify which aspects of particular bus types incur high or disproportionate costs and also to ensure engineering value for money at shop floor level.
It can also identify areas in which more or less buses ar needed and so enable maximur use of both vehicles and men.
,Talking to GMT corporate sei vices executive Richard Coch rane and to systems and dat processing manager Bill Dry man, f got the impression thz while GMT is as well, if not be ter, advanced in computer tech nology than probably man large bus operators, it still ha plenty of opportunity to creat further systems — and the pc tential for doing so is almos infinite.
Time is available on the GM. "mainframe" machine, an while GMT could not suppl staff to help, it is possible thE other operators could buy tim on the computer and take advar tage of the systems like the eng neering costing and bus schE duling schemes.
Computers are expensive, bL for a large organisation such a the National Bus Company and Passenger Transport Executiv are obviously cost-effective an of great benefit.
For small operators the maja investment required for compt, ters is difficult to justify, thoug the nature of the system dE signed by GMT does sugges that an outside agency o operator organisation with large computer could ru systems on a commerciall viable basis for operators many of whom have the sem needs and types of operation.
0 Noel Millier