This article was downloaded by: [Florida Atlantic University]On: 19 November 2014, At: 16:59Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registeredoffice: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Journal of Information TechnologyCase and Application ResearchPublication details, including instructions for authors andsubscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/utca20

An Interview with Joseph FaustRegional Director of Public Affairs,BNSF RailwayConducted and documented by: Mahesh S. Raisinghani AssociateProfessora

a Texas Woman’s University, TX, USAPublished online: 12 Sep 2014.

To cite this article: Conducted and documented by: Mahesh S. Raisinghani AssociateProfessor (2009) An Interview with Joseph Faust Regional Director of Public Affairs, BNSFRailway, Journal of Information Technology Case and Application Research, 11:4, 58-91, DOI:10.1080/15228053.2009.10856172

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15228053.2009.10856172

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The Expert Opinion

An Interview with

Joseph Faust Regional Director of Public Affairs, BNSF Railway

Conducted and documented by: Mahesh S. Raisinghani

Associate Professor, Texas Woman's University, TX, USA

Today's BNSF Railway is the product of some 390 different railroad lines that merged or were acquired during more than 150 years. A subsidiary of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation (NYSE:BNI), BNSF Railway Company operates one of the largest North American rail networks, with about 32,000 route miles in 28 states and two Canadian provinces. BNSF is among the world's top transporters of intermodal traffic, moves more grain than any other American railroad, carries the components of many of the products we depend on daily, and hauls enough low-sulfur coal to generate about ten percent of the electricity produced in the United States. BNSF is an industry leader in Web-enabling a variety of customer transactions at http://www.bnsf.com.

Joseph Faust, Regional Director of Public Affairs, coordinated BNSF's response to JITCAR's questions about the role of IT at BNSF. The following people contributed significantly to this Expert Opinion article:

Kathleen Meisinger is an Application Development Director in Technology Services at BNSF Railway. Her team is responsible for designing and delivering solutions for their Business Partners in Marketing and Sales, Intermodal and Automotive Hub Operations, Fuel Management and Equipment Distribution. She is a graduate of the University of Colorado with a Bachelor of Science in Business. Kathleen has 22 years of experience within a variety of departments at BNSF Railway including Marketing and Sales and Technology Services.

She was assisted in this article by her colleagues: Patrick Tobosa - Director, Customer Support; Wally Swanson - Manager, Network Control Systems and NOC Dispatching Systems; and Janet Galassi - Director, Transportation Support System

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JITCAR: BNSF is among the world's largest intermodal carriers, handling about 5 million containers and trailers annually. Just one BNSF intermodal train can take up to 280 trucks off of our nation's crowded highways. BNSF's statistics are impressive, i.e.,

Route Miles: 32,000 Number of Employees: 40,000 Locomotives: 6,700 Average Freight Cars on System: 220,000

Could you share with our readers the role of IT in BNSF's strategic and tactical operations to ensure that the cargo arrives safely, on-time and on budget?

BNSF: IT plays a pivotal role in ensuring that BNSF meets our strategic objectives and delivers value for our customers. Our strategic focus areas are:

Franchise - Develop new products and services, extend BNSFs product and service offering through partnerships and alliances Service - meet customers expectations for damage-free service ; maximize velocity Return - Achieve sustainable returns which justify reinvestment People - Work safely, develop top talent Community - Focus on public safety, environmental stewardship and strengthening the nation's surface transportation.

Each year the business identifies technology projects which support these focus areas. IT strengthens BNSF's competitive advantage by delivering applications and customer-facing tools that improve the safety of our operation, increase asset utilization, improve the service reliability of our network and help drive revenue to our network.

On a more tactical level, IT produces the scorecards and dashboards of the metrics and processes that the business measures on a 7x24 basis. IT provides real time train location views for business displays and client tools for business monitoring of shipment status. IT applications specify real-time train lineup adjustments and re-routing for service interruptions to facilitate on- time performance and help improve recovery from rail network incidents. IT applications are enabling increased sophistication of he1 utilization metrics and cost effective positioning of fuel events.

BNSF is pioneering the use of collision-avoidance technology, which we call Electronic Train Management System (ETMS), to provide a safety overlay and reduce potential train collisions. This technology uses GPS and BNSF's GIs (Geographical Information System) to keep a train within authorized limits on a track. ETMS tracks the train's location and calculates warning and braking algorithms based on the train's consist, speed, length, weight and grade.

JITCAR: BNSF's supporting technology, i.e., the printing telegraph, radio dispatching, centralized traffic control, and, more recently, a football field-sized, data-driven Network Operations Center, have had a major impact on its success. How have these technologies supported in-route mail sorting, intermodal services and new business tools for specific markets, such as an industry leading grain logistics system?

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BNSF: With our vast geographically dispersed network, technology plays a key role in ensuring that our assets - people, rolling stock, track infrastructure, telecommunications network - and our data are connected real-time to support the operation. To maintain this level of operational excellence that our customers have begun to rely on requires highly available and reliable sense and detect systems, redundant communication paths including voice, broad-band, wireless, microwave and fiber optics. Computerized Track Control (CTC) data and GPS-equipped locomotives provide location data for many technology applications to help coordinate train traffic.

To create value in the marketplace, the transportation service we provide is as valuable as the information that supports it. To remain competitive in the market, the BNSF Railway has had to stay close to its customersto understand the changing needs of their supply chain. We have four distinct marketing business units which support four different lines of business: Coal, Agricultural Commodities, Industrial Products and Consumer Products. The marketing teams design and deliver transportation services and products which are tailored to those customers. For example, in our agricultural commodities area we sell Certificates of Transportation (COTS) which are basically commitments to provide transportation service in the future at an agreed-upon price. This was an industry-leading approach and afforded small and medium shippers the opportunity to guarantee capacity in the future to haul their grain commodities. Our grain logistics system today has evolved to support both import and export grain movements to Asia and Mexico and connects the major producing markets to the millers and refiners to the

1 consuming markets. To ensure that we have the covered hopper cars in the right place to support the demand we designed and built a shuttle optimizer which used an algorithm to minimize empty miles and transit to determine the best aggregation of empty supply to meet a customer demand.

In Industrial Products, we serve nearly 7500 customers each with their unique facility operating characteristics. Gathering and distributing the products and cars to these facilities requires intense coordination and planning. To ensure shippers in the Forest Products arena were able to guarantee capacity to haul their timber products to market the LOGS (Loading Origin Guarantees) program was instituted.

In addition, the Best Way initiative results in the identification and development of IT tools to help standardize, evaluate, and audit business practices; these include Operational tools for the terminal, yards and Mechanical area as well as for Transportation and our Network Operations Center.

To support our Utility customers and get the low-sulphur coal from the mines in the Powder River Basin, new collaborative planning IT tools were developed to help with the slotting of empty trains into the mines for loading. This helped to eliminate any down-time due to poor asset utilization. In the same regard, demand information supplied by the utility ensured that the coal arrived in time to prevent any utility outages.

From an intermodal hub operations perspective, game changing technology like Automated Gate Systems which use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and biornetrics to speed drivers through

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the facility were introduced. To maximize the efficiency of the loading tracks, energy-efficient Wide-Span cranes were designed and equipped with GPS to span multiple train tracks, driver lanes and container stacks which enabled and efficient and automated way of moving the containers and trailers from stack to track to truck.

Innovation has had to take place to accommodate emerging markets like wind energy and "waste" trains. Creating visibility, sense and detect systems and designing unique pick-up and delivery services which extend our network beyond our track infrastructure present unique technology challenges as well.

Layered on top of all of these market-specific suite of products and services are the customer- facing e-commerce tools available in Rail Central which make this vast and rich information available for our customers. Tools like instantaneous interline pricing, voice-billing, customer subscriptions and proactive notifications.

JITCAR: What are some of the opportunities and challenges as BNSF's IT initiatives as it handles the transportation logistics for coal, agricultural products, automotive, consumer products, industrial products, and intermodal services from a global perspective?

BNSF: Although BNSF is a North-American Railway our reach extends far-beyond our geographic network and extends into the global marketplace through marketing alliances, interline agreements, and import and export trade. Managing this global supply chain is a current challenge and opportunity for IT. Specific opportunities include:

RFID tracking of containers and possibly trailers, chassis, and railcars beyond what we already have with AEI passive tags. Active tags could provide more timely and precise location tracking as well as health of the equipment if connected to sensors such as temperature, etc. Supply chain management remains an opportunity between BNSF and our customers as well as between rail carriers and other transportation providers. Planning, capacity management, and reservation applications could be developed. For example, customers who are receiving goods from China in Los Angeles could provide us a forecast well in advance of the ship's arrival so that the ports and BNSF could ensure adequate resources are available to quickly process all containers. BNSF and its partner transportation providers could exchange more reliable interchange information if capacity management and reservation applications were employed. We have begun some work in this area with our Business Exchange application which is presently at use in both the PNW ports and the PSW ports. It is a collaborative planning and execution tool which allows all parties to benefit real-time from the tactical and operational changes which typically create bottlenecks at the hand-off points and add days to the service.

Railroading is a team sport. It is vital that Class I railroads work together even though we are competitors. Sharing real-time information is easy enough from a technical point of view, but ensuring that the information is accurate is a challenge for us. Partly because we have no standardized industry reservation application, we may not receive from another carrier

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exactly what the computer indicated we would receive. Industry-wide supply chain management tools and real-time asset tracking through active RFID tags may help.

JITCAR: Interrnodal is the transportation of private trailers or containers on BNSF's network. BNSF's Intermodal service combines the unique characteristics of rail, truck, and sea transportation into a single cost and timesaving package. How does IT help BNSF control and coordinate its Intermodal services in the following areas:

World's largest Intermodal carrier Provides the quickest and most direct routes Most dependable transportation network supplier Vital link in the supply chain, receiving supplies and shipping finished products?

BNSF: As a vital link in the global supply chain, BNSF has invested $30 billion since 1997 to ensure that we have the highest capacity Intermodal routes in North America. We are the primary gateway for USIASIA trade serving North America's largest west coast ports and account for more that 75% of North America's transpacific trade.

In conjunction with the ports we have expanded our on-dock capabilities and improved operational and environmental efficiencies.

We developed the Logistics Park concept which integrates truck, transload, Intermodal and distribution. With this network we have positioned ourselves to serve these fastest growing markets or Megapolitans: connecting these key consumer markets through highly efficient corridors.

IT applications and service design provide route optimization algorithms that manage over 250 trains per day on our network meeting scheduled delivery times for our customers. Operational challenges including scheduled maintenance, unplanned network outages, unforecasted or variable demands require constant re-calibration and tuning of our daily service plan to minimize service interruptions.

IT applications provide mapping functionality which displays the system-wide view of train locations which can help quickly identify meetlpass conflicts and help reduce the impact of maintenance work on train traffic flow across the network. In addition, we have tools which help capture service interruption events and provide the operations and transportation teams with requisite information to minimize the impact to traffic flow. All of these measures ensure that BNSF provides consistent and reliable service to meet the transportation commitments we have made to our customers. Many of these Intermodal customers are managing .TIT supply chains for automotive manufacturers or are parcel shippers where service is measured in hours not days.

JITCAR: What role does IT play and how does IT help BNSF's equipment needs, i.e., AC traction locomotives, tri-level auto rack cars, land-bridge container trains to link both Asia and Europe and other rolling stock specifically designed for various products carried on the BNSF Railway?

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BNSF: Asset management of our rolling-stock (locomotives, containers, trailers, flatcars, boxcars, chassis, tri-levels, etc) has evolved over time in very discrete and independent applications. Some assets are owned, others leased; some are private and others are shared. A comprehensive view of this entire portfolio of assets is being evaluated as part of an Enterprise Asset management initiative. Today, our Locomotives are managed with a client-application called LISS (Locomotive Inventory Support System) and is used by our Loconlotive Utilization managers to ensure maintenance is up to date, fueling is complete and units are ready for road service. Car utilization for our Industrial products group is managed through our Equipment Distribution Optimization application which uses a sophisticated stochastic algorithm which allows customers to place orders for equipment and utilizes historical trends and projections to ensure the right assets are in place to meet the demand.

JITCAR: Rail is the most environmentally friendly form of surface transportation. Each train can move one ton of freight 423 miles on a single gallon of diesel fuel. Rail is three to four times more fuel efficient than trucks. If just 10 percent of the freight that currently moves by truck were diverted to rail, fuel savings would exceed one billion gallons per year. How does IT help BNSF in its commitinent to environmental stewardship and play a vital role in the US economy, while reducing en~issions, saving fuel and relieving highway congestion?

BNSF: BNSF is committed to environmental stewardship and has many initiatives under way to not only reduce our impact on the environment; but also enable our customers to understand and better manage their carbon footprint when using our network.

We ensure that the locomotives placed into Southern California meet the emissions compliance standards set by the state. This requires that only energy efficient locomotives are put into service in that region. BNSF uses GPS technology combined with other information on the locomotive on-board computer which monitors fuel status and idle time. For customers we developed a web tool called the Carbon Estimator which, based on a shipper's commodity, weight, length of haul and volume will calculate the amount of nitrous oxide emissions.

JITCAR: On a related note, how is IT helping BNSF in applying the energy efficiency of rail transit to supply slippers with cost savings and speed? What are some of the future developments planned in IT with respect to business intelligence and real time analytics since the people who built the BNSF Railway are a unique breed, blending the forward-thinking of dreamers with the pragmatism of results-oriented business leaders.

BNSF: At BNSF, IT is working collaboratively with our business partners to develop solutions which help create a competitive advantage for BNSF, improve efficiency, drive cost out of the network and promote growth.

The future development opportunities span from improved efficiency in the intermodal hubs, to better utilization of equipment and fuel, to re-thinking our business processes to ensure best

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operations practices for safety and velocity measures covering dispatching, terminal, and mechanical areas, to our streamlining and integrating the back office suite onto a common platform, to providing mission critical analysis, mapping and metrics to our business partners so key information can be used for decisions, to finally determining new innovative ways to improve communications and service to our customer base.

JITCAR: We appreciate your insightful responses and thank you for your time!

Dr. Mahesh (Michael) S. Raisinghani, is an associate professor in the Executive MBA program at the TWU School of Management. He is a Certified E-Commerce Consultant (CEC), a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) and a Project Management Professional (PMP). Dr. Raisinghani was awarded the 2008 Excellence in Research & Scholarship award and the 2007 G. Ann Uhlir Endowed Fellowship in Higher Education Administration. He was also the recipient of TWU School of Management's 2005 Best Professor Award for the Most Innovative Teaching Methods; 2002 research award; 2001 KingIHaggar Award for excellence in teaching, research and service; and a 1999 UD-GSM Presidential Award. His research has been published in several academic journals such as IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Information & Management, Information Resources Management Journal, Journal of E-Commerce Research, International Journal of Distance Education Technologies, International Journal of Innovation and Learning, Journal of IT Review, Journal of Global IT Management, and Journal of IT Cases and Applications Research among others and internationaVnationa1 conferences. Dr. Raisinghani is a Member of the Board of Advisors of Coscend Communications Solutions and CRMG Group, and is included in the millennium edition of Who's Who in the World, Who's Who among Professionals, Who's Who among America's Teachers and Who's Who in Information Technology.

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