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In a previous article, we discussed how Decision Intelligence (DI) has evolved from Business Intelligence to deliver more effective decisions and better business outcomes. In short, DI combines the decision-making process with BI and machine learning to enable higher quality, faster decision-making with less effort.

Organisations in the Transportation industry stand to make major gains by implementing a DI solution. From performance and maintenance to managing delays, a DI solution gives a real-time overview of the entire organisation that allows your staff to make rapid, confident decisions. 

But taking complex data and making it usable is a major hurdle for many organisations. Often, business owners aren’t even aware that there is a better, easier way to streamline their data to get the most out of it. This is where Toustone’s DI solution steps in to offer any organisation a more efficient system to enable more effective decision-making.

Here, we share how our DI solution benefits Transportation, along with potential directions for the industry to grow in future. 

Practical application of DI in Transportation

The first challenge many transportation organisations face is around service delivery reporting. This process relies heavily on manual and labour-intensive methods requiring time and effort in data entry.

Implementing a DI solution will take complex data from all operational data sources and automate the reporting into a visual dashboard. To do this, first we must create a solid data foundation so there is only one source of truth and fully automated reports. This will allow for the centralisation of all reports for easy and secure access and removal of the manual reporting process.

Now, data sources can be integrated into one automated dashboard for an accurate overview of the entire organisation. This reduces the labour previously required to manually process data and create reports, saving time and money. It also reduces the risk of errors due to manual processing and eliminates duplicate reporting. This also means the entire team now has a real-time overview of operations, instead of working from out of date data.

Next is Data Storytelling. Visual dashboards and reports create a data story, displaying overall performance and trends that can be drilled down to a single key performance metric. This enables rapid and specific targeting of issues. For instance within the Train industry, if a train’s efficiency is hampered by a door that is taking too long to open or close, the operator is able to quickly identify which door is the problem and take action to remedy it. This puts information into the hands of the decision-makers in real-time for fast resolution.

Executing this effectively will enable your organisation to reduce the manual reporting process and enable your team to make more efficient decisions without requiring data confirmation and management direction. So not only does this process enable effective insight, it creates a data-driven work environment that injects confidence into your staff to make decisions that create better business outcomes.

Potential for future development with DI in Transportation

The final part of a Toustone Decision Intelligence solution utilises Machine Learning. DI enables your team to better prepare for or correct an error before it has a financial impact. You are no longer just focusing on being up to date on your daily operations, you are now looking ahead to improve and adapt to future outcomes before they happen.

A key aspect of DI is that machines do the learning for you, saving you the time of gathering and assessing data and compiling reports. Instead, insights are delivered to you so you can focus on taking action. No need to be a data scientist!

Now, not every organisation has the in-house capabilities to forecast future events accurately, but your organisation can with Toustone’s Decision Intelligence solution in place! For Train Operators, DI with machine learning can give advance notice of upcoming train maintenance from predictive analysis on power lines, rail heads, and general wear and tear of assets.

These intelligent models will continue to improve over time, learning as more data is processed to make better predictions and even enable some decisions to become automated.

Better decisions through better data

Gartner predicts that by 2023 over ⅓ of large organisations will have analysts that practice Decision Intelligence. It is the next step in the evolution of Business Intelligence. DI will allow businesses to respond to new developments and adapt to shifting consumer demands in real-time. 

By applying AI and machine learning to decision-making, large amounts of fast-moving data can be analysed quickly, with relevant real-time data presented to the user. This will help any organisation make better, faster, and more consistent decisions.

 At Toustone, we are the data experts. Not only do we have decades of experience but we have a passionate team who love turning complex data into something that just makes sense. Our solutions can help any organisation – large or small – make better decisions for better business outcomes.

Our goal is to enable your organisation to be data-driven. If you’re curious to see how Toustone can implement a DI solution to impact your business, get in touch today.