SBB turns BIM strategy into action with BearingPoint’s process expertise and development support

Executive Summary

SBB partnered with BearingPoint to simplify integrating digital tools into its infrastructure, resulting in a streamlined, future-ready solution for project planning and execution, advancing its goal of fully digital railway operations.

Turning complex infrastructure projects into efficient digital realities

From planning to renewal, a facility’s lifecycle involves an ever-growing number of stakeholders and information. This complexity often causes media breaks, lost data, and diminished know-how, especially during personnel changes.

SBB wanted to tackle these challenges and therefore aimed for a digital, collaborative approach to ensure smooth cooperation, preserve knowledge, and enable reuse. This would support SBB’s digitization strategy, while also align with the Swiss Confederation’s “Digital Switzerland” initiative, and adhere to recognized national and international standards.

To effectively implement an infrastructure strategy, SBB required tailored tools that could be fully integrated with its established processes and systems. The primary challenge involved converting complex requirements from traction power and track operations into a cohesive software solution. The overarching objective was to advance digital transformation within the “Building Information Modeling” (BIM) program while achieving seamless integration with SBB’s IT environment.

Empowering digital transformation in railway infrastructure

BearingPoint led the implementation of an authoring tool for the traction power department and addressed selected requirements for the track department. An interdisciplinary team comprising requirements engineers, a BIM manager, and experienced software developers worked closely with SBB’s specialist departments in an agile project setup.

BearingPoint gathered and aligned requirements together with the SBB IT team and stakeholders and then integrated technical calculations for traction power into the software to ensure maximum accuracy. The project team continuously refined these requirements and converted them into development. Lastly, BearingPoint designed and executed a comprehensive testing concept, and documented results and calculations, embedding them in the software in a user-friendly format.

Accelerating efficiency and future-proofing operations

Through close collaboration with SBB’s specialist planners and system architects, BearingPoint was able to implement a robust and future-proof solution. The agile approach allowed for rapid adaptation to new requirements and promoted transparency in the development process. The developed solution helps SBB plan and implement its infrastructure projects more efficiently – a decisive step towards digital railway operations.

SBB now benefits from a robust, future-proof solution. The agile approach enabled the company to quickly adapt to new requirements and ensured full transparency throughout the development process. This solution empowers SBB to plan and implement infrastructure projects more efficiently, a decisive step toward fully digital railway operations.

SBB (Swiss Federal Railways)

SBB (Swiss Federal Railways) is Switzerland’s national railway company, responsible for operating and maintaining the country’s extensive rail infrastructure. Renowned for its commitment to innovation, efficiency, and sustainability, SBB manages complex transportation networks and delivers reliable passenger and freight services across Switzerland and beyond. The organization continually invests in digital transformation and cutting-edge solutions to enhance operational performance and ensure seamless, future-ready mobility for millions of travelers and businesses.