Download Alstom Supports Power Plant Construction with Efficient

Microsoft .NET
Customer Solution Case Study
Alstom Supports Power Plant Construction
with Efficient Project Management Solution
Overview
Country or Region: Switzerland
Industry: Manufacturing
Customer Profile
Alstom designs, builds, and services
technologically advanced products and
systems for the world’s energy and transport
infrastructure. Headquartered in Paris, the
company employs approximately 75,000
employees in 70 countries.
Business Situation
For its power plant business, Alstom operates
in 20 locations scattered across all
continents. With many stand-alone
applications, the company suffered from an
inefficient quotation process and insufficient
clarity within power plant building projects.
Solution
An extensive Web solution based on
Microsoft® .NET provides continuous support
of the power plant construction process from
quotation to final documentation.
Benefits
 Reduction of power plant construction
 Qualitatively better quotations, with annual
quotation capacity increased from 50 to
150
 Better sales support through use of
intelligent configurations (wizards)
 Improved project clarity for 2,500
employees in 20 locations worldwide
“With our .NET-based Central Project List solution, we
always have complete clarity regarding project status.
… Construction time for a power plant is reduced by
10 to 20 percent.”
Johannes Gnaedinger, Director, Project Data Management, Alstom Switzerland
High investment values, production distributed over several
locations, and an extremely dynamic market environment are the
challenges encountered daily by providers of power production
plants. Alstom, one of the world’s leading production companies for
power plants, recognized these challenges early and developed its
own solution for project management. Created with the help of
Microsoft® Gold Certified Partner 1eEurope and fine-tuned over
three years, the Microsoft .NET–based solution satisfies the
international needs of the business and can be adjusted quickly for
changed requirements. Today Alstom carefully controls the entire
production of power plants from the quotations to the service. The
solution has led to considerable efficiency increases, and the
process period from quotation to completion of a facility has been
reduced by up to 20 percent.
Fast Facts
Number of quotations
prepared per year
150
Number of locations
20
Number of users
2,500
Situation
In the construction of power plants,
production distributed over several locations
plus a very dynamic and competitive market
make project oversight and clarity successcritical factors. With investment values in the
three-digit millions of euros, the monitoring of
profitability was also very important.
In the analysis of several completed projects,
Alstom recognized that it could do a
considerable amount of optimization. Data
structure varied from location to location, and
a multitude of disparate stand-alone
applications inhibited efficient quotations and
project control. Alstom decided to convert all
phases of its power plant business—from
quotations to project management to
fulfillment to service—to a new methodology.
The desired solution, called Central Project
List (CPL), should make the entire power
plant business controllable with one tool,
managing all activities within the context of
engineering, procurement, and construction.
Core requirements included that the solution
be usable across locations and countries,
while offering a simple, error-tolerant
graphical user interface. In addition, it should
not require high training expenses or
operating costs, and should be open to future
expansions in functionality.
Solution
To find a solution, Alstom met with 1eEurope,
a Microsoft® Gold Certified Partner
headquartered in Thalwil. 1eEurope
developed a comprehensive Web-based
solution for Alstom project management. The
core of the solution is formed by a
standardized index of all possible individual
products that could be installed in a power
plant, with all documents produced within a
project progression. This approach provided
the ability to consistently and centrally
maintain data.
The foundation for the solution is the
Microsoft SQL ServerTM 2000 database, part
of Microsoft Windows Server SystemTM
integrated server software. The entire
development was based on the Microsoft
.NET Framework, using the Visual Studio®
.NET 2003 development system. The XML
data format was used to integrate existing
systems with the solution. The use of these
Microsoft technologies helped the developers
meet requirements for stability and modular
expansion of the solution. At the same time,
use of Microsoft .NET connection software
helped shorten development times,
especially in the creation of an intuitive,
optimized Web-based front end adjusted to
the customary working environment of the
employees.
A core application was quickly established,
implemented, and subsequently adjusted
over the course of about three years to its
current format.
When preparing quotations, sales personnel
use the Central Project List to help determine
delivery and service scope based on the
extensive specifications of customers.
Engineering service departments are advised
through CPL, with their data transferred into
scheduling and cost calculations and are
then consolidated into the quotation.
CPL also plays a central role in the
implementation phase with regard to
schedule and documentation control.
Automated functions periodically link all
engineering documents with the document
repository of the completed power plant,
which makes the extensive technical
documentation of the plant considerably
more efficient and improves its quality. This
documentation is essential for good and
quick services after the startup of the plant.
In addition to the direct support of these two
project phases, CPL also functions as a
central information pool for all 2,500
employees connected to the solution and
also for associates using the extranet.
Benefits
Use of the Central Project List has led to
greater clarity in the power plant construction
business and improved the completion speed
and quality:
Processing time for finalization of
documentation is reduced by an average of
one week.
 Capacity to prepare quotations has
increased from 50 to 150 quotations per
year, with increases in quality at the same
time.
 Intelligent configurations (also known as
wizards) provide sales consultants with
technical know-how as required during
quotation preparation, which leads to more
precise, qualitatively better quotations.
 Comprehensive project status provides
clarity for 2,500 employees at 20
geographically dispersed locations.

“With our .NET-based Central Project List
solution, we always have complete clarity
regarding project status,” says Johannes
Gnaedinger, Director, Project Data
Management, Alstom Switzerland. “Quickly
prepared and qualitatively optimized
quotations and support during project
development lead to a clear result:
Construction time for a power plant is
reduced by 10 to 20 percent. In addition, we
have the ability to adjust the solution for
changing requirements in the future. This
presents an essential competitive advantage
in the current dynamic market environment.”
For More Information
Microsoft .NET
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Microsoft .NET is software that connects
people, information, systems, and devices
through the use of Web services. Web
services are a combination of protocols that
enable computers to work together by
exchanging messages. Web services are
based on the standard protocols of XML,
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.NET is integrated across Microsoft products
and services, providing the ability to quickly
build, deploy, manage, and use connected,
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solutions provide agile business integration
and the promise of information anytime,
anywhere, on any device.
For more information about Alstom visit the
Web site at:
www.alstom.com
For more information about 1eEurope
(Switzerland) AG, call +41 (0)44 722 75 55
or visit the Web site at:
www.1eeurope.ch
For more information about Microsoft .NET
and Web services, please visit these Web
sites:
www.microsoft.com/net
msdn.microsoft.com/webservices
The Microsoft .NET Framework is an integral
Windows® component that supports building
and running the next generation of
applications and Web services.
For more information about the Microsoft
.NET Framework, go to:
msdn.microsoft.com/netframework
Software and Services
Microsoft SQL Server 2000
Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003
 .NET Framework


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This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT
MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS
SUMMARY.
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are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft
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may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Document published March 2005