VISION, SNCF Gares et Connexions' agile data management system
Reading time : 6 minutes
Gares et Connexions and Vision, a complex and ambitious Building Information Modeling (BIM) project meets a structuring, powerful and agile technological suite that perfectly illustrates the platform's many potential.
Discover in this case study how Vision enables you to flatten the different types of data involved in a project, reprocess them with automated workflows and call them up or send them back from or to different systems.
In this article:
A tripartite, very large-scale station data architecture
A subsidiary of SNCF, Gares et Connexions manages France's 3,000 stations, which welcome over 10 million users every day.
The management and operation of this gigantic asset (buildings, equipment, networks, commercial premises, etc.) requires the processing of IT data linked to the infrastructure to meet the availability and security requirements of the ever-increasing number of station users.
SNCF Gares et Connexions(G&C) has become a new user of the Archidata solution, which specializes in building and structure data modeling. Archidata is distributed in France by Algo'Tech, which also publishes the Vision platform.
The Digital Station project combines 2 IT solutions for :
- collect heterogeneous building data
- standardize them
- disseminate them for use in management-operations-maintenance systems
- feed the equipment repository at the end of the chain
Within this heterogeneous eco-system of applications and data, the Vision platform connects building data with maintenance operations and equipment repositories.
Vision makes it possible to overcome the different generations, data models and lack of openness of existing information systems.
- Eric Madigou, head of the architecture and technologies division (see video at the end of this article).
Step 1: Modeling BIM data
When Vision joined the project, Gare et Connexions had already been collecting and aggregating data for several months on the buildings delivered by the architectural firms and the various survey companies involved in the retro-BIM (laser survey and modeling) of SNCF G&C buildings.
These include 3D models as well as technical data sheets for premises, electrical, water and heating networks, large-scale furniture, display terminals, access terminals, security equipment, etc... the first stage in the digital transformation of stations.
This mass of data is then normalized ( IFC and BCF formats) with Archidata using a Checker and a Data Dictionary to create the building data repository known as the Digital Railway Stations BIM Repository (BGN)
Vision builds on this foundation in the 1st phase of attribute data modeling. The visual drag-and-drop interface enables the data compiled in the BIM warehouse to be structured, prioritized and linked.
This work can, of course, be carried out in the "traditional" way, using the database languages normally employed. The use of Data Modeler Vision (a visual interface for database creation) offers 3 advantages at this early stage:
- the visual interface provides an overview of the relational data schema, hierarchy and links between tables
- each field is formatted quickly and easily
- this strategic work is accessible without needing to know the exact syntax of database creation languages
Step 2: Reworking data with workflows and smartflows
Once the data has been flattened, Vision lets you set up several automated processing routines using drag & drop. The platform's syntax essentially refers to smartflows: smartflows differ from workflows in that there is no human interaction.
Vision is used here as an ETL (extract-transform-load) solution, thanks to its ability to extract data from multiple sources (database, API, etc.), transform it (sorting, algorithms, etc.) and then expose it via a documented API (swagger) to third-party systems: all without a single line of code.
One of Vision's great strengths on this project is its ability to manipulate data.
- Farouk Ouzit, VisionProject Manager at Algo'tech
Step 3: Universal API connection with Vision
Once the data has been modeled and reworked, it can be made available to G&C's 3 maintenance management applications.
The CMMS retrieves BIM data for use in :
- equipment maintenance
- maintenance of information screens
- network and sensor maintenance
The 3 CMMS systems are then themselves connected to the equipment repository, which will store drawings and data sheets for thousands of items of equipment spread across the 120 stations involved in the project.
A wide range of equipment is involved, from lighting fixtures to escalators, sanitary plumbing, kiosks and passenger information screens.
These data interconnections are made via API routes, parameterized in the platform's "API" module. Here again, no lines of code are required. The same visual logic applies to API connections in Vision, with the possibility of testing API communication throughout development.
Vison is excellent for background processing, up to tens of thousands of API requests - Farouk Ouzit
As is the case with smartflows (data processing procedures), exchanges between machines are mainly scheduled at night, to avoid operational data bottlenecks.
Conclusion and extensions of the Gares Numériques project
Right from the start of the project, Vision proved to be a major asset in facilitating data manipulation.To carry out all these operations, there was no need to call in a parallel project, and therefore no need to make technological choices involving programming languages and specific technical skills. This time-saving and new working method has also pleased the client, who has decided to integrate Vision into other data processing projects within the Gares et Connexions repositories.
On target for 2023:
- Production roll-out of the BGN application to end users
- Consolidation of hosting for the various Vision applications implemented
- ...and why not set up new Vision applications?
For Eric Madigou, the results are excellent (see video):
Vision has enabled us to build real interoperability within our IS.
Over time, the platform enables us to go back to the processes quite easily, to follow the evolution of our practices and needs, for example when we need to migrate one of our applications.
As a result, Gares et Connexion SNCF has a robust system that is constantly being updated, opening up the possibility of numerous upgrades.
After the essential Algotech-assisted set-up phase, SNCF teams are now autonomous in most of their day-to-day drag-and-drop operations.
Vision by Algo'Tech is an all-in-one No-Code all-in-one for creating professional applications.
Create your mobile & desktop user interfaces + the database that feeds them + the processes to guide the user through the application + the API connections to data sources.
The platform also lets you host your creations in a centralized space for managing multiple applications, users and their rights.