With 400 stations, NS Stations is also one of the largest operators of retail locations at prime locations in The Netherland. NS Stations has a clear vision and ambition to create world-class stations that make both passengers and entrepreneurs happy. This means that they are responding to changing customer behavior and integrating digital technologies into their strategy. They aim to make stations attractive to non-travelers and to develop an autonomous business model around customer data that can be replicated at any physical urban hotspot. In addition, NS Stations provides the facilities for the success of these retail formulas at these locations.
Mapping and charging energy use
One of the operating tasks of NS Stations is to allocate the energy consumption costs at all its locations to the local tenants. To this end, AMIS Conclusion has realized an energy management system under the name Orka (Orka is Icelandic for Energy). This application serves as an energy management system for all NS stations and is primarily for measuring, mapping, allocating and charging energy consumption. The Orka application arranges this for electricity, gas, heat, cold and hot tap water on 400 train stations. It maps the local consumption charges and distributes this to the tenants of retail locations an office at stations. In addition to the primary function of passing on costs, the system also provides the data for insight into energy consumption patterns and is one of the means of steering for achieving the Paris Proof climate target. Karin Hofman, Director of Digitalisation & IT at NS Stations, is responsible for this application. Karin: "Charging energy consumption sounds simple. However, the size of the number of locations, the number of changes/splits/merges of locations and the various allocation rules make this an extremely complex process. Every year, as an operator, we must be able to provide unambiguous insight into the energy consumption of each individual tenant."
The custom link between SAP and the meter data provides flexibility
Niels Daalhuisen, system architect at AMIS: "The system is a direct link between the asset information from SAP and the meter data from the various metering companies. In consultation with the architects of the NS, we deliberately opted for a Microsoft Azure cloud solution with logic that is housed in a set of well-maintained Azure Functions. This makes the system robust and separate from the asset administration." This gives NS Stations the flexibility to connect other energy systems and increase the measurement frequency if desired. The Front-end of the system is made with Mendix. AMIS has worked intensively with the Mendix development team of NS for this.
Karin: "Since the system measures and charges all the consumption per energy system and per user, this is the perfect place to also map out the CO2 footprint of NS Stations. This gives us a clear picture of the status of our sustainability goals, including our 'Paris Proof' commitment. This makes it possible to manage these goals even on a daily basis."
Future-proof and reliable
The system regulates the recharging of all energy costs of the 400 stations of the NS. This makes it an important application for NS Stations, both financially and in terms of sustainability. Orka is an innovation of the existing legacy energy management system. Orka must ensure that the measurement, reporting and charging of energy costs can take place reliably and future-proof. Karin: "It is clear that with the current energy transition, the playing field is still very much in motion. With the renewal of Orka, we are prepared for the dynamics in the energy landscape and the sustainability of our real estate portfolio."Â Niels: "It was a conscious decision not to include the complexity of energy management in SAP. The structure and hierarchy of the real estate objects and the high rate of mutation required an efficient and user-friendly management environment. This will also give us the opportunity to respond quickly and effectively to changes in functionality and legislation and regulations in the future."
Proactive, decisive and highly analytical
Karin: "The expertise of AMIS has been indispensable in the realization of Orka. A system with diversity of connections within a complex organization like the NS is difficult to realize. It was also important to establish the logic, hierarchy and links clearly and unambiguously so that they can be maintained and explained. Especially when it comes to the hierarchy of energy management on this scale. The knowledge and experience of AMIS has helped us to navigate efficiently within the NS organization and to realize an effective application solution."
