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- How the railways keep their systems on track.
- Smarter energy provides a pipeline for cleaner growth.
- Smarter systems convert alternative energy into mainstream.
- Smarter data helps drug companies stay healthy.
- Smarter healthcare gives traditional medicine a modern transfusion
- Smarter data lets retailers predict every customer's craving.
- Smarter roads use data flow to improve traffic flow.
- Smarter data helps shelter cities from weather disasters.
- Smarter systems help doctors turn data into diagnoses.
- Smarter technology turns web cameras into interpreters.
- Smarter hydropower squeezes more energy from every drop.
- Smarter insurance uses data to spot accidents that aren't accidental.
How the railways keep their systems on track
Our planet depends on rail lines. Each year they carry over 21 billion people and over 10 billion tons of cargo, with up to five times more energy efficiency than other forms of transport. But most of them have been around for many decades, and mass urbanization and population expansion are straining the existing systems. On a smarter planet, we can use technology to streamline infrastructure and support our transportation needs more efficiently.
As the single biggest government-managed railway system in the world, Indian Railways manages an immense and complex organization. IBM worked with the Centre for Railway Information Systems to develop and implement a Crew Management System (CMS), which automates the daily staffing on board trains. The CMS offers managers real-time insight about the crew and their schedules. It also provides a mobile SMS platform to communicate with employees and biometric login systems for added security. As a result, Indian Railways has increased rider safety, cut staffing shortages and reduced overtime expenditures by 80%. Smarter systems deliver efficiency, even when running at full steam. Let's build a smarter planet.
Smarter energy provides a pipeline for cleaner growth.
As China's economic development continues at break neck speed, the real challenge is finding the energy resources to sustain it.
Guangdong province in China's Pearl River Delta is the fastest growing region of the world's fastest growing economy. China is taking an aggressive clean energy approach to satisfy demand in this region, building its first Liquified Natural gas (LNG) plant from the ground up.
Guangdong Dapeng LNG Company worked with IBM to establish an integrated operations system that manages and optimises the movement of LNG from source to ships to port to pipeline, through 341 new business processes and thousands of miles along the way. This infrastructure orchestrates the delivery of 6.8 million tons of clean natural gas safely and reliably, offering power to the entire region and the world's economy.
Smarter systems convert alternative energy into mainstream.
Compared to all that the earth's non-renewable sources can offer in a single year coal, oil and natural gas solar energy is able to provide double the amount of energy. Yet it remains vastly underused. On a smarter planet, we are able to reduce the prohibitive costs of harnessing green energy's immense benefits.
General Solar Power (Yantai) is a manufacturer of advanced solar panels. With an eye on increasing efficiencies in the production of alternative energy sources, they worked with IBM to improve their manufacturing process. Using real-time sensors, problems are now immediately recognized and solved. And a new data integration system means that potential issues are eliminated before they even arise. Similar solutions have cut manufacturing cycle time by up to 80% and reduced defects by almost 65%. Smarter manufacturing is now playing a major role in transforming solar power into a truly viable energy source.
Smarter data helps drug companies stay healthy.
The global pharmaceutical market is expected to be worth over $975 billion by 2013. A bigger market means more competition, increased complexity and higher costs of doing business. Companies that aren't optimized for success run the risk of missing out on the rewards.
Which is why JGL in Croatia asked IBM to help them transform their outdated marketing and sales control system into an agile, data driven planning resource. Managerial reporting that used to take 30 days is now ready in just 5. Marketing and sales forecasting and analysis is now completed in a week rather than a month. The entire planning cycle has been shortened and outside consultant costs have been slashed. By finding critical insights, smarter data has given JGL the confidence to plan for expansion, giving their sales a positive prognosis.
Smarter healthcare gives traditional medicine a modern transfusion
While medical treatments and the arsenal for fighting illnesses constantly grow, patient care is often inadequate due to obsolete or inefficient data management. On a smarter planet, advanced healthcare technology allows vital medical and patient information to be easily and quickly accessed.
As South China's largest hospital system, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine treats more than 10,000 patients a day, using a combination of eastern and western medicine. But such high volume creates challenges for a hospital in sharing critical patient data. The solution: consolidating multiple information systems into a single digital resource, allowing physicians to access thousands of medical records as well as thousands of years of traditional knowledge. And advanced semantic technology ensures that regardless of language or terminology differences, doctors and researchers can be on the same page.
Smarter data lets retailers predict every customer's craving.
Chocolate is an $80 billion global industry with well over 7.5 million being consumed each year. Such a large, diverse market requires a sophisticated system to deliver the right products to the right people. On a smarter planet, data ensures the world's craving for chocolate is satisfied.
Heidi Chocolat is one of the top confectionery brands in Romania. They worked closely with IBM to create a centralized data analytics solution, which allows them to accurately predict market needs as well as process revenue data more efficiently. This, in turn, helps them to plan the production of over 200 different chocolate products and deliver them to exactly the right place at the right time. Let's build a smarter planet.
Smarter insurance uses data to spot accidents that aren't accidental.
A road collision occurs once every 60 seconds somewhere in the world. This represents a risk for not only for drivers, but also insurance companies. With fraudulent cases costing $30 billion annually, its imperative that insurers separate legitimate claims from false ones. On a smarter planet, data analytics can help companies spend less time processing illegal claims and more time servicing customers.
Santam Insurance is one of the largest insurance companies in South Africa, where up to 10% of all claims contain an element of fraud. Together with Olrac SPS, an IBM Business Partner, they developed a groundbreaking instant data analysis solution. Now Santam assesses each claim based on 100 variables, allocates it to risk categories and decides which claims merit the most attention. All in real time. They've already saved over $2.5 million in incorrect payouts and even uncovered a major fraud ring. Smarter data is helping Santam give assistance to the right people. Let's build a smarter planet.
Smarter roads use data flow to improve traffic flow.
With more than five million people sharing an island smaller than New York City, Singapore faces an ongoing challenge in managing traffic congestion. That's why the Singapore Land Transport Authority (LTA) and IBM worked to leverage the Traffic Prediction Tool to enable more intelligent use of the city's infrastructure.
This system utilises sensors to collect real-time data, allowing controllers to anticipate trouble spots and prevent congestion before it happens. In the CBD, the system can predict traffic speed and volume with 85 percent accuracy. What's more, during peak periods when more real-time data is available, traffic volume forecasts reach 90 percent accuracy. This means that commuters can check on traffic conditions from 10 to 60 minutes into the future and plan their trips accordingly. Thanks to these detailed traffic models, Singapore is able to apply resources more effectively.
Smarter data helps shelter cities from weather disasters.
Even the world's most advanced cities are at the whim of the weather. Natural disasters cost governments $124 billion a year. On a smarter planet, cities can use technology for its most noble use: safeguarding human life.
In recent times, Rio de Janeiro has seen exponential growth and development, but it has also suffered from disastrous floods and mudslides. To help prepare for the unexpected the city set up the Rio Operations Center with IBM. The Center is able to examine the movement of weather systems and variable water flow rates around the city, which helps predict where disaster might strike. By using smarter data, Rio, a city of 11 million is better prepared for whatever nature throws its way.
Smarter systems help doctors turn data into diagnoses.
Around the world, the number of hospital admissions is skyrocketing. These new patients generate new data in the form of high res CT scans, x-rays and other medical images, putting great strain on hospital infrastructures. In fact, 30 per cent of the entire world's data now consists of medical records and images. The treatment of patients is reliant on doctors' ability to access this medical information as soon as they need it.
That's why Central Europe's largest hospital, FN Motol, engaged IBM to deploy a self-healing storage solution that securely archives, duplicates and prioritises patient files. This intelligent information management system allows the doctors at FN Motol to access complete medical histories from multiple locations and systems. With the ability to quickly compare new results against old records, doctors can more easily identify trends and make better-informed decisions about their patients' care.
Smarter technology turns web cameras into interpreters.
Around the world, 1 in 1000 babies is born deaf. While millions understand sign language, many hearing-impaired people still have to rely on interpreters. Considering that most of us will experience some hearing loss during our lifetime, it's an issue that will keep growing, especially with an aging global population. On a smarter planet, technology can help anyone communicate, no matter what their circumstances.
For the 23,000 deaf people living in Taipei, healthcare or legal matters often require an interpreter service. Unfortunately, there's often a wait. Sometimes for up to 5 days, which is hardly ideal in a medical emergency. Working with IBM, the Chinese Deaf Association developed a wireless, multi-media solution to connect people in seconds, not days. The service has raised awareness and empowered thousands of people to bridge a communications gap that shouldn't exist.
Smarter hydropower squeezes more energy from every drop.
Hydropower is the world's most common source of renewable energy, which means it has a vital role to play in the future of our planet. The key ingredient is water, a finite resource itself, so it's essential that hydropower plants operate as efficiently as possible.
Guizhou Wujiang Hydropower (GWH) worked with IBM to develop a solution that manages all seven of its dams along the Wu River, from one control centre. From there, GWH is able to make data driven assessments of each dam, evaluate how much water should be released and determine how many power generators should be running at any given time. The result? GWH reduced wastage by 15% - generating more power from less water. So every drop counts.
