HKL – DW auditing and equipment survey to improve data utilization
The Helsinki City Transport (HKL) chose Loihde as its partner to develop its data-driven management processes. The first project investigated business data needs and the capability of current technical solutions, as well as the readiness to respond to current and future data needs. This project was followed by a data warehouse and reporting solution development project.
DW audit and BI tool survey
In the technical part of the project, we audited data downloads, transmission routes, as well as the current data warehouse and reporting solution, and interviewed people who are familiar with the technical solution. We made a comprehensive description of the current situation and gave recommendations for the development of the environment. At the same time, HKL wanted to assess the most suitable BI tool for data utilization for its personnel. We performed extensive interviews with the staff and gave recommendations on the most suitable tools based on needs, the profile, and the overall architecture.
The project was carried out in close collaboration with HKL employees. Several workshops enabled a comprehensive sampling of data needs and development ideas. With the help of carefully selected interviews, we also addressed the root causes of the identified challenges and formed a comprehensive picture of the solution. As the project progressed, the discussion on data-driven management and the development of information utilization processes intensified at HKL, and this contributed to the concretization of development projects.
Development of data warehousing and reporting
The first priority of the project was to implement the new data warehouse and to verify its operation and benefits in selected areas. As part of the project, maintenance reporting for metro and tram vehicles was realized. The data warehouse was implemented in the SQL Server 2019 environment, and the Power BI tool is used for reporting.
At the beginning of the project, we used the workshops to roughly define the requirements and priorities for the areas of data warehousing and reporting. In the implementation phase, we used agile methods to iterate reports with the customer, so that we were able to create the first version based on the requirements determined in the beginning. The first version was then presented or delivered to the customer for testing. We reviewed the customer’s feedback on the report together, and based on the feedback, we developed reporting further. The working method worked well, and we continued using the method throughout the delivery.
