Swati inaugurates Scrapyard Management System

Federal Minister for Railways Azam Swati on Thursday inaugurated a system for digitising scrapyards along with a collaboration suite, saying this would enhance the productivity of the workers.

The Scrapyard Management System is powered by Google’s technologies and has been implemented by Tech Valley Pakistan. It is currently being deployed in Railways Carriage Factory, Islamabad, as a proof of concept, and will be expanded to the national level soon.

The system was inaugurated alongside Google Productivity and Collaboration Suite in the presence of senior officials of Ministry of Railways and Tech Valley Pakistan CEO Umar Farooq. Google’s representative also joined the event through video-link.

Addressing the ceremony, Swati said that Pakistan has an annual scrap disposal target of Rs2 billion, which are added to the national exchequer.

“For some time, copper scrap has not been disposed of, and recently some scrap was given on Government-to-Government basis to M/S POF and Pakistan Railways received Rs1 billion in the past two months,” he said.

The cloud-based scrapyard management system will digitise scrapyard assets, while streamlining its inventory management and bringing transparency to the process in Pakistan Railways.

The collaboration and productivity suite inaugurated by the minister will provide department employees with an effective way to collaborate with different teams using the latest digital tools. It will also aid in ensuring productivity while working remotely or communicating from distant locations.

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CEO Farooq said on the occasion that under Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision of ‘Digital Pakistan’ these projects are the first in any upcoming steps towards this direction.

The minister appreciated the efforts of all stakeholders, including project lead Saad Ullah Zahid, who were involved in the development and implementation process of the system.

Zahid also said that an information technology (IT)-based system is the only way to streamline this process and to bring about transparency in government institutions.

The minister also shared details about other technological initiatives that are currently being deployed, including RABTA, Complaint Management System, facial recognition, e-ticketing and e-procurement.

Later, speaking to the media, the minister said that railways scrap is an asset of the country, and wrong hands will not scrape out.

Expressing disappointment with the current state of affairs, he also appeared optimistic about railways, saying that soon all trains will be monitored.

He also asked the unions to support the government, saying Pakistan Railways cannot function without labour.

He further said that the government will evacuate the large bungalows of railways officers and only operational land will be retained.