In-Depth

From Toronto to Tuktoyaktuk: Integrated ERP Systems Help Canada's Historic Mounties FulFill Their Modern Mission

• By Steve Saxon
• 11/01/2000

The scarlet-coated "Mountie" with broad-brimmed Stetson hat is a familiar and highly-regarded image of Canada around the world. Since its founding in 1873, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has served the Canadian nation and its citizens by bringing order to the frontier regions of this vast country. Today, the RCMP is one of Canada's most enduring and respected institutions -- a powerful symbol of national identity from coast to coast to coast.

The RCMP was established by an act of the Canadian Parliament, appalled by the lawlessness and vigilante justice that characterized westward expansion south of the border. Their first mission was to stamp out the illegal whisky trade that was wrecking the lives of the indigenous people, who were being swindled by unscrupulous traders exchanging valuable furs for cheap whisky. There was also a broader goal: Create a symbol of Canadian sovereignty throughout the sparsely settled region.

As the nation grew in population and diversity and its communities became more established, the Mounted Police adapted to meet the changing security needs of its citizens. In 1998, the RCMP celebrated a century and a quarter of service with the theme, "A Proud History ... A Challenging Future," reflecting the commitment of the RCMP to build on its proud tradition by continuing to serve the needs of all Canadians.

Today, as Canada's national police service, the RCMP is something like that country's equivalent of the FBI, state police and local police rolled into one. They enforce federal laws across Canada, act as the provincial police force in all provinces, except Quebec and Ontario, are the territorial police in the Yukon, Northwest Territories and the new territory of Nunavut, and serve as the local police force for about 200 municipalities. They also participate in international peace keeping, usually under an United Nations mandate.

While the image of the Mountie may provide terrific folklore (such as the hardy Sergeant Preston of the Yukon), the RCMP is also an extremely forward-looking organization. The agency places a strong emphasis on interpersonal skills, on achieving "best practices" of law enforcement, on community policing, and on meeting the needs of the country's aboriginal groups. In addition, state of the art crime labs, computer equipment and communication systems provide the tools required by a nationwide law enforcement agency in the 21st century.

Like any well-run organization, the RCMP strives to make the most efficient use of available resources, and understand where its money is going.

The challenge is to keep its operations running efficiently across such a vast region, while fulfilling many different kinds of law enforcement missions. Based on the recommendation of Canada's Auditor General, the RCMP is now moving forward to place all of its assets under the control of one centralized system.

The agency recently implemented an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system from SAP to create a finely tuned information architecture that ties the nationwide organization together. The system integrates finance, logistics and procurement functions for all RCMP assets, from clothing to firearms, building materials, automobiles and computer equipment. A growing number of RCMP detachments are using the Asset Management System, with the goal to bring all personnel online as the network infrastructure is upgraded across all regions.

Transactions ripple through finance, inventory and the other affected modules, allowing the RCMP to manage its operations efficiently by dramatically reducing the need for manual processes. For example, when an officer in Dawson City (or New Brunswick or Vancouver) needs a new pair of boots, he or she will use the ERP system to access the RCMP kit and clothing application for ordering clothing and personal supplies. The ERP system generates the shipping instructions, which are forwarded to the appropriate RCMP warehouse. The system also generates all financial transactions and billing information associated with the order. The boots are automatically charged back to the detachment.

In the past, the same request for boots would have meant manually creating separate accounting, billing and shipping documents to accompany the order. The SAP system replaces several standalone asset management and financial systems, as well as a number of regional systems. People throughout the force were often unable to get the facts they needed, because much of the information was not readily accessible. Requests for information, or performing transactions, such as procuring boots, would require accessing multiple systems, which meant a duplication of effort.

The new system allows information to flow smoothly between command centers, regional facilities and individual detachments, providing realtime financial reporting for each level in the organization. Now, the commanding officer of a detachment can know instantly if his unit is spending within their allotted requirements, by viewing a report specific to the detachment. Reporting can be consolidated for a group of detachments that make up a district, providing concise financial information for the district leader. RCMP personnel can access different levels of financial information as it rolls up through the system -- from the detachment, up to the district, up to the region and up to headquarters.

Transparent access to all nationwide inventory information allows assets to be utilized to the fullest. For example, the RCMP has 16 warehouses across Canada for storing equipment. If a local warehouse is out of a certain caliber of ammunition, users can check to see if it is available somewhere else. If there is a surplus in another warehouse, policies can be set up to allow personnel from other detachments to use it, with appropriate accounting mechanisms to keep track of expenditures.

One example of the possibilities available is a new firearms management system implemented in September that helps the RCMP manage its firearms more effectively. The solution provides a tracking system and maintenance schedule for all firearms assigned to RCMP officers across Canada, while integrating with financial and procurement processes to enable more effective use of RCMP resources.

By their nature, firearms require more extensive control systems than other supplies and equipment. They also require regular maintenance, inspection and adjustment. The RCMP is able to connect each firearm with the officer that it is issued to, the officer's detachment and the maintenance requirements for the firearm. An integrated inventory system for spare parts keeps track of inventory on hand, eliminating manual inventory procedures and automates the generation of purchase orders and other procurement tasks.

When firearms become due for scheduled maintenance, the system alerts officers to ship their firearms to an RCMP Armoury located in Regina, Saskatchewan, or Ottawa, Ontario, where they are inspected, repaired as needed, and then returned. As the system tracks the status and location of firearms, it also reports issues of concern such as parts that require frequent repair or replacement.

The application generates a checklist of items that must be inspected and/or adjusted on each class of firearm. It also creates a work order, which allows individual firearms to be tracked through the system. Once confirmation is received that the repaired firearm has been returned to its location, a message goes out to the officer to return the loaner weapon that is typically provided.

The firearms management system was provided by Siemens Business Services Canada, which won the business, coming in first in a demanding bidding process measuring SAP R/3 software credentials and experience. Consultants had to be certified in the R/3 Plant Maintenance module, with at least two years experience on multiple projects. Certification in other SAP modules was an additional requirement.

Siemens Business Services implemented the firearms management solution using the functionality of the R/3 Plant Maintenance module. This module is designed for maintenance of machinery, enabling a manufacturing organization to track when components or machines need to be overhauled. Users can define maintenance schedules, as well as list tasks that have to be done for a particular machine. These capabilities could also be adapted for use by the RCMP in servicing its firearms.

"By implementing the Plant Maintenance module to fit our unique requirements, Siemens Business Services is helping us eliminate duplication and delay, while giving us capabilities that we never had before. With all firearms-related information in a single, countrywide database, we'll be achieving a level of process efficiency not available with previous paper-based and standalone PC systems," says Ab Finn, Client Project Manager for the Armourer's Project.

The ERP system is also helping the Armourer perform transactions that would previously have been duplicated in other systems. For example, the RCMP Armourer is a certified Smith & Wesson repair depot and warranty provider, and uses the R/3 system to bill Smith & Wesson for work performed.

In addition, the Armourer has repair agreements with other police departments. Once the repairs are complete, the sales & billing module of SAP will kick in and issue an invoice, based on information generated by the repair application.

Integration with other applications will extend the capabilities of the firearms management solution in numerous directions. For example, as new officers join the force, an interface to the RCMP's human resources system will update the firearms management database with pertinent information about the officer, their location and the weapon they have been issued. This will allow the RCMP to instantly keep track of where its guns are, and who has them. When a firearm becomes due for service, an e-mail message or post card can be sent out automatically to the officer's detachment.

The new solution also integrates with the RCMP's asset database that captures information related to firearms for the new Canadian Firearms Registration System. This is a bill recently passed by the Canadian government that requires registration of all firearms -- including firearms used by the police and military.

In the past, the RCMP managed its firearms using two separate PC-driven systems, one in Ottawa and one in Regina, with limited communications between them. To produce a report detailing the history of a particular firearm was a tedious, time-consuming exercise that involved searching through both databases to find information and pull it together, while excluding the duplicate data. There was also the possibility of information gaps that could occur if, for example, a firearm was repaired in one location and used in another.

The new system allows the RCMP to avoid any number of unpleasant scenarios -- such as if a firearm misfired and in the inquiry that followed, it was not able to produce the complete maintenance and repair history. It also eliminates any possible duplicate entries that are conflicting or ambiguous.

The system configuration includes an IBM RS6000 application server running AIX UNIX together with a database server (IBM model 9672-R56) running the DB2/390 database operating system. The system architecture consists of three RS6000 frames, each containing four nodes, with one node used as a "sandbox," one for development, two for QA, and the remainder for production. An ESCON channel provides communication between the database server and the application server.

The system uses the DB2/390 database, which the RCMP has defined as its preferred platform for corporate data. The database currently has 120 GBs to 130 GBs of production data. The system is designed to accommodate three years of data, with an archiving mechanism planned for older records, and to keep the database from growing beyond a reasonable size.

Use of load balancing prevents bottlenecks and delays -- all business processes are accessible from every node. When users sign on, they are assigned to the node with the least activity. The system currently has about 2,200 named users, with about 200 concurrent users at any one time. Users include purchasing clerks, budget analysts, warehouse personnel, financial management -- all of the different players responsible for managing assets and budgets.

Using the firearms management system as a model, the RCMP is working to develop integrated solutions for all of its assets, under the framework of the overall ERP system. The next project is expected to address telecommunications, bringing together separate systems for managing radios and related devices. Solutions for computers and aircraft are also being considered.

The long-range vision is to extend the ERP system to span all elements of the organization, integrating financials and materials management with human resources and police operations. This could allow the ability to link operational information back to financials to show, for example, what it costs to investigate different types of crimes by region or any other criteria.

"The ERP process has opened up many doors to investigate how things are going to work," adds Finn. "The integration is key, providing consolidated reporting on our holdings and a consistent view of information across the whole force."