NHAI to deploy ERP for data integration

NEW DELHI: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is planning to deploy enterprise resource planning (ERP) for better internal management. ERP will enable the integration of data from all departments across NHAI onto a single computer system that will serve the needs of different departments.

“ERP, which is commonly used across corporate houses, will be useful for NHAI’s many departments that need to work closely in day-to-day functioning,” an NHAI official said.

“The advantage of using ERP is that it would make it easier to retrieve information using a single database," he added. At present, NHAI is using separate database for the different departments thus making co-ordination of works difficult. This technology would help NHAI in making internal operations more efficient and cost effective by using an integrated software package.

ERP is used by corporate houses to assimilate database used in the different departments onto a single platform. In this way, data from, say, the finance and human resources department can be made available on a common standardised format.
Apart from ERP, NHAI has gone in for technology upgradation for many of its activities including toll collection. It has also begun installation of Project Financial Management System (PFMS), a financial management software which would enable NHAI's field offices to send all financial and accounting data directly to the head office.

For the purpose of monitoring toll, wide area network (WAN) deployment has been successfully completed at 104 locations out of 128 locations identified. The technology reduces time taken to collect data, thereby speeding up the pace of decision making.

The cost of the project is estimated at Rs 21.33 crore. For tolling data, internet protocol (IP) phones have been installed to facilitate data interaction between the tolling plaza and NHAI. Video conference facilities have been provided at 10 locations of the Golden Quadrilateral and eight locations on the North-South corridor.