Condition Based Monitoring and Maintenance
Gain insight into the real-time operational condition of tracks and trains.
Did you know that maintenance of the train bogies accounts for around 12% of the total vehicle costs? No wonder so many rail professionals are switching to condition based maintenance and predictive analytics.
What is Condition Based Maintenance (CBM)?
Condition Based Maintenance is a maintenance strategy to monitor the real-time condition of tracks and trains. This results in large data sets that give away key information for efficiency gains.
- Do what is needed, not what is scheduled
- Do it before it breaks
- Do only what is necessary
Experts estimate that condition-based maintenance can lead to an overall reduction of at least 10 to 15% in maintenance costs.
Technology options for Condition Based Maintenance
Thermal harvesting
Thermal energy harvesting is the process of capturing heat which is either freely available in the environment or which is waste energy given off by engines, machines or other sources and putting it to use.
Advantages
- Robust
- Cheap
Disadvantages
- Very Low Energy amounts
- Heat source needed
- Doesn’t allow continuous monitoring
Battery Power
Batteries store energy reasonably well and have a good shock and vibration tolerance. The technology is well proven and is still getting better.
Advantages
- Robust
- Good energy buffer
Disadvantages
- Must be replaced
- Degrades over time
Vibration Harvesting
Vibration harvesting transforms vibration energy to electrical energy.
Advantages
- Cheap
Disadvantages
- Very low energy amounts
- Tuned vibration source not realistic in rail use
- Robustness issues
- Doesn’t allow continuous monitoring
Wired Power
Even when the train is stationary a wired system is undertaking detailed measurements of the bogie and wider train systems. It provides a complete uninterrupted detailed picture.
Advantages
- Robust
- Reliable
- Permanent operation
Disadvantages
- Requires cabling
- Higher initial cost
