New digital solution makes servicing locomotives easier – and more efficient

Digitalizing the rail industries particularly challenging. Vehicles, infrastructure, and services at both the national and local levels run on vastly different systems. Connecting these and all stakeholders on one digital platform is crucial for digitalization to work.

At Siemens Mobility, we’ve been using Railigent X – our open, cloud-based suite of applications that utilizes the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) – to link all available rail asset data.

One of Railigent X’s intelligent solution is the fully digital ECM* workflow for fleet and maintenance management: Rail service hub.

Up-to-date, relevant information

Rail service hub transmits information in real time, so fleet managers (ECM III) and workshop operators (ECM IV) can better manage and maintain fleets. The solution can also be used to connect the European locomotive workshop network, which extends to circa 650 locations in more than 30 countries.

Workshops can show services offered and available capacity. Vehicle master data and completed work are both documented and stored in the Rail service hub, so partners and third-party workshops have the full picture and maintenance history.

Rail service hub meets strict data protection and cyber security requirements. Our solutions take into account not only the risks during operation, but also over the entire life cycle.

Currently, there are two apps in Rail service hub:

• The first, Fleet Asset Readiness, helps fleet managers see the condition of their vehicles and identify current and future maintenance needs. Operators can monitor the GPS positions of vehicles and components and their current operating status at any time. They can also see open work orders, possible restrictions, and workshop capacity. The app matches maintenance needs with the range of services offered by the workshops.
• The second, Workshop Finder – aimed at fleet managers as well as workshop operators – coordinates, manages and documents maintenance work. It automatically reconciles work to be performed with workshop availability. The app suggests suitable workshops depending on desired criteria, like workshop location, performance, or equipment. Vehicles are ideally referred to the most suitable workshop. Requests are made through the online workflow. All relevant documents like digital work orders are automatically transferred through the Rail service hub to the respective workshops. Once work is done, documentation is likewise returned to the fleet managers.

Now available as a software-as-a-service

Up to now Fleet Asset Readiness and Workshop Finder were used by Siemens Mobility internally. The good news for everyone else is that they are now being made available externally as software-as-a-service. The offering is modular so that vehicle owners, rail transport companies, the ECM, or workshops can choose what they need.

We are also now working on integrating interfaces and systems from additional workshops and rail operators so that customers can link their own CMMS systems. Supplementary data on the fleet, workshop, or the status of individual maintenance orders will complete our offering.

Using digitalization to optimize operations is key to ensuring efficiency. Apps like Fleet Asset Readiness and Workshop Finder help improve system availability up to 100 percent and cut downtime. And in the process they ultimately help connect the real and digital worlds in the area of rail-based mobility.

To learn more about Railigent X and the Rail service hub, click here to register for our recently released webinar recording:

Digital transformation for sustainable mobility – with Railigent X

*ECM: Entity in Charge of Maintenance Role in European rail transport that describes the responsibility towards the mandatory maintenance of railroad vehicles.