VIEW™

VIEW™

Automated Component Inspection

Introduction

For certain key rolling stock components, such as brake pad, brake block, wheel profiles and conductor shoes, the ability to accurately monitor the condition of components can play an important role in reducing overall maintenance costs.  Remote monitoring with VIEW™ provides a cost effective solution allowing intervention to be planned whilst minimising waste and cost.

Key Features

VIEW™ is a track-side system that carries out automatic inspection of under-vehicle components.  A typical installation consists of a combination of camera and laser equipment mounted beneath the tracks.

As each train passes over the installation a series of images and measurements are captured of target components, along with vehicle identification information (vehicle tags or by image recognition).  This information is stored on the trackside computer and processed to determine key parameters for each target component.

The measurements are downloaded automatically to the Information Display System in a manned control room for subsequent analysis and trending.  This includes the calculation of wear rates, predictions of component life, statistical reports on component history, and identification of components that no longer meet required standards.

Benefits

• Reduces maintenance costs by ensuring maintenance is carried out based on an accurate assessment of wheel, brake and shoe condition, rather than a subjective manual inspection.
• Improves material management and maintenance scheduling by direct monitoring of wear rates.
• Allows a higher inspection frequency across the fleet to identify faults before components become unsafe.
• Produces accurate statistical reports on fleet condition which can assist with demonstrating regulatory compliance.  This enables users to both maximise component life and flag up emerging problems at an early stage.