Transkript
Welcome to Performance on Track, a podcast by voestalpine Railway Systems.
Welcome to Performance on Track.
Welcome back to our podcast. I'm Stephanie Prosen and I am glad to have you with us today.
In the previous episodes, we explored railway infrastructure from a system perspective. So from track systems to turn out and fixation system and beyond. And today we shift that perspective slightly because managing railway infrastructure as a system doesn't stop at the physical components. It also requires a digital layer, one that connects data, assets and decisions across the entire life cycle. That is what zentrak is about. So in this episode, we now will start.
Why a holistic approach also for digital railway of course is becoming essential. We will look at how life cycle and data changes, asset management and also explore how solutions like zentrak support better decision making in practice. And to discuss this, I am very, very happy to welcome 2 experts from our recent Railway Systems Academy webinar that we held here.
With us is Theresa Passath and Franziska Schneditz-Bolfras for us, welcome here. Hello. Steffi. Hi, Steffi. So thank you once again for being here as our top experts.
And to begin with, could you briefly introduce yourselves to our listeners and also tell us more about your role at vostalpine Railway Systems? OK, then maybe I start. My name is Theresa. I'm working at voestalpine Digital Track management, responsible for business development, sales and also at the group. I'm driving the digitalization vision and also responsible for group decisions like serialization and pushing really the digitalization strategy within the group.
And my name is Franziska Schneditz-Bolfras. I am currently working as a product manager at voestalpine Signalling in Zeltweg. And as a software product manager, I am responsible for our digital platform zentrak infrastructure monitoring. And as this is a digital product and we are literally connecting the physical world with the digital world by our monitoring solutions, I'm happy to talk about this topic today. And we are very curious about all of the coming insights now as mentioned in the introduction.
So we are starting with the big picture. When we now look at the railway infrastructure today, why is a holistic approach becoming so critical? We've talked about this holistic approach also within the last few episodes, but why are we bringing that up now again? Yeah, I think the railway infrastructure is becoming so critical because it's a very complex and fast changing world and the modern rail systems are highly complex and interconnected. Then it's so important that increasing capacity demand and also the increasing demand for keeping the availability of our tracks as maximum as possible is always the goal we want to reach. And therefore also maintenance becomes a critical factor and must be optimized over the whole life cycle. And that's exactly why this holistic approach is so important for especially the asset life cycle optimization because infrastructure assets do not operate independently. They actually cooperate vehicles and infrastructure and also the conditions constantly influence in each other. And that's why it's so important that we take all these influencing factors into consideration regarding optimizing our assets. And exactly with this complete view on our asset health that combines monitoring data with the asset and maintenance data, and we can make better data-driven decisions and really optimize the asset life. Cycle, and this is what we can do, but also as we can see in railway infrastructure nowadays, there still happens to be fragmentation.
And this fragmentation, does it happen more in the data itself, in responsibilities or in the systems? In my opinion, it's in all of these three areas in data and responsibilities as well as in the systems because data is stored in separate databases that do not communicate well with each other, making it difficult to gain a unified view on the network. Also in regard to responsibilities, they are often split between multiple stakeholders such as infrastructure managers, asset managers, operators, authorities, and these leads to misalignment and slow decision making. And that that's why it's so important that you have a system in place that helps you to overcome exactly these challenges. And also these system silos, which currently or nowadays are very common in the rail infrastructure, create barriers like different technologies or different standard in use. And these these are not fully compatible. So that's why it's so important that this combination of data, responsibilities and systems well aligned and as a result then you can really improve the integration across all three areas is very essential for achieving exactly what we want to achieve, more efficient tracks, more efficient railway infrastructure asset and of course increasing reliability.
Let's go into more detail with these silos that you just mentioned. What exactly happens if the infrastructure is managed in silos instead of one whole system? So when you manage the infrastructure into silos, the problem is that all these silos are independently working rather than together. So this often leads to inefficiency where improvements, for example in one area, for example, in the turn out area can create problems in another area and they're not talking to each other.
So decision making in this case becomes slower, less effective and because this information is not shared across the teams, the system. And this can of course result as always in higher cost duplicate word, because maybe you have to put in the data twice and of course uncoordinated investments and which also be a problem occurring because of this silos that are still in place. So I think it's very important to prevent these silos for the railway for performing as an efficient and integrated network. You need to get really get rid of the silos. Managing and preventing the silos sounds like a complex task. Would you say that complexity has increased over the last few years?
Yeah, complexity definitely increased in the railway infrastructure over the last couple of years, especially regarding data management. It's currently all the operators, also our component providers as we searching for one system which can really help you to manage your whole infrastructure and avoid these silos which are currently a common problem. Yeah, railway systems have evolved from most mechanical and stand alone elements to highly digital interconnected networks.And also I think that's where also 10 track connecting with our physical product wants to get in because this introduction of advanced signalling automation and data-driven technologies had added new layers of interaction and independency over the last couple of years month. And at the same time, this growing demand for transport hasmade operation more intense and tightly coordinated. And that's also stakeholders are more involved. Today, you have more stakeholders involved, which increases, of course, the organizational complexity. And additionally, stronger sustainability and efficiency requirements have expanded the scope of what infrastructure must really deliver.
So as a result, managing railways has become more complex and making this holistic approach more important than ever. And that's exactly why we also drive want to drive with 10 track this holistic approach a little bit further. You definitely see that there is a need for a more system wide view for managing all of this and also from a monitoring perspective. Definitely. So I do believe that there is a clear need for a system wide approach concerning monitoring as it is very important to understand the whole system if you want to evaluate the condition of one individual asset.
But I also believe that the need the other way around is much greater as I think monitoring solutions do provide continuous condition based data and this is the foundation of a holistic asset management. Without this information, this real time information, it is nearly impossible to give a holistic view on the whole network. As you highlighted, this holistic thinking is really the foundation, but in order to make that work, you also need transparency across the entire life cycle. And let's go into more detail about that. We already mentioned zentrak, so for our listeners, now let's clarify what exactly is zentrak? What offers zentrak to the customers? zentrak is our intelligence conscious and living railway ecosystem which bundles all our intelligence and digital products under the brand name zentrak. And we now want to bring this into connection to the to the whole life cycle, of course, how does digitalization change the way railway assets are managed so from planning to operation and eventually even replacement? Digitalization actually transforms the railway asset management by connecting all life cycle phases through the data. So starting from the planning phase, the production phase over the usage, especially with the maintenance part until you get rid of the asset, you exchange the asset component over time. Collected data allows you to do condition based decisions for especially for for the optimizing of the maintenance strategies and also really know exactly how your asset is performing over the whole life cycle. So that's why it's so important that you have, let's say, a system in place that really helps you to get deeper insightshow the asset is performing from the production phase until you get rid of the asset.
What role does serialization play here? In this regard, serialization is the key to success in my opinion.
Also we As for railway systems driving and pushing the serialization topic because also all our products are actually tagged with GS1 based unique identifier. In our case, we're using the GI AI number. What exactly does this number tell us? This is a unique, consistent and traceable identity, let's call it like that. It tells us exactly what kind of asset this asset is. So it's a unique identifier for our our assets, our components. And this really helps us and also our operators to always know exactly which asset is where, what kind of asset is it, what condition it is in, what maintenance was done on the assets.
You can really track the whole life cycle by using this number and also this is where zentrak comes in place because zentrak is the data platform behind. So all the asset information can be stored in zentrak Asset and Maintenance Management and you have all the data available at any time.
Why would you say it is that important that really every single asset is uniquely identifiable and also visible than in the zentrak platform? It is very important because one of our goals of all of us, I think is to optimize the asset life cycle. And with the serialization, you can clearly track over the whole life cycle your asset and the behaviour of the asset. So this unique identification ensures that data from the planning, construction, maintenance as well as the operation phase all refer to the same asset and you get the information at any time.
So it prevents confusion errors,especially when multiple stakeholders are involved because all of the people involved can get access to this, to this number and to this asset information. So it supports digitalization as the system relies on this consistent identifiers and to share and integrate this data. In my opinion, I think this unique identification is the foundation for an efficient, transparent and data-driven asset management, which is a very. I think it's a goal we all have to and want to have in the near future or in the future. And this is huge benefit for our customers.
From a customer perspective, what actually changes for a customer who has this digital asset delivery? With this digital asset deliverer, maybe I explain it. What we understand under this digital asset delivery, when we deliver a physical product, we are also delivering the digital version of the assets. So all our asset attacked with a digital touch point. On this digital touch point, this is a metal plate or a plate on the asset itself where the Chia number is on as well as a data matrix code.
And the customer can scan the code and get the information in zentrak available in the customer portal available. So beside the physical asset, we are also delivering, let's say the digital twin of our asset. And in this case, the biggest benefit is exactly decentralized platform for all of our products, because the customer gets access to asset header data, documents, installation history in a standardized way, no matter which of our plans is actually delivering 1. So spare part ordering, for example, can be done more efficiently because you know exactly who is actually the producing plant. You have all the information like serial numbers stored and also the documents stored in one platform. So also the search times for relevant information can be reduced by using the central customer portal and also you prevent data loss because you have the single source of truth for all asset and component data, which where we are the delivering the delivering part of these assets. So all of the crucial information stored in one place and if you can now summarize this, what becomes easier immediately for the customer? The data access comes a lot easier for the customer, as well as the search time for documents, for information, because the customer just needs to log in or use our apps, scan the code, and he or she gets immediately access to all this data. So you don't have to search or ask somebody, where can I find this information?
We have the single source of truth for all of our products. And with all this life cycle data that they now have in place
where they can simply log onto the system, how do we actually or how do they actually use this information now in their daily operations? Now imagine the customer opens the platform. What can they immediately see and do? When they're actually entering the platform days, they get to a dashboard where they have some KPI's from their asset from the maintenance available, so they see exactly how the asset is performing. So in sand track they really see the status of the asset.
When a monitoring system for example is also integrated, they see also the real time data of the asset. That's what I just wanted to ask. It is really real time data. Exactly when you have the connection with a monitoring, especially in this let's say system approach, you also have the real time data and also make the decision based on the real time data. But not only real time data is available, they're also topping that.
We will go into more detail, but as well there is the possibility to make predictions. So predictive data or predictive analytics also play a role here. Exactly. So when you have the data of your asset, you know exactly how the asset is performing.
Predictive analytics help you toidentify potential failures early and allowing that you can plan the intervention before the disruption occur. So you can really plan your maintenance activities based on the failure patterns you're detecting and then really go out take the action before the failure occur. So you can say that with the real time data and also with this prediction possibilities, asset and maintenance management as well. It's not only changing, it is really transforming.
And how exactly does zentrak Asset and Maintenance Management transform maintenance operation? zentrak asset and maintenance management, I think the goal is to really give our customers a platform to shift their maintenance from a reactive or preventive more in the direction of a predictive or even prescriptive maintenance based on real time asset condition
which we are collecting with our sensor arm solutions. And we really create a single source of truth by unifying this monitoring data, asset information and as well as maintenance history into an integrated digital ecosystem. This enables smarter planning where tasks can be prioritized based on risks and conditions.
And also the maintenance windows are optimized for a more efficient work. So this end to end digital workflows improve on the one side transparency, traceability,as well as of course, the whole maintenance process. Because it's a structure approach, you can really help to plan your maintenance action depending on the actual condition of the asset. But before we had solutions like Soundtrack. How did all of that work? So what is the key difference compared to a traditional maintenance approach? As we see it still out in the field a lot is done, still done reactively or let's say preventively. So you have this fixed time based intervals where you go out, but the use of your real time data go more in the direction of predictive maintenance is still not as far as we hope it to be. So in traditional maintenance action are really taken often after the failure occurs and that's why we want to shift it more to the predictive side.
So don't go out that often, go out when really you see based on the data that the failure will occur and you can really dynamically adapt your maintenance intervals, your maintenance strategy based on the data you're collecting. As a result, modern maintenance is more efficient, proactive and cost effective in fewer disruption and better use of resources. And for sure this also effects how decisions are made in daily operations. How exactly does having all of the data again stored in one place effects decision making? So in my opinion, a central data platform like zentrak can provide a single reliable source of truth for all asset information across the whole network. It can enable real time data-driven decisions. And the key is to combine it with real time data and by that it can support predictive and condition based maintenance. This not only helps to detect issues early, it definitely helps to prioritise all the actions that are needed for predictive maintenance efficiently. So as a result, decisions can become more proactive and accurate. To to make it more tangible, could you walk us through a typical situation from detecting an issue to executing maintenance? Sure. So either the service technician out on the track or a sensor detects an issue out there. So you identify an anomaly on an asset on a component such as an unusual behaviour or wear or something like that. So this information can be recorded in the maintenance management system and generates a maintenance indication. So you know exactly something happened out there and you need to do something.
When we have a system in place, the system then when we have zentrak in place it analyzes the data after using predefined rules, predictive models to really help you what needs to be done out then? So you immediately get notified if there is an issue and can then decide what the next steps are. Exactly. So when for example the monitoring system tells you you are with your value out of the limits, then you get automatically an alarm and you start the maintenance process.
You need to do something. You need to go out, create the maintenance and work order and then you can really start working and. Yeah. And and maybe an important note here is that of course, the one thing is if a sensor value reaches a certain threshold limit, then yes, of course a maintenance indication gets created that the maintenance teams, the asset manager or even the workouts in the field get a notification, OK, your asset is in a critical state. But the important thing is then with a platform like zentrak, you can combine it with information like when is the next maintenance activity planned. So you do not waste valuable time of your employees. No, you can get in zentrak a connected system.
So the sensor data gets connected with the maintenance activities and the orders that are already planned. So if maintenance activity for example is planned within a certain time frame, you do not have to get out there immediately. No, you get the information, attention something is happening. But don't worry, a maintenance activity is already planned and you have time.
So you can also plan better. Exactly. Definitely. And another advantage is that you also have the historical data of all the maintenance, what was done in the past in the system available. So you can also track did the failure occurred within the last couple of months already and go more in this case of failure analysis, why did it happen again? What did I do wrong? So also here the system helps you to really track also the historical part of your maintenance. And maybe to get back to the predictive part also here, this direct feedback from out in the field is very important for our systems to learn.
So for example, if an indication occurs and we give a recommendation on what should be done at the asset to improve the assets condition, then we need the direct feedback from out in the field from the maintenance workers who have the expertise with their assets to give it back into the system. And by that, the next prediction can be already much more precise. So that was another advantage of using the system. Is there also something that is really surprising for the customers when they start using this approach? What of surprises our customers is how much value lies in having one single source of truth for all maintenance and asset data. As we already mentioned, a lot of operation, different operations for our customers are managed in silos. So they do not share typically the information from for example, the Trek managers and the signalling managers.
So here to have one single source of truth with this platform, it just helps to understand what is actually happening at our assets, when is what activity planned. And like this, it's just more easy to cooperate and to understand the troubles and problems that maybe are not other entity has. What is also a surprise I think for our customers is the effort for setting up the system because when we're delivering already our produced asset in a digital way, they do not need to enter the data of our asset again in zentrak. They are transferred automatically from the customer portal to the zentrak asset and maintenance management system. So the effort for bringing all these asset data in the system is a minimum. They only need to add the other infrastructure as that they have out there. But also there we try to keep the effort on the customer side as less as possible and really have import zentrak and everything available.
So also for setting up the system the time is quite small. And this is also something that makes zentrak different from other solutions on the market. But what makes US or zentrak special is also it's modular approach. Exactly. It's the modular approach that you can really modularly extend your system, but also the domain knowledge we are actually putting in the system. We pre populating our system with asset information, technical parameters regarding all the different kind of infrastructure asset. So also this domain knowledge we are actually putting in the development of our system really differentiates our system from the ones of our competitors. Yes, exactly. In terms of predictive maintenance, here is where our domain knowledge that we have within the First Opinion Railway Systems Group is coming in. So to give accurate recommendations on what needs to be done for your assets, this is where our expertise comes in.
And we will go into even more detail about all of this expertise in in the next episode. For now, Teresa and Franziska, thank you both very, very much for sharing all of these insights. And in this episode, we now have built the foundation for digital railway systems. So from life cycle thinking to data-driven asset management. And in the very next episode, we will then go one level deeper and focus specifically on infrastructure monitoring and predictive insights in practice. So if you would also like to explore the full webinar that this episode is based on, you can find it on the Railway Systems Academy platform.
We have the full recorded session there. You can also see the presentation to have it even more visualized. And by that, thank you very much for listening and we look forward to having you with us again. Thank you.
Bye.
