Improving railway reliability

04 September, 2018

The partnership will see the implementation of SKF’s Insight Rail condition-based maintenance solution in combination with Siemens' Railigent Application Suite that is linked with the Internet of Things operating system MindSphere.

This new cooperation between SKF and Siemens, which leverages the resources of SKF’s Digitalisation initiative, will facilitate on-line monitoring of several important components such as wheelset bearings and wheels via Siemens’ Railigent Application Suite for mass transit and infrastructure operators. The goal of this project is to help customers anticipate issues with individual components and allow them to schedule maintenance only when it is required using one single monitoring system.

Single interface

SKF Insight Rail is SKF’s first fully wireless, condition-based monitoring system for railway rolling stock operators. Easy to install and operate, the solution provides local measurement, data analysis and display of actionable information via an intuitive app. Railigent is a Siemens cloud-based Application Suite that provides a single interface for data collected from many different infrastructure and vehicle system components. Dubbed the ‘Internet of Trains’, Railigent gives operators the tools required to increase train availability by leveraging the power of the Industrial Internet Of Things (IIOT).

Data access simplified

Filip Rosengren, director, Railway Industry at SKF commented: “With Railigent, Siemens offers a powerful platform for a multitude of digital services. In particular, the system simplifies data access, enabling operators to gather essential data about the condition of their rolling stock components from a single access point.”

Johannes Emmelheinz, CEO of Customer Services at Siemens Mobility Division, said: “Wheelset bearings are critical components for any rolling stock operator. Together with SKF we seek to move the industry toward the objective of one hundred-percent availability with safe, efficient service.”

www.skf.com