Exploring critical failure modes in the rail environment and the consequential costs of unplanned maintenance
Date
2012
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
CIE & SAIIE
Abstract
This study explores in-service failure modes for rolling stock in the rail environment,
identifies the most critical failures and explores the consequential cost of these failure
modes. Rolling stock is maintained according to maintenance plans with a major goal being
the prevention of in-service failures, but due to the nature of the equipment not all failures
can be prevented. In-service failures normally result in train delays or the cancellations of
trains not only disrupting commuter services but also causing financial losses.
The typical failures of rolling stock are analysed using data from the facility maintenance
management system. The critical failure modes are identified and classified according to
cause, severity, consequence and frequency parameters. A decision model is employed to
classify the criticality of the failure modes.
The most prominent critical failure modes are analysed to determine root causes, to
conclude the investigation. Areas are identified where the focus of future investigation and
planned maintenance will have the most significant impact.
Description
CITATION: Conradie, P. D. F. & Treurnicht, N. F. 2012. Exploring critical failure modes in the rail environment and the consequential costs of unplanned maintenance. In CIE42 Proceedings, 15-18 July 2012, Cape Town, South Africa.
Keywords
Electric railroads--Rolling stock
Citation
Conradie, P. D. F. & Treurnicht, N. F. 2012. Exploring critical failure modes in the rail environment and the consequential costs of unplanned maintenance. In CIE42 Proceedings, 15-18 July 2012, Cape Town, South Africa