Automation of subway engineers

Customer: ST. PETERSBURG SUBWAY SUE

Terms of implementation: 7 months
Объем проекта: 2 brigades, equipping 4 trains
Task: Automation of maintenance and repair of «Neva» trains

Functioning of a large transport enterprise is impossible without modern maintenance of rolling stock. Manual monitoring of service operations is very expensive and does not meet the tasks of effective monitoring, reducing breakdowns and speeding up the repair cycle.

Project objectives:

Ensuring maximum safety of passengers ‘ movement.
Reduced number of unscheduled repairs.
Registration of numbered parts, tracking service life, informing about the need for routine inspections and diagnostics.
Reduction of time from the moment of detection of problems to their elimination.
Improve the accuracy and transparency of operations performed by service engineers, and reduce the impact of the human factor.
Engineer’s access «in the fields» to current data on the object, equipment and past repairs, as well as on the availability of spare parts and components for replacement.

Reasons for choosing RFID technology:

Operating conditions: license plate parts are covered with a layer of dirt and oil, which completely eliminates the possibility of reading the barcode without additional actions.
In order to save the service engineer’s time, it is necessary to provide reading from a distance of 1 m without direct visibility.
ID durability of at least 5 years in aggressive operating conditions:

- Constant vibration (the train moves at speeds up to 90 km / h).
- Chemical treatment during trains washing.
- The brake disk is heated to a temperature of 80 C.

RFID systems are characterized by reliability, speed, and cost-effectiveness of implementation.

Project Features:

Harsh operating conditions: dirt, dust, and snow — complicate the search for the ID.
Reading requirements: distance up to 1 m, no line of sight.
Group reading for quick inventory management.
Reading from metal.

Significant investments in integrated RFID-based automation are effective only when all components of the system meet the operating conditions. Therefore, we use only high-quality high-tech equipment in our projects.

Equipment used in the project:

Hand reader Motorola MC319Z.
Dura 600, Exo 210, and Confidex micro RFID-tags.

Results:

Reducing the number of brake blocks on the rails thefts from 120 to 3 pieces per year.
Reduction of time for delivery/reception of shifts, fastening/loosening of the train, operations with brake blocks.
Up-to-date information on the location of each accounting unit.
Control over the activities of each employee.