Timely planning and scheduling of railway infrastructure maintenance interventions are crucial for increased safety, improved availability, and reduced cost. We propose a data-driven decision-support framework integrating track condition predictions with tactical maintenance planning and operational scheduling. The framework acknowledges prediction uncertainties by using a Wiener process-based prediction model at the tactical level. We also develop planning and scheduling algorithms at the operational level. One algorithm focuses on cost-optimisation, and one algorithm considers the multi-component characteristics of the railway track by grouping track segments near each other for one maintenance activity. The proposed framework's performance is evaluated using track geometry measurement data from a 34 km railway section in northern Sweden, focusing on the tamping maintenance action. We analyse maintenance costs and demonstrate potential efficiency increases by applying the decision-support framework.

This article illustrates a Six Sigma project aimed at reducing manufacturing-induced visual deviations for fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites. For a European composites manufacturer, such visual deviations lead to scrapping of cylindrical composite bodies and subsequent environmental impact. The composite bodies are manufactured through vacuum infusion, where a resin mixture impregnates a fibreglass preform and cures, transforming from liquid to solid state. We illustrate the define-measure-analyse-improve-control (DMAIC) steps of the Six Sigma project. Specific emphasis is placed on the measure and analyse steps featuring a 36-run computer-generated mixture experiment with six resin mixture components and six responses. Experimental analysis establishes causal relationships between mixture components and correlated resin characteristics, which can be used to control resin characteristics. Two new resin mixtures were developed and tested in the improve step using the understanding developed in previous steps. Manufacturing-induced visual deviations were greatly reduced by adjusting the resin mixture to induce a slower curing process. Further refinement of the mixture was made in the control step. A production scrap rate of 5% due to visual deviations was measured during a monitoring period of 5 months after the resin mixture change. The scrap rate was substantially improved compared to the historical level (60%). The successful experimental investigation integrated in this Six Sigma project is expected to generate increased quality, competitiveness, and substantial savings.

Railway track maintenance and renewal are vital for railway safety, train punctuality, and travel comfort. Therefore, having cost-effective maintenance is critical in managing railway infrastructure assets. There has been a considerable amount of research performed on mathematical and decision support models for improving the application of railway track maintenance planning and scheduling. This article reviews the literature in decision support models for railway track maintenance planning and scheduling and transforms the results into a problem taxonomy. Furthermore, the article discusses current approaches in optimising maintenance planning and scheduling, research trends, and possible gaps in the related decision-making models.

The active radio frequency identification (RFID) technique is used for in-situ measurement of acceleration and temperature in the distribution chain of iron ore pellets. The results of this paper are based on two experiments, in which active RFID transponders were released into train wagons or product bins. RFID exciters and readers were installed downstream in a harbour storage silo to retrieve data from the active transponders. Acceleration peaks and temperatures were recorded. The results imply that in-situ data can aid the understanding of induced stresses along the distribution chain to, for example, reduce pellet breakage and dusting. In-situ data can also increase understanding of product mixing behaviour and product residence times in silos. Better knowledge of stresses, product mixing and residence times are beneficial to process and product quality improvement, to better understand the transportation process, and to reduce environmental impacts due to dusting.

The concurrent use of statistical process control and engineering process con-trol involves monitoring manipulated and controlled variables. One multivari-ate control chart may handle the statistical monitoring of all variables, butobserving the manipulated and controlled variables in separate control chartsmay improve understanding of how disturbances and the controller perfor-mance affect the process. In this article, we illustrate how step and ramp dis-turbances manifest themselves in a single-input–single-output system bystudying their resulting signatures in the controlled and manipulated variables.The system is controlled by variations of the widely used proportional-integral-derivative(PID) control scheme. Implications for applying control charts forthese scenarios are discussed.

Researchers have promoted statistical improvement methods as essential for product and process improvement for decades. However, studies show that their use has been moderate at best. This study aims to assess the use of statistical process control (SPC), process capability analysis, and design of experiments (DoE) over time. The study also highlights important barriers for the wider use of these methods in Sweden as a follow-up study of a similar Swedish study performed in 2005 and of two Basque-based studies performed in 2009 and 2010. While the survey includes open-ended questions, the results are mainly descriptive and confirm results of previous studies. This study shows that the use of the methods has become more frequent compared to the 2005 study. Larger organisations (>250 employees) use the methods more frequently than smaller organisations, and the methods are more widely utilised in the industry than in the service sector. SPC is the most commonly used of the three methods while DoE is least used. Finally, the greatest barriers to increasing the use of statistical methods were: insufficient resources regarding time and money, low commitment of middle and senior managers, inadequate statistical knowledge, and lack of methods to guide the user through experimentations.

Data of sufficient quality, quantity and validity constitute a sometimes overlooked basis for eMaintenance. Missing data, heterogeneous data types, calibration problems, or non-standard distributions are common issues of operation and maintenance data. Railway track geometry data used for maintenance planning exhibit all the above issues. They also have unique features stemming from their collection by measurement cars running along the railway network. As the track is a linear asset, measured geometry data need to be precisely located to be useful. However, since the sensors on the measurement car are moving along the track, the observations’ geographical sampling positions come with uncertainty. Another issue is that different seasons and othertime restrictions (e.g. related to the timetable) prohibit regular sampling. Hence, prognostics related to remaining useful life (RUL) are challenging since most forecasting methods require a fixed sampling frequency.

This paper discusses methods for data cleaning, data condensation and data extraction from large datasets collected by measurement cars. We discuss missing data replacement, dealing with autocorrelation or cross-correlation, and consequences of not fulfilling methodological pre-conditions such as estimating probabilities of failures using data that do not follow the assumed distributions or data that are dependent. We also discuss outlier detection, dealing with data coming from multiple distributions, of unknown calibrations and other issues seen in railway track geometry data. We also discuss the consequences of not addressing or mishandling quality issues of such data. 

Engineering process control and high-dimensional, time-dependent data present great methodological challenges when applying statistical process control (SPC) and design of experiments (DoE) in continuous industrial processes. Process simulators with an ability to mimic these challenges are instrumental in research and education. This article focuses on the revised Tennessee Eastman process simulator providing guidelines for its use as a testbed for SPC and DoE methods. We provide flowcharts that can support new users to get started in the Simulink/Matlab framework, and illustrate how to run stochastic simulations for SPC and DoE applications using the Tennessee Eastman process.