The Life Cycle of Rail Vehicles

Rail vehicles must be safe, reliable and econo­mical. They are procured for a service life of more than 20 years. Over the entire period, not only operators but also passen­gers expect to be able to rely on the vehicles without any restric­tions. For this reason, it is important to develop and operate a vehicle right from the start with great expertise, precisely defined processes and great precision and to take it out of service at some point.

Please have a look at where and in which process steps we provide profes­sional advice and support:

Prepa­ra­tion of Tender Documents for Rail Vehicle Procu­re­ment

When purcha­sing vehicles, tender documents must be drawn up to enable manufac­tu­rers to prepare their bids.

Prepa­ra­tion of a Quotation

If a manufac­turer wants to parti­ci­pate in a tender, it must first determine whether it is in a position to offer a vehicle that has the required charac­te­ristics. If it can make a bid, a quotation must be prepared that not only meets the requi­re­ments of the tender, but also meets the manufacturer’s technical and commer­cial condi­tions.

Develo­p­ment

The develo­p­ment of vehicles requires the coope­ra­tion of specia­lists in various fields. Develo­p­ment engineers design technical solutions, RAM engineers ensure that the vehicle can be operated cost-effec­tively yet reliably in operation, and safety engineers work to ensure that the required safety objec­tives are met so that no one is exposed to unneces­sary risk from the vehicle. Whether system component or vehicle, GRABAND has the experi­enced RAM and safety engineers who have extensive project experi­ence in imple­men­ting RAM and safety requi­re­ments. Our Opus Suite provides the tools to optimize life cycle costs and our experts know how to use the tools.

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Manufac­tu­ring

The plans are finished and the vehicle can now be built. All the parts must now be available on time and correctly assembled. From procu­re­ment to assembly, a masterly logistical perfor­mance is required.

Testing and Valida­ting

Extensive tests must show that the vehicle functions as desired. Even in the event of a defect in a component that is important for safety, it must be demons­trated that a safe response is achieved. All these tests must be defined, planned and carried out. GRABAND has the experi­ence required to create meaningful tests.

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Prepa­ra­tion of an Expert Opinion

The processes applied and the documents created in the process must be evaluated by an assessor. This involves assessing whether the relevant standards have been imple­mented correctly.

Approval of the Vehicle

Once all the work has been completed and all the documents drawn up, the vehicle can be regis­tered. The manufac­turer and the licensing autho­ri­ties must reach the necessary agree­ments in advance.

Monito­ring Perfor­mance

During regular operation, the relia­bi­lity, availa­bi­lity and maintaina­bi­lity are compared with the theore­ti­cally deter­mined values. The contrac­tually promised perfor­mance parame­ters can thus be verified. In addition, feedback from operation also offers oppor­tu­ni­ties for product impro­ve­ment. For many years GRABAND has been compe­tently and successfully assisting its customers in monito­ring the perfor­mance of their products.

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Mainten­ance of the Vehicle

In the course of a vehicle’s service life, regular mainten­ance work is necessary to ensure that the vehicles function safely and reliably. This requires workshop capaci­ties to be kept available, and tools and spare parts must be procured in suffi­cient quanti­ties. The economic effici­ency of the vehicles depends on the organiza­tion of mainten­ance. GRABAND is specia­lized in the analysis of mainten­ance solutions to find the optimal balance between mainten­ance costs and availa­bi­lity.

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Decom­mis­sio­ning the Vehicle

Vehicles and their compon­ents that have reached their service life must be disposed of properly.