PPIMS studies on Switches & Crossings, Rolling Contact Fatigue and Track Geometry

Between 2006 and 2010 the UIC working group on Track Condition Monitoring has studied ways to optimise the performance of asset management through better usage of monitoring information. Optimisation of maintenance processes was considered achievable if monitoring activities were optimised to meet the information requirements defined by the asset management objectives. A top-down approach was thus developed, called PPIMS. The method proposes a 5-step approach: - Defining what performance is actually required from the infrastructure and which assets or asset systems most influence that performance. - Then the processes that help keep that particular performance at the desired level are identified. - The next step consists in defining the set of information needed to optimise these processes, - Which ultimately leads to the definition of monitoring activities that have to be carried out to collect the right information. - The S in PPIMS is for standardisation, which can become important once the harmonisation of parameter use is considered a requirement. [...]