Page 21 - Mantena Annual report 2019

Optimising the maintenance programme
An important part of the work of developing maintenance services is the constant search for ways to optimise the maintenance programme. Optimisation will allow us and our customers to expend less resources and energy on operating the trains. This is important if we are to become a strong contributor to sustainability in the industry.
In the area of condition-based maintenance, we have research programmes with Sintef and the Research Council of Norway, where we are looking at how data can be used to further streamline maintenance work. Newer train types now have systems installed to collect and transfer data. We are actively using some of these systems today, and we see it as a helpful step in the future to install systems for transmitting data on trains that do not have such systems on board.
Another tool which is actively used involves Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM) analyses. This tool makes it easier to optimise the maintenance programme in terms of safety, reliability, cost and efficient operation.
We are also working to introduce automated maintenance.
This includes concrete plans to acquire wheel scanners for maintenance work under the Öresundståg contract. Automatic wheel profile measurement is important for detecting wear and damage, and the data collected is used to extend the life of the wheel discs.
In sum, all these areas should contribute to a maintenance system where time spent in the workshop is reduced, while maintaining safety and high quality in the overall provision of train sets.
Lifetime of old equipment
Trains have a long service life; in many cases they remain in operation for over 40 years. This presents challenges when
it comes to procuring spare parts because we may find that suppliers stop delivering parts before the trains have reached the end of their useful lives. To meet this challenge, we have adopted new technologies such as 3D scanning to produce spare parts. This technology allows us to keep the trains in operation for longer, as an affordable and efficient solution for our customers. We have partners in additive manufacturing and 3D printing, both to create new parts and to overhaul and repair existing parts. By adopting new technology, we also see great opportunities to reuse more of the materials used in overhaul work to reduce waste.
New internal operation models
We have been working to streamline our internal processes over many years, including the use of Lean tools since 2009. This has yielded good results. For example, in the Product and Project unit, deliveries of bogies have gone from 316 in 2016 to 607 in 2019, an increase of 92 per cent.
During 2020, we will step up our efforts within “operational excellence” by placing an even greater focus on continuous
improvement. It is important for the whole Group to be involved, as we find that systematic use of Lean tools produces good results.
New business models
Our concept for full-service maintenance is based on our long experience of maintenance combined with a capacity for innovation. There is also a strong focus on new technology and an associated willingness to pick up knowledge and experience from other industries that face similar challenges, such as aerospace and defence.
We aim to meet our customers’ needs through open collaboration and good full-service provision delivered efficiently. Efficient and clear processes at the interface between operator and maintainer should help to integrate the maintenance operation into the customer’s day-to-day activities so reliability, punctuality and regularity are optimised.
New service areas
The important work that has been done in recent years to expand the full-service concept helped us to add two new service areas to offer to our customers in 2019. One is to drive trains from workshop to platform, which is in response to requests from our customers. The other new service area is maintenance development and management (ECM = Entity in Charge of Maintenance) for our customers, where we take overall responsibility for dealing with
the authorities and official requirements. This is done today for Go-Ahead in the first traffic package put out to tender in Norway.
Innovation and efficient transport
Figure 2. Growth in bogie deliveries
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