Systems thinking approach for improving maintenance management of discrete rail assets

Systems thinking approach for improving maintenance management of discrete rail assets: a review and future perspectives

Shang, Y. (TU Delft Integral Design & Management)
Nogal Macho, M. (TU Delft Integral Design & Management)
Wang, Haoyu (TU Delft Mechanics and Physics of Structures)
Wolfert, A.R.M. (TU Delft Integral Design & Management)

2021

Performance evaluation and maintenance planning are gaining importance with ageing rail infrastructure and increasing demand on track safety and continuous availability. The discrete/point railway assets (e.g. bridges, level crossings) together with extended track sections constitute the main railway network infrastructure. The former has important implications in train safety, riding comfort and operating expenditures due to local intensified degradation and plays a role in effective network capacity due to their large quantity. The heterogeneity in asset features and operating environment also adds difficulties to efficient maintenance planning of multiple discrete assets. The current review screens the issue to level crossings, as little concern has been engaged to this asset type, and draws together different perspectives related to their maintenance management. The systems thinking approach is integrated and two levels of asset management (i.e. micro- and macro-level) are used to structure the synthesis, which are interdependent and synergistic. Two major approaches, namely, the mechanistic and data-driven modelling are synthesised. Both contribute to the maintenance knowledge and their comparisons are elaborated. Limitations in existing studies are identified and directions for future research are provided, aiming to contribute to a more refined ‘inspection and diagnosis’ process to properly capture the local track issues and move towards system-level maintenance approach for multiple level crossings.

Data-driven modelling
differential settlement
level crossing
railway maintenance
track geometry degradation
transition zone

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:b4b46aaa-57f3-421a-a03d-7c6df5d20f4b

https://doi.org/10.1080/15732479.2021.1936569

1744-8980

Structure & Infrastructure Engineering, 19 (2023) (2), 197-215

Institutional Repository

journal article

© 2021 Y. Shang, M. Nogal Macho, Haoyu Wang, A.R.M. Wolfert