Systematic risk-analysis to support a living maintenance programme for railway infrastructure
Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering
ISSN: 1355-2511
Article publication date: 14 August 2017
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe an application of an effective risk-based methodology to support a living maintenance programme for railway infrastructure.
Design/methodology/approach
The overall research strategy is a single case study of switches and crossings at the Iron Ore Line in northern Sweden. The analysis was performed as a risk workshop guided by a methodology that integrates reliability-centred maintenance and barrier analysis.
Findings
The applied methodology is valuable to systematise and improve the existing maintenance programme, as well as supporting a continued living maintenance programme.
Research limitations/implications
The single case study approach may decrease the validity of the achieved results. However, similar case studies corroborate the results, which affect the validity in a positive way.
Practical implications
The resulting maintenance programme is effective, through compliance with external requirements, and more efficient, through improvements of tasks and intervals.
Social implications
An enhanced railway infrastructure maintenance programme contributes to improved safety, punctuality, and costs. Hence, railway becomes a more attractive mode of transport. Thereby, it also supports a safety performance of the railway that society is willing to pay for.
Originality/value
Significant improvements of the maintenance programme are achieved through adjustment of inspection intervals and tasks. The results also support the development of indicators, monitoring, and continuous improvement.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Lloyd’s Register and Trafikverket for supporting this work both intellectually and financially.
Citation
Söderholm, P. and Nilsen, T. (2017), "Systematic risk-analysis to support a living maintenance programme for railway infrastructure", Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering, Vol. 23 No. 3, pp. 326-340. https://doi.org/10.1108/JQME-09-2016-0042
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited