Cimcon Digital launches VIBit-BP
23/01/2024
The railway industry uses data from on-board sensors and other sources to monitor the real-time state of railway assets. Condition-based maintenance (CBM) detects potential issues before they become major problems, allowing for more efficient maintenance and improved passenger safety.
Despite the numerous challenges of setting up a system for continuous real-time monitoring, Globiz, a South Korean IT consulting firm, saw an opportunity to make a difference in the railway business with CBM. The issue for Globiz was that while the concept behind CBM was valuable on a global scale, its actual application and standards were still in their infancy. As a result, regulation bodies, railway operators and solution providers such as Globiz had to navigate uncharted waters and figure out CBM implementation on their own. Despite these challenges, Globiz successfully developed the first CBM system for South Korea’s rail system (KORAIL).
As with any artificial intelligence system, preprocessing the data gathered on board the train is essential for CBM data analysis.
To achieve real-time analysis, Globiz found a partner in Moxa, a world leader in industrial connectivity. Moxa’s V2406C Series industrial computer, compliant with global railway EN 50155 standards, performs as the local server to preprocess data collected from on-board sensors and other sources before sending it on to a web server. The on-board diagnostic system powered by Globiz’s CBM utilises Moxa’s computer to enable edge computing. Designed for heavy-duty data processing tasks, Moxa V2406C computers are built around an Intel Core i7/i5/i3 or Intel Celeron high-performance processor and with up to 32 GB RAM. Additionally, Moxa offered Linux drivers for the platform.
JunSik Im, Director/Principal Research Engineer of Globiz, commented: “Globiz has found a valuable partner in Moxa, whoich has provided exceptional local support since the early stages of their collaboration. In previous projects, relying on a computer from a different company meant enduring lengthy support calls to headquarters whenever issues arose. However, with Moxa’s local team, Globiz has found a reliable and honest partner for a long-term partnership.”
Moxa assembled a knowledgeable team of local staff and technical experts from headquarters to ensure the partnership with Globiz was successful. This team worked closely with Globiz from the proof of concept stage to the final deployment, addressing issues that arose along the way. Globiz and Moxa built a long-term relationship based on reliability, integrity and sincerity over two years. Together, they provided technical support to fulfil KORAIL’s requirements and complete the Korea Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (KOLAS) verification and Korean Certification (KC).
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| Moxa enables on-board data processing of condition monitoring to improve train maintenance |
The CBM project was a significant milestone for Globiz, being the first in South Korea. JunSik Im stated: “Moxa’s extensive product portfolio for railways makes it an ideal partner. We look forward to collaborating with Moxa on future projects.”
Globiz estimates that the benefits of the system in this project include:
- A 25-30% reduction in lifecycle costs
- A 20-30% reduction in spare parts costs
- A 40% increase in the lifetime of devices.
Due to the success of this project, Globiz has been recognised by Hyundai and train operators and will continue to be a partner to help promote CBM to more cities across Korea.
“In a bid to expand into the global market, our company recognises the value of partnering with Moxa, whose worldwide coverage and certifications provide a unique opportunity for growth. Together, our companies have the potential to achieve great things, making this partnership a promising one,” said JunSik Im.
