Operation and maintenance of railway systems

What is railway operation and maintenance?

Rail vehicle and rolling stock manufacturers and operators face the challenge of guaranteeing personal safety and protecting the value of assets and the environment, while also complying with statutory requirements and product liability regulations. Modern operation and maintenance testing solutions for railway systems as well as the integration of maintenance into operation support manufacturers and operators to manage this challenge and ensure safety and quality of railway systems.

Why is operation and maintenance inspection important?

Operation and maintenance testing solutions for rail vehicle and rolling stock manufacturers and operations provide several benefits:

• Save time and money through our global experience from numerous projects ensuring you to minimize the risk of time-consuming and costly rework
• Minimise risk by identifying safety- and approval-relevant weaknesses at an early stage to avoid project delays and ensure railway system safety
• Gain a competitive edge by working with an independent testing organisation who provides testing services as a Notified Body (NoBo), Designated Body (DeBo) and Assessment Body (AsBo)

TÜV SÜD is your partner for rail maintenance and operation

TÜV SÜD draws on more than 50 years of experience in the rail business and has extensive specialist expertise in all types of systems and subsystems in rail transport and rolling stock. We are recognised worldwide as a railway safety assessor and many of our experts hold accreditation from Germany and other European and international authorities. We provide you overall testing support in the fields of operation, maintenance and the relevant management processes, thereby assessing your existing solutions, support you during your projects and provide suitable trainings to transfer expert knowlegde. We are your partner for all testing services throughout the entire scope of rail, light rail and metro system assessment and provide services as a Notified Body (NoBo), Designated Body (DeBo) and Assessment Body (AsBo) under one roof.

TÜV SÜD's operation and maintenance testing services for railway systems

You will be competently supported by our assessment and testing services in the fields of operation, maintenance and the relevant management processes:

• Evaluation of your existing solutions
• Assessment of strategies
• Verification of entire concepts and programs

Operation Assessments (interface to maintenance)

• Integration of maintenance into the safety management system
• Operational strategies, integration of maintenance into operation
• Definition of resources and deployment planning of resources (vehicles, personnel)
• Organisation of operation and interface to maintenance
• Rules and regulations for operation
• Fire protection and rescue concepts with respect to protection objective definitions
• Concepts for optimizing safety, reliability and availability
• Studies and analyses with respect to calculations and optimization of life-cycle costs (LCC)
• Examination of technical systems and work procedures with respect to health and work safety aspects.

Maintenance Assessments

• Maintenance theory and strategies
• Maintenance concepts, planning processes
• Organisation of maintenance and interface to operation
• Maintenance processes  
• Definition of resources (personnel, material, tools, measurement and test equipment)
• Maintenance infrastructure (incl. storage and logistic concepts)
• Rules and regulations for maintenance
• Examination of the maintenance and repair-shops with respect to work safety and functional safety and regarding conformance with local regulations and legal rulings
• Development accompanying inspection for construction and maintenance projects  

Management Processes for Operation and Maintenance

• Maintenance (e. g. ECM)
• Risk management (CSM – risk analysis/evaluation and assessment)
• Quality and requirement management
• Documentation and information
• Training for operation and maintenance
• Safety at work and environmental protection
• Management systems (requirement and interface specifications)

Certification (in cooperation with our affiliated groups)

• ECM
• QMS / IRIS
• Jointing (EN 15085)
• Non-destructive testing
• Systems requiring obligatory monitoring