Ideal rail health

Finding a metallurgical flaw is a single aspect in today’s advanced rail inspection practices.

{besps}January16_railflaw{/besps} {besps_c}0|railflaw1.jpg|Nordco’s ONEPASS, a portable rail-flaw detection system designed to inspect a single rail in one pass.{/besps_c} {besps_c}0|railflaw2.jpg|Herzog Services, Inc., has outfitted a Polaris Hippo with rail gear to offer, what the company calls, a tidy package, which includes a hydraulic tool circuit, generator, welder and air compressor.{/besps_c} {besps_c}0|railflaw3.jpg|Sperry’s Eddy Current Surface Crack Detection System was recently awarded the 2015 Innovation of the Year title from the UK National Railway Association.{/besps_c}

Finding a metallurgical flaw is a single aspect in today’s advanced rail inspection practices.

Companies involved in the rail inspection market are producing equipment with better maneuverability, working to advance inspection analysis as more data is made available and combining technology in an effort to get the best assessment of rail health.

L.B. Foster Salient Systems
According to Mike Hudson, general manager, L.B. Foster Salient Systems, “The development of our Rail Stress Monitor™ (RSM™) system continues, with a number of engineering trials underway or planned for 2016, as more rail operators recognize the need to better understand and manage the thermal stresses that come with continuous welded rail (CWR) track structures. We have a number of customers across a wide range of rail operations that have deployed RSM in the U.S., Japan and South Africa. Originally developed with heavy-haul railroads in mind, we are also finding growing interest from global transits. As the need for rail neutral temperature (RNT) management becomes more apparent, the benefits of an RNT program to enhance both the safety and efficiency of rail operations will follow.”

L.B. Foster Salient Systems notes that as one of the first companies to connect rail to a computer and then transmit data to an operator, it has been at the forefront of data acquisition and defect detection for the rail industry for more than 30 years.

Per Hudson, “With more data available to our customers, both in type and volume, we are spending an ever-growing part of our time working with our customers to develop methods for performing trend analysis that, in years past, had largely been done manually. For example, with our Wheel Impact Load Detector and the Wheel Data Management System (WDMS), we are working with a number of customers to show how they can identify an empty car that, when loaded to capacity, would likely exhibit a wheel defect requiring maintenance action to avoid potentially catastrophic wheel or rail damage. The ability to perform repairs on rolling stock without pulling it from revenue service provides railroads with an opportunity to maintain velocity without compromising their asset health program.”

With any of its track monitoring technology, Salient Systems says its true product is the actionable data that its systems provide. In 2015, the company collaborated with two North American Class 1 customers and a key provider of Radio Frequency Identification technology to develop an interoperability structure that allows a customer to cross-check multiple wayside detection systems to ensure consist integrity is maintained to a high degree of confidence.

Said Hudson, “With this protocol, the ability to identify the source and location of a defect by any particular system, whether it has its own RFID tagging capability or not, is greatly enhanced. As the idea of ‘Big Data’ management continues to mature, it will become more and more critical that data integrity – and the metadata derived with it – remains a key focus.”

Hudson concluded, “One offering that L.B. Foster provides to its Intellitrack® Navigator (RSM data management suite) and WDMS customers is data hosting and data analysis services. Our ability to expand with our customers’ needs is virtually unlimited due to the use of an off-site Tier 4 data center (guaranteeing 99.995 percent availability) for hosting and our more than 140 years of combined experience in developing, deploying and analyzing rail-specific data for the industry. Next year, we plan to continue looking for new ways to develop processes and offerings that will help our customers not only maximize their current condition-based maintenance capabilities, but also move ahead with a more desired predictive maintenance paradigm.”

Herzog Services, Inc.
Herzog Services, Inc. (HSI), calls 2015 another stellar year with the introduction of the Series 4000, UTV-based test system, as well as an all-new portable unit and the achievement of two safety milestones.

“[HSI] has continuously [answered] the challenges of meeting customer’s needs while keeping safety first in mind,” said Troy Elbert, assistant vice president, HSI.
The company was recognized in the “Platinum” category of the National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association/RT&S Contractor of the Year Safety Awards, which means it scored a perfect 100 out of 100 on selected safety criteria. Additionally, the company was recognized by the National Safety Council with the “Million Hours Worked Award” for working more than 2.9 million hours without a lost-time injury; a feat more than 18 years in the making.

HSI notes that in addition to a superb year for the company’s safety performance, the first Series 4000 ultrasonic test vehicle was commissioned in mid-2015. Elbert says that demand for the vehicle has grown and seven of the eight originally purchased units have been committed to Class 1 railroads with additional units on order.

“The use for these versatile test systems has proven to be beyond being just a ‘yard tester.’ The high maneuverability and versatility has shown to be useful in testing skipped sections of track, crossovers, industry spurs and a host of other structures, while providing cost savings to our customers,” said Elbert. “Herzog’s R&D team continuously is developing ways to improve all systems and open doors for even more uses within our customer networks.”

The Series 4000 venture led to a unique relationship between Polaris Industries, Medina, Minn., and HSI. From this relationship, a new product is being developed and aimed at providing yard maintenance personnel with a compact and powerful tool. The Polaris Hippo, based on a diesel-powered Ranger Crew has been outfitted with rail gear, can maneuver in tight spots and provides a hydraulic tool circuit, generator, welder and air compressor all in one tidy package. Elbert notes that with this smaller vehicle, it will be possible for maintenance crews to work within yard limits without the hassle of a larger, bulky truck.

“Making data compatible with other test information, such as geometry, profile and other rail health related inspections, is on the forefront of solutions for our customers. Herzog Services, Inc., is currently underway with a project to index all ultrasonic test data and reporting to easily cross-correlate information with other data according to a chosen index, such as milepost or GPS coordinates,” said Elbert.

Tim Coolman, R&D software manager added; “In an effort to get the most out of our data, HSI is building a new database for storing rail test data. We have always captured and archived a wealth of information about our inspections and this project will make that data more accessible, allowing us to perform greater statistical analysis than ever before. By focusing on areas with high defect concentration, the new database will help us identify previously unseen trends that can be used to focus both our testing and auditing processes in a more proactive way.

“Leveraging the power of the new database, we will develop many new tools, including better applications for our quality auditors and implementing features for evaluating and visualizing changes in rail conditions over time.

“Because our data includes high resolution GPS information, we can create new mapping tools to query the data and visualize it geographically. We believe this will lead to the production of a rail health ‘heat map’ of sorts – providing a clear high-level picture of our customers’ rail systems and what areas may benefit from special attention.

“We will have the ability to integrate the database with our existing reporting services and will equip our clients with new tools to get a deeper look into their respective data sets. In addition to these new developments, our existing procedures and services will become increasingly more efficient. Herzog Services, Inc., has always strived for excellence in customer service and these technological advancements will make us more effective and responsive to customer needs.”

Another hurdle that Herzog Services has been working on is complying with new regulations regarding commercial truck safety and Electronic Logging Devices.
Max Lafferty, director of transportation safety said, “Regarding recent changes to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Final Rule on Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs), Herzog’s Transportation Safety Department is actively working with vendors to meet the implementation deadline. Herzog has been working with various product development teams of ELD manufactures to address the implications of rail-enabled vehicle applications within the ELD rule. Over the past year, this ongoing collaboration between Herzog and various product development teams have been critical to search for viable solutions to the new requirements, which will affect our unique equipment throughout the Herzog organization.”

Elbert says the company is looking at 2016 as another opportunity to grow and expand its knowledge and expertise in the field of rail testing by focusing energies toward ongoing research and development of robust machinery paired with strict training regiments.

Nordco
Nordco, Inc., developed its ONEPASS during the past year. The portable solution was designed to inspect a single rail in a single pass over the rail. Nordco says the manual method of rail inspection is ideal for ultrasonic testing in rail yards, crossovers and plug rail applications.

“The concept of testing a single rail ultrasonically is not new to the rail industry, but having a portable rail inspector equipped with A-Scan and B-Scan defect data views and pattern recognition and defect verification software is the first of its kind,” said Bob Coakley, director, sales and marketing. “ONEPASS is the first portable ultrasonic rail tester with the complete ultrasonic inspection capabilities of a full-sized inspection vehicle, including 11-channel wheel probe complete with side-looking transducers.”

In 2015, Nordco partnered with ENSCO to integrate ENSCO’s RailScan Lite Track Geometry Measurement System (RSL-TGMS) into Nordco’s ultrasonic rail inspection vehicles. The technology marriage allows Nordco to simultaneously conduct ultrasonic inspection of the rails and measure rail geometry.

Dense foliage, bridges, tall buildings and other potential GPS signal blockers do not affect the RSL-TGMS because it incorporates differential GPS with an inertial navigation system to provide GPS coordinates every foot to measure gauge, horizontal alignment, longitudinal profile/surface, cross-level/super-elevation, twist/wrap and curvature.

“ENSCO’s RailScan is a state-of-the-art, non-contract optical and inertial sensor-based system that provides reliable, accurate measurement and recording of track geometry parameters for all track classes,” said Coakley.

Sperry Rail Service
Sperry Rail Service notes that innovation has always been part of its culture to drive new technologies and concepts and its latest suite of products and services further advances a strategy the company calls Rail Health®.

“We are excited to continue this long standing history of innovation with the launch of several new products for 2016,” said Jamie O’Rourke, president of Sperry Rail Service. “2016 will be an exciting year for the rail industry. The fundamental elements of rail-flaw detection have led to a new view of data collection and analysis.”

Over the past 12 months, Sperry has continued to develop and deploy new technologies and services to its global customer base including its Surface Crack Detection System.

Sperry’s director of global engineering, Simon Broomhead, noted, “Our Surface Crack Detection System is now deployed both via pedestrian and vehicle-mounted platforms. The power of this product brings an enhanced level of data analysis to maintenance planning and management, which will ultimately influence key maintenance decisions and subsequent spending beyond what we are seeing today. Activities like pre-grinding, rail replacement planning and rail life predictability will all be impacted by the critical information this product yields to our customers.”

Sperry was recently awarded the 2015 Innovation of the Year title from the United Kingdom National Railway Association. Sperry’s new, patented innovation uses Eddy Current technology to measure rail contact fatigue (RCF), a metal flaw that develops in the rail head of every operational railway in the world and a contributing factor in several derailments.

Sperry’s Eddy Current technology covers the entire rail head and measures crack depth up to five millimeters. The result is a C-Scan data file, which illustrates the location and severity of RCF. Sperry says it has designed and developed the technology during the past 10 years to provide a solution to a problem that affects the global rail industry.

Sperry notes it has also advanced its continuous or “non-stop” testing program to provide a more efficient, less intrusive means of ultrasonic inspection than that of the traditional stop and verify testing. Utilizing both rail bound and hi-rail vehicles, Sperry has developed software to remove the highly-stressful operator environment from the mix, allowing the operators to focus strictly on the collection of good data. By analyzing the data offsite in a controlled environment, the analysis teams are able to share best practices, experiences and trend data to previous tests.

Sperry says launching the verification teams with the company’s patented location technology results in less track occupancy, while providing highly accurate data collection and suspect locations.

Sperry has deployed additional technologies aimed at meeting the multi-functional needs of its customers and providing a complementary suite of services to the core UT testing.

“By providing multiple technologies deployed on one vehicle, Sperry is able to address the track occupancy limitations of our customers, while engaging various technologies that support and enhance our UT testing regimes. Patented products, such as our Joint Bar Crack Detection System, Induction and our Vision inspection system, add to our complete suite of technologies aimed at helping our customers to operate efficiently and, most importantly, safely,” said, Frank Stillman, director of operations for North America.

“The ‘Big Data’ term is becoming commonplace in the industry and is certainly becoming the topic of many discussions with our customer base,” said O’Rourke. “A traditional rail inspection service provides two key pieces of information: where was the track tested and what was found. This is sufficient for a process where rail is maintained and replaced on the basis of numbers and types of defects. However, a reactive process like this can be inefficient and risks catastrophic failure by having only one real defense against rail breaks and derailments – that of test frequency.”

Sperry notes that the focus on Big Data is a drive to make better use of all data captured, which the company identified a few years ago in its strategy called Rail Health, which emphasizes that the main function of the system is to display and report on everything that can be known about the health of each asset in the railroad track.

Sperry partnered with its railroad customers to integrate all inspection results, including its new Eddy Current surface condition measurement system, to provide tools aimed at making the railroad safer and that also allow for more efficient use of maintenance budgets for more accurate rail repair and replacement.

“Using the knowledge of the health of each asset and our vast historical databases, the railroad engineering and maintenance teams can now calculate predictions on where service failures are most likely to occur – and just as importantly bring in GIS data to identify the severity of the consequence of a failure in those locations,” said Dave Corby, director of software development.

Sperry also points out that processing all of the available data into usable information not only provides the railroads with proactive tools for maintenance, but also reduces operator dependence. Feeding back health information to the inspection system provides the system operator with expert knowledge of the track to be tested.

“Working together, with all of the vast quantities of data we have available, we are creating tools to make the railroads safer by reducing service failures and derailments,” said Corby.