Melhoria do processo de coleta de dados de via permanente ferroviária

Abstract

Railways have been consolidated over time as one of the most efficient ways of transportation, however, the cost of maintenance is high, and the potential accidents are catastrophic. Considering this scenario, the main failure module that is presented is linked to the degradation of materials and, specifically, to the elements that compose the railway itself. This way, it is fundamental to have coherent information, in a high volume, transmitted in a fast and trustable ways for the development of a precise prioritization and, consequently, to feed an adequate intervention plan. Nevertheless, the traditional railway sector faces several challenges for the data collection of the main elements which are part of the railway (train track, ties, fastening and ballast), since inspections are manually done using outdated tools and a long-distance coverage is needed. To address this problem, the development of a digital tool was prioritized to register, in an organized way, the condition of the element “tie” and, as an additional opportunity, other 6 elements (tie type, quantity of ties, ballast condition, location, predominant fastening types and the presence of rail joints or welds), that are important to the railway maintenance criteria. The development of such tool happened at Rumo Logística company, operator and concessionary of more than 12 thousand kilometers of railways in the national territory. For the app deployment 6.239 kilometers were selected and, in 63% coverage of test stretch, it was possible to raise 18 times more information than the traditional manual system.