Mid-Life Refurbishment Maintenance Strategy to Sustain Performance and Reliability of Train System

Abstract

Mid-Life Refurbishment (MLR) is a process conducted in many industries to improve or extend the life span of assets such as machines, infrastructures and systems. The objective of MLR works execution is to extend the life span, sustain the train performance and achieve system reliability. Typically, the refurbishment scope consists of overhaul, upgrading and rectification works. The biggest challenge is to determine) the scope of refurbishment works and to create equilibrium between the feasibility and viability of the project. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to discuss the current practice of performing MLR maintenance through the utilization of Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) and to transform the existing FMEA used by the automotive industry to fulfil the needs of Rolling Stock. The use of FMEA is critical in determining) the scope of train refurbishment work. It was carried out at the initial stages of the process in order to determine Risk Priority Number (RPN) to prioritize the type of refurbishment plans and scope. The design of the FMEA Worksheets, De-sign of FMEA severity Evaluation Criteria, Design of Occurrence Evaluation Criteria and Design of FMEA Prevention/Detection Criteria were adopted and adapted from the generic format so that it is coherent with Railway Industries. The results based on the transformation framework, the plan and scope of overhaul, upgrading and rectification were defined using the FMEA. Out of the 80 elements of MLR works that were analyzed using the FMEA approach, it was found that 46 elements needed overhaul, 23 elements needed upgrading and 11 elements needed rectification works. Finally, the application of the FMEA helped determine the MLR scope of work from 13 systems. The case study was taken from the Malaysia LRT Project, and currently the fleet has been in operation for more than 20 years (operated since year 1998).