Based in Bussnang, Switzerland, Stadler Rail AG has been making railway equipment for more than 80 years. Employing some 13,900 people worldwide, the company specializes in passenger trains for intercity and intracity transportation.
Thousands of threaded and nonthreaded fasteners are used to assemble a railcar. Needless to say, safety and quality are top priorities. Every fastener must be installed to exact specifications.
“For reasons of product liability, our fastening processes require exact inspections and complete documentation. This ensures that every fastened joint is still traceable years later,” says Ronny Böhler, head of bogie assembly and surface treatment at Stadler’s assembly plant in Winterthur, Switzerland.
This could not be left to chance. The company wanted software to error-proof the assembly process, document that quality standards are being met, and provide feedback on the fastening process. The software had to be manufacturer-neutral and work with systems and tools from different suppliers.
At Winterthur, the assembly team uses 13 torque wrenches with integrated WiFi technology to measure and check the torque applied to various nuts and bolts during bogie assembly.
Thousands of threaded and nonthreaded fasteners are used to assemble a railcar. Photo courtesy Stadler Rail AG
Although the wrench manufacturer supplied torque analysis and documentation software with its tools, the software quickly reached its limits at the Winterthur plant. Each wrench saves up to 1,000 data points, which must be read and assessed daily. This information was presented in huge tables of data that, for the most part, were neither understood nor needed by assemblers. As a result, Stadler’s quality assurance and process documentation goals were not being met.
The company wanted comprehensive software to error-proof, monitor and document the fastening process. Given the company’s high-mix, low-volume production environment, Stadler also wanted software that could show assemblers what to do and how to do it.
PG Software from CSP GmbH & Co. met Stadler’s requirements.
When manufacturing railcars, safety and quality are top priorities. Photo courtesy Stadler Rail AG
Data Collection and Worker Guidance
CSP’s PG quality software provides visual work instructions to guide workers step by step through the assembly process. The software also documents that each assembly step was performed correctly.
The software connects to tools from all manufacturers and can accept data from a variety of sources. At Winterthur, CSP consultants got the software up and running within four days based on the existing infrastructure.
“The crucial principle for PG is ‘keep it simple,’” says Böhler. “Visual work instructions for assemblers can be created easily and quickly from within the company.”
CSP’s PG quality software provides visual work instructions to guide workers step by step through the assembly process. Photo courtesy Stadler Rail AG
The software is deployed on tablets. When assembling bogies, Stadler must be flexible in terms of processes and space utilization, since most railcars have some level of customization. Deploying the software on tablets is particularly useful for this kind of production, which does not have a typical workflow from A to Z.
For example, when Stadler introduced its new EC250 Giruno high-speed passenger train, engineers were able to create work instructions for three new types of bogies quickly and simultaneously. With the tablet, workers can see each operating step for the bogie and complete it with the guidance from the software. Photos and graphics on the screen show the worker which step to complete in which order.
At the same time, the software wirelessly communicates with the torque wrenches and other tools. After a process is finished, the employee acknowledges it. The software has reduced assembly errors, even though workers did not receive additional training on how to assemble the new variants.
The software communicates wirelessly with torque wrenches and other tools. Photo courtesy Stadler Rail AG
Since the data is available electronically, instead of on paper, other departments at Standard, outside of production, can access information collected by the software.
The fact that the worker guidance has run nearly without interruption has been particularly pleasing to Stadler engineers. “High flexibility and a smooth workflow: Discussing and realizing this project has worked flawlessly,” says Böhler. “We will further intensify this cooperation in the future.”
Beyond Work Instructions
CSP offers more than work-instruction software.
The company’s IPM software collects data from production processes, documents and analyzes them, and detects errors even at an early stage. In the event of discrepancies, the system alerts engineers in real time by e-mail, enabling them to intervene immediately. IPM collects all process data, such as torque or press-in values, in a lifecycle file and guarantees access to this data even after years due to integrated archiving.
The company’s Curve Anomaly AI software is an advanced, artificial intelligence-based system for curve analysis. Many manufacturers rely on accurate measurement and evaluation of curve values and time series data for quality assurance and process optimization, such as torque vs. time in fastening applications or force vs. distance in press-fit applications. By harnessing sophisticated AI algorithms, the software analyzes the entire progression of curve values and time series data, enabling early detection of anomalies and anticipating potential quality issues.
The software collects data from production processes, documents and analyzes them, and detects errors even at an early stage. Photo courtesy Stadler Rail AG
The software rapidly analyzes thousands of curve data points within minutes, automatically detecting anomalies and providing comprehensive evaluation beyond the capabilities of manual inspection. With this software, manufacturers can automate outlier detection, eliminating human error and ensuring no critical anomalies are overlooked.
Results are displayed on an intuitive dashboard for real-time monitoring and quick decision-making. The scalable system accommodates growing production demands without compromising accuracy or speed. Users can navigate from a panoramic view down to specific data points for precise information extraction and analysis.
For more information on quality and guidance software, read these articles:
Visual Work Instructions and the Paperless Factory
Electronic Work Instructions Come of Age
The Importance of Torque Auditing
