Variable Rate Sanding

In April 2018, AB Hoses was approached by RSSB and DB-ESG to develop a Sander for the purposes of the DVRS pilot trial on the 323 fleet

AB Hoses was selected as preferred supplier in August 2018 due to its proven capability in variable rate sanding, as is seen with Class 220 and 221 Diesel Electric Multiple Units for Arriva Cross Country, and also its ability to develop bespoke sander equipment within a relatively short timeframe; 16 weeks from concept to installation for Arriva Cross Country.

Other sanding equipment competitors either stated that it would not be possible for them to develop variable rate sanding or quoted a minimum of one to two years for the development of a bespoke DVRS sander to RSSB, which would have resulted in the risk of the trial not going ahead at all or the funding being unavailable in later years. However, AB Hoses quoted 23 weeks for production of DVRS with twelve weeks for fitment as a commitment to supporting the development of data on DVRS and braking performance in the industry. The trial 323 units were completely installed with DVRS by April 2019.

This documented process clearly defined the outputs required and took several iterations/workshops with all team members to agree the scope of work and to what extent I.e. the level of detail e.g. IP ratings of particular equipment, types of material to be used, performance level indicators etc. Ultimately with such safety critical equipment and the nature of the installation and operation, the entire project came under the scrutiny and approval of Ricardo Rail to the mandatory applicable standards i.e. Railway group standards, European Normalised standards, and Statutory law. However, as this process was undertaken in collaboration, the expectation for AB hoses to deliver sanding equipment to these requirements was communicated and set from the outset by means of a technical requirements document and also an applicable list of the relevant standards to the application. This process assisted in ensuring good working relations between all team members as no lines were blurred as a result.

Based on AB Hoses general and sander specific operational experience, it was recommended to undertake a series of comprehensive HAZID/HAZOP workshops, for full life cycle from design, validation and verification, installation, operation, maintenance, evaluation, removal etc be conducted involving competent operational staff from all parties. This process enabled all safety concerns to be identified and recorded, in particular where challenges and outcomes had potential to influence or change the design of the sanding equipment and its interactions with the train and Instrumentel’s monitoring equipment.

Like any team working on a project, success depends entirely on the contribution of every member. It was imperative that all team members had a sense of personal ownership within the project; for RSSB this was quantifying their research as leaders of the rail industry to achieve continuous improvement in health and safety performance of the railways, for WMT this trial could result in a route to the removal of the autumn timetable and provide longer term capacity gains and for AB Hoses and Instrumentel this was the incentive to develop the equipment at the forefront of technology and innovation that could achieve RSSB’s objective and maintain their own position of market leaders in their expertise. This shared vision enabled the team to work harder for the project as everyone had an invested interest in its success or failure.

Tel: 01246 208831

Email: sales@abhoses.com

Visit: abhoses.com

Address: AB Hoses & Fittings Limited Units 5-7, Warwick Street Industrial Estate Chesterfield S40 2TT