Edition 30 | September 2011

Cover StoryKnorr-Bremse in Asia

ProjectsMontreal Metro opts for Knorr-Bremse brakes

ProductsEnergy-saving systems for trains

QualityJoining forces to ensure quality

R a i l V e h i c l e S y s t e m s

T h e c u s t o m e r m a g a z i n e o f K n o r r - B r e m s e R a i l V e h i c l e S y s t e m s

Publisher:Knorr-Bremse Systeme fürSchienenfahrzeuge GmbHSeptember 2011

Central Editorial Office:Knorr-Bremse Systeme fürSchienenfahrzeuge GmbHMarketingTanja MohmeMoosacher Straße 8080809 MünchenGermanyTel. +49 89 3547-0Fax. +49 89 3547-2767www.knorr-bremse.com

Conception, text, and design by:Knorr-Bremse Systeme für Schienenfahrzeuge GmbH

Text: Torsten Rienth

Realization: KB Media GmbH

Layout, graphics: Cathrin Huber

Printed by: Weber-Offset GmbH

Information for Knorr-Bremse’ s worldwide customers and business partnersE-NEWS-0030-EN This publication may be subject to alteration without prior notice. A printed copy of this document may not be the latest revision. Please contact your local Knorr-Bremse representative or check our website www.knorr-bremse.com for the latest update. The figurative mark “K” and the trademarks KNORR and KNORR-BREMSE are registered in the name of Knorr-Bremse AG. Copyright 2011 © Knorr-Bremse AG - all rights reserved, including industrial property rights applications. Knorr-Bremse AG retains any power of disposal, such as for copying and transferring.

Imprint:

Editorial Domingo Mendieta, 3 Member of the Board of Directors of Knorr-Bremse Asia Pacific (Holding) Limited

News in brief Latest information 4

Products On track for greater efficiency 6

Applying the pressure 22

Cover Story Knorr-Bremse in Asia - High-class mass market 8

Interview with Dr. Leung 10

Changing markets 12

Suzhou extension opens 14

Projects Planning advantage 16

Montreal Metro opts for Knorr-Bremse brakes 18

Quality Joining forces to ensure quality 19

Aftermarket/ Precise planning 20

services

CONtENtS

Edition 30 | September 2011

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The main focus of this edition of our Informer is on Asia. There are few other regions of the world that are enjoying such dynamic rates of growth, with major cities planning their own metro systems, governments building high-speed rail lines between major economic centers, and transport companies investing in efficient heavy-duty locomotives and state-of-the-art freight wagons. All this is benefiting Knorr-Bremse Rail Vehicle Systems, and our revenues from the Asia-Pacific region have been growing steadily. This is due not just to the buoyant economic situation in the region but also to what we offer our customers: a local presence (as in all markets), outstanding systems competence, innovative products and excellent service. And by service we mean not just good relations with customers and business partners, but also our excellent aftermarket service, which is designed to keep our systems running efficiently and to prolong their operating life for as long as possible.

The large-volume orders received from Asia in recent years are now beginning to trigger demand for servicing and spare parts in the region. In China in particular, Knorr-Bremse has responded by further expanding its aftermarket capacity and by opening an extension to its Suzhou facility in spring 2011. In addition to generally upgrading our service capabilities, we have also developed a service center, expanded the field service teams that work directly with customers at local level, and further upgraded the skills of our service engineers.

We hope you will enjoy the pictures of the Suzhou opening ceremony, and also the detailed account of the Asian aftermarket provided by our interview with Aftermarket Director Dr. Johnny Leung. We have also provided you with a brief summary of the changes currently occurring in the various markets in Asia.

This edition also looks behind the scenes in other markets. For example our latest agreement with locomotive manufacturer Voith demonstrates how proper delivery planning can be of advantage to everyone concerned, even when unit volumes are relatively low. We also describe how Knorr-Bremse is using a new SAP-based capacity planning tool to ensure that it meets its warranty obligations from the very first day. And we present our wide range of hydraulic brake calipers. Furthermore we show how top quality can be achieved through intensive collaboration between customer and supplier, how Knorr-Bremse’s subsidiary Microelettrica helps save energy, particularly on international mainline services, and how Knorr-Bremse recently won an important contract from Montreal Metro.

Finally, we provide you with a short overview of upcoming trade fairs at which we will be showcasing our innovative products. We look forward to welcoming you there!I hope you enjoy reading this edition of the Informer!

Best wishes

Domingo Mendieta

EDItOrIAL

DomingoMendieta,MemberoftheBoardofDirectorsof Knorr-BremseAsiaPacific(Holding)Limited

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News in brief

NEw OffICE fOr KNOrr-BrEMSE JAPAN

The new office has everything a modern company needs in terms of space and technical facilities.

You will find us at:

7F, Nittochi Nishi-Shinjuku Bldg. 6-10-1, Nishi-Shinjuku Shinjuku-ku,Tokyo 160-0023Japan Phone: +81-3-3346-2620 Fax: +81-3-3346-2623

Edition 30 | September 2011

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strict requirements. Trenitalia wanted the new trains to be capable of operating across national borders and to offer a combination of high seating density and enhanced comfort. In addition to supplying the HVAC system, Knorr-Bremse is also re-sponsible for the doors. The modern car design, combined with the E3-DET door system, sets new standards in the high-speed sector. Despite their low weight, the doors offer impressive performance in terms of pressure resistance and functional flexibility, with opening widths of between 800 and 1,600 mm according to vehicle type.

rAIL rEPLACES AIr

Rail operator Trenitalia recently placed an order for a number of new V300 ZEFIRO high-speed trains which - with top speeds of 360 km/h -represent serious competition for Italy’s airlines. Knorr-Bremse Rail Vehicle Systems is involved in the project. Known in Italy as the “ETR 1000”, the V300 ZEFIRO is built by a consor-tium comprising Ansaldobreda and Bombardier. The order received by the two companies from state rail operator Trenitalia was for 50 eight-car trains to be built between 2012 and 2017. As well as offering high speeds, the ETR 1000 also had to meet further

ANSwErS fOr tOMOrrOw’S wOrLD – trADE fAIrS IN 2011

Over the next few months Knorr-Bremse Rail Vehicle Systems will be attending a number of trade fairs and presenting its answers to tomor-row’s challenges to a wide range of visitors.

Suissetraffic, Bern, Switzerland, 6–9 September“Suissetraffic”, the international public transport exhibition and trade fair, will be taking place in Bern for the second time. It serves both as a meeting place and a communication platform for the entire public transport supplier sector. In Hall 3.0 at Stand D025, Oerlikon-Knorr Eisenbahntechnik AG and Knorr-Bremse GmbH Division IFE will be in-volved in a joint SWISSRAIL stand.

III International Rail Salon, Sherbinka, Russia, 7–10 SeptemberThe “III International Rail Salon EXPO 1520” will focus on the latest developments in the fields of train equipment, technology, infrastruc-ture, service and logistics. Knorr-Bremse Rail Vehicle Systems can be found in Pavilion 1 at Stand A24/1

APTA, New Orleans, USA, 3–5 October 2011Some 17,000 decision-makers from the rail sector will be meeting this year at “EXPO 2011” in New Orleans. The exhibition is taking place at the same time as the annual meeting of the American Public Trans-portation Association (APTA), and large numbers of suppliers will be showcasing their latest innovations in the field of rail products. You will find Knorr-Bremse Rail Vehicle Systems in Hall 1 at Stand 4833.

Nordic Rail, Jönköping, Sweden, 4–6 October 2011The main focus of the Elmia Nordic Rail trade fair will be on rail so-lutions designed to meet the particular requirements of the Nordic countries. Demand for rapid, efficient rail transportation remains high

in the far north of Europe, and visitors to Stand D03:18 will be able to find out what Knorr-Bremse Rail Vehicle Systems has to offer in this respect.

Trako, Gdansk, Poland, 11–14 OctoberThe “Trako 2011” trade fair, which this year lasts for four full days, is Eu-rope’s second biggest rail vehicle exhibition after Innotrans. Amongst more than 400 companies, Knorr-Bremse Poland will be showcasing many products for the Polish market at Stand 3.16.

AusRAIL PLUS 2011, Brisbane, Australia, 22–24 NovemberThis biggest annual specialist rail exhibition in the Asia-Pacific region offers decision-makers an excellent forum for discussing technological developments and investment opportunities. More than 300 exhibi-tors will be using the opportunity to showcase their latest develop-ments. You will find Knorr-Bremse Rail Vehicle Systems at Stand 211.

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Microelettrica Scientifica S.p.A., a member of the Knorr-Bremse Group

based in the Italian town of Rozzano, develops and manufactures ecometers

for measuring electricity consumption on trains, identifying potential sav-

ings and ensuring maximum operating efficiency.

Energy-saving systems for trains

On track for greater efficiency

An electric locomotive pulling a train from Madrid to Stock-holm has to cross a number of different countries, each with its own electricity supply. Starting off in the Spanish capital, it has to operate on a 3kV DC system, before crossing France, where the catenary system either operates at 1.5 kV or 25 kV, 50 Hz AC; then comes Belgium, which has the same system as Spain, Germany, with 15 kV, 16.7 Hz AC, Denmark which is like France, and, finally, Sweden, where the system operates with the same parameters as Germany.

To make sure the train operates at maximum efficiency, the energy consumption on the various networks has to be pre-cisely measured and the data passed from the train to the operator’s control room.

ElEmEnts of a complEtE EnErgy- saving systEmFor some time, systems such as Eurometer, Integrameter and City Metering have offered reliable consumption data cap-ture and management. But the new ecometer from Micro-elettrica Scientifica now combines all these functions into a single system.

The ecometer measures the current and voltage on both AC and DC networks and can therefore be used on all European systems to calculate the vehicle’s consumption in relation to the current available from the catenary system. Combined with the Knorr-Bremse driver information system LEADER, Sydac simulators and appropriate consumption data man-agement, it constitutes an important element in a compre-hensive energy-saving system for trains.

various options for data transfErWeighing in at less than 30 kg and with a height of no more than 480 mm, the Ecometer can be swiftly installed by a technician and is designed to be maintenance-free.

With a mere 0.2 percent deviation it is particularly accurate, and its modular design makes it very good value for money. Data transfer can take place according to the needs of the particular operator via optical fiber cable, existing loops or radio frequency.

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ECOMETER-formeasuringvoltageandcurrentinbothACandDC

ECOMETERDC-formeasuringvoltageandcurrentinDC

Edition 30 | September 2011

HigH-class mass markEt

knorr-Bremse in asia

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there has been sustained growth in the asia- pacific region over recent years, but the market’s potential is still far from exhausted. corporate consultants frost and sullivan are predicting that the asian mass tran-sit segment alone will grow at an annual rate of between five and six percent to 2020 or be-yond. the challenge is for manufacturers to come up with high volumes of state-of-the-art products to meet this demand.

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Dr.Leung,Knorr-Bremseiscurrentlyrecruitingalargenumberofnew employeesfortheAsianaftermarket.Whatistheunderlyingstrategy?Dr. Leung: In recent years we have been highly successful in this market - and that goes for braking, door and HVAC systems alike. Now operators are increasingly also expecting us to pro-vide maintenance and overhaul backup to ensure the smooth running of these systems. You can best do this by recruit-ing highly qualified personnel - which is what we are currently doing.

Incidentally that goes for all our sites in the region - they are all expanding their workforces in response to customer demand. And to further improve our levels of service we have strengthened our entire aftermarket operation. All our regional offices now have specially

trained engineering, planning and pro-cess support specialists.

2008and2009sawadegreeof consolidationtakingplaceintheglobalrailmarket.WhatisthecurrentsituationinAsia?Dr. Leung: The name of the game is diversification. Once you go beyond individual regions, the markets begin to get very different. Australia, Singa-pore and Hong Kong are relatively well-developed, whereas this is not so much the case elsewhere. Basically, though, you can say that all these markets are developing well. The Asia-Pacific region is expanding - just look at China. As part of its current five-year plan, the Chinese government is set to build some 16,000 kilometers of high-speed line by 2015. By the end of this period, an additional 1,500 high-speed trains and some

13,000 heavy-duty locomotives will be in service Thatsoundslikeatremendous opportunityfortheaftermarket?Dr. Leung: Of course it is. Particularly in the transport sector, aftermarket service is essential. But it isn’t easy to provide high quality. The safety aspect alone makes it very different from other industrial sec-tors. Knorr-Bremse is making huge efforts to improve its aftermarket service - even though it is already very good.

Asexpected,thelargevolumeofproductssuppliedtoAsiainrecentyearsisnowtriggeringdemandforservice.WhatchallengesdoesKnorr-Bremsefaceinthisrespect?Dr. Leung: Our biggest challenge is to transform our organization from a predominantly spare part sales busi-

The Informer editors spoke to Dr. Johnny Leung, Aftermarket Director of Rail

Asia Pacific, about future challenges for the aftermarket in Asia.

“the asia-pacific region is on a roll - and constantly expanding!”

Edition 30 | September 2011

Knorr-BremseServiceCenterinSuzhou

ness to a service-oriented one. This means above all offering one-stop solutions to customers. But we also have to do a lot of marketing of the service. Many Asian operators are becom-ing more aware that fleet safety standards and reliability can only be guaranteed if the necessary overhaul work is carried out regularly by properly trained personnel. After rapid growth in product sales in recent years, we now have to meet spiraling demand for aftermarket service. It’s an exciting challenge - and there is no end in sight.

IsthatalsothereasonwhyKnorr-BremseisexpandingitsservicecenterinSuzhou?Dr. Leung: Yes, it’s one of the reasons. Helped by colleagues from Europe, our local teams have built up a modern, efficient system for overhauling EP2002 brake control systems. But there is more to the expansion of Suzhou than just that. China is such a huge market that we have decided to build up an entire after-market department, consisting of four areas that work together as part of an overall whole. The sales team covers the main rail segments - high-speed trains, heavy-duty locomotives and met-ros - backed up by excellent databases and systems that enable them to precisely predict maintenance cycles far into the future. Then we have our field service teams, who help customers take care of the KB equipment installed in their rolling stock. The field service technicians keep the sales team updated on the current

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servicing situation. And the service center carries out the actual repairs and overhauls. Finally, the entire aftermarket department is supported by the supply chain management team, which pro-vides logistical support.

Asia,ofcourse,doesnotjustconsistofChina.Howdotheothercountriesintheregiondifferfromthe“MiddleKingdom”?Dr. Leung: Purely in aftermarket terms there are no great differences - apart from the sheer scale involved in China. The country is so huge that it calls for special treatment. We have to be able to provide high levels of service throughout the land - which is why we have distributed 100 members of the service teams around the entire country. Trains operating with our sys-tems have valuable state-of-the-art technology on board, and our customers feel more confident if they can count on our sup-port in their day-to-day operations. And of course we are glad to offer it!

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cHina Virtually every city of over a million inhabitants in the “Mid-dle Kingdom” is either building or planning its own metro system. With growing prosperity there is also increasing de-mand for efficient, safe rail freight transportation, and this is reflected in the figures for new registrations of freight cars and heavy locomotives.

In the high-speed sector, an - albeit minor - change of strategy is taking place. Instead of operating at 350 km/h, as originally announced, China‘s high-speed trains on the four East–West and North–South axes are to travel at 300 km/h. So far, though, this speed reduction has had no im-pact on the expansion of the country’s extensive high-speed network.

indiaA major reason for rapid growth in the Indian rail market is the massive increase in private consumption. A large pro-portion of supra-regional freight is carried by rail, as it often takes too long by road, and air transportation would be too expensive. The Indian government is therefore currently modernizing its fleet, and Knorr-Bremse is helping to up-grade thousands of freight cars from conventional braking technology to modern bogie brakes that are lighter, more efficient and more reliable.

As in China, many major cities in India are also investing in mass transit projects in a bid to avert the imminent collapse of their road traffic systems.

The Asian-Pacific markets for rail vehicles are as varied as the countries of

that region. But they all have one thing in common: growth - driven above

all by rapidly rising passenger and freight volumes. Here is an overview of

the individual markets:

Edition 30 | September 2011

rail developments in asia

changing markets

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JapanJapan has a highly sophisticated rail network, with many private operators - particularly in the passenger segment - some of which have a history going back 100 years or more. Recent speed increases have turned the famous Shinkansen high-speed train into a serious competitor for the airlines on domestic routes. The high-speed sector currently operates some 4,200 passenger cars, and the equally popular mass transit sector has approximately 44,000 electric multiple units.

Japan remains a difficult nut to crack for foreign vehicle builders and suppliers: the five major vehicle manufacturers in the country dominate more than 85% of the market.

Hong kong and soutHEast asiaExcept in major conurbations, rail markets in Southeast Asia cannot yet compete with China or India in terms of growth rates. As in many other countries in the region, the number of rail vehicles is on the increase, but the main growth drivers are metros and suburban transportation systems. Major cities such as Singapore are either expanding their systems or up-grading older lines and stations. One feature of the market is operators’ increasing focus on safety-critical products.

korEaThe Korean rail market is relatively small and - as in Japan - largely dominated by domestic manufacturers and suppliers. There are, however, exceptions: Alstom, for example, supplied the high-speed train system for the KTX line between Seoul and Busan. In a bid to benefit more from global demand,

Korean manufacturers and operators are now also looking to export more of their technologies and expertise.

australiaAustralia is one of the world leading transporters of ore and minerals, and this is reflected in the country‘s rail system. Many railroads are designated lines to transport materials directly from mines to seaports.  Continual investment in infrastruc-ture and rollingstock is ongoing to maintain productivity and growth expansion. The country also has an extensive inter-regional rail freight network, primarily for intermodal services. All capital cities have extensive and modern urban metro systems - primarily EMU’s, with Melbourne supplementing its passenger services with a large network of LRVs. Intercity passenger transportation services are also available but in a limited capacity.

Knorr-Bremse’s Suzhou plant is the Group’s most important site in China. Within

the space of a mere twelve months Knorr-Bremse Suzhou succeeded in doub-

ling its production output - one of the reasons why the plant has now been

further extended. The opening ceremony took place in March of this year.

Edition 30 | September 2011

new plant in china

suzhou extension opens

Knorr-Bremse is benefiting to a large degree from the Chi-nese government’s efforts to further expand the country’s railway infrastructure over the next few years, which means that the company is stepping up its activities in the region. This positive outlook was reflected in the celebratory mood at the opening ceremony for Suzhou II+. Prior to the inau-guration, the plant had been gift-wrapped, and guests were treated to a dragon dance, followed by a formal dinner. Af-ter the speeches and several awards, the event culminated in a brilliant firework display.

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Officialopeningceremonywithentertainmentprogramattendedbyhigh-rankingguests

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Edition 30 | September 2011

Kiel-based locomotive manufacturer Voith Turbo Lokomotivtechnik recent-

ly signed a supply contract with Knorr-Bremse Rail Vehicle Systems based

on a system of electronic data interchange that for the first time integrates

a customer’s production cycle into Knorr-Bremse’s own supply chain. This

reduces the amount of capital tied up in buffer stock and creates greater

flexibility for both companies.

In the past, when a customer ordered components from Knorr-Bremse Rail Vehicle Systems, the traditional order processing system swung into action: the customer placed the order, for example by fax, Knorr-Bremse confirmed receipt and recorded the details into its own enterprise re-source planning system.

But because demand forecasting was carried out prior to re-ceipt of the first order in order to prepare the supply chain, both parties had to factor in a time delay and maintain buf-fer stock - at considerable expense. Integrated planning can now help to cut this cost and reduce capital commitment.

Electronic data interchange

Planning advantage

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tHE ExamplE of tHE automotivE industryThis sort of approach has long been operating successfully in the automotive industry. The first step involves calcu-lating and agreeing on the total volume of components to be supplied over the year and what quantities are to be delivered on which dates. Ancillary agreements define the time corridor within which customers can vary their order in response to their actual production rate and the extent to which they can do this.

Despite the fact that order volumes are much lower than in the automotive industry, the rail vehicle sector can also benefit from such an approach. But it has to be based on

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mutual trust - after all, it involves the customer giving the supplier access to reliable information about its produc-tion planning, and this information being integrated on a one-to-one basis into the supply chain. And to achieve this level of partnership, an electronic data interface is needed that enables the two companies’ SAP planning systems to communicate.

Voith Turbo Lokomotivtechnik uses the interface to trans-fer information on its production cycle directly into Knorr-Bremse‘s production system, including any fluctuations within the agreed parameters. As soon as the information is received, Knorr-Bremse is able to adapt its production to the new delivery targets.

staBlE unit volumEs facilitatE dElivEry planningIn the case of Voith, the delivery plan involves Knorr-Bremse supplying systems for 130 Gravita switcher locomotives or-dered by Deutsche Bahn from the Kiel company. The new order processing system is particularly suitable in this case, as the volume involved is relatively high and demand is likely to remain stable over the entire three-year delivery period. The components are also standardized, so there are not likely to be any significant technical changes.

The advantages are obvious: for both parties the need to hold buffer stocks is reduced. And because the data transfer takes place automatically via the EDI interface and orders are no longer processed by hand, the risk of errors in data transfer is reduced. EDI transfer also involves less manual input. The planning systems in both companies are perma-nently synchronized and instantly receive all information about deadlines, volume fluctuations, etc.

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Voith sets the benchmark for the energy, oil & gas, paper, raw materials and transport & automotive mar-kets. Founded in 1867, the company is now one of the biggest family companies in Europe, with a workforce of nearly 40,000, sales revenues of EUR 5.2 billion and sites in 50 countries around the globe.

Voith Turbo offers high-value components, systems and services in the fields of manufacturing, rail and road transportation and marine applications.

Since 2005, Voith Turbo Lokomotivtechnik has devel-oped and built the Maxima family of mainline locomo-tives and the Gravita family of switcher locomotives at its traditional base in the north German city of Kiel.

Both companies have delivered positive reports on their ex-perience with the EDI-based supply planning system since its introduction in February 2011: the system has “bedded in” and is running smoothly.

advantagEs of tHE ElEctronic data intErfacE:• No more paper required • Buffer stocks reduced• Less working capital tied up• Reduced staff input• Fewer processing errors

l.tor.:Dr.JonathanPaddison,PeterJönsundHinrichKrey(bothVoithTurboLokomotivtechnik),Dr.GertAssmann

The MPM-10 platform is being jointly developed by Bombardier and Alstom, with Knorr-Bremse due to deliver the air treatment systems to Bombardier, which is responsible for final vehicle assembly. The bogie equipment con-tract was signed with Alstom.

Most of the metro cars are being manufactured in the Canadian prov-ince of Quebec, with final assembly at the Bombardier facility in La Pocatière. Alstom is producing its components in Sorel-Tracy. Since at least 40 percent of the Alstom bogie equipment has

to be manufactured in Canada, Knorr-Bremse is partly collaborating with suitably qualified Canadian suppliers.

The current plan is for the prototype of the new metro cars to be completed by June 2013, with series production being launched in February 2014 and running to September 2018.

The Montreal Metro program is of stra-tegic importance not just for the Knorr Brake Corporation in North America but also for Knorr-Bremse Europe. The development work already carried out

on the Montreal systems means the company is well placed to tender for the next round of procurement for the Paris Metro. Both systems operate on rubber tires, so many of the products already developed for Montreal Metro can be adapted for Paris.

Edition 30 | September 2011

A contract for 468 MPM-10 (Montréal Pneumatic Material 2010) metro cars

was signed last fall between a manufacturing consortium and the opera-

tor of Montreal Metro. And at the end of May it was decided that Knorr-

Bremse Rail Vehicle Systems would supply the air treatment systems and

bogie equipment.

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american rail market

Montreal Metro opts for Knorr-Bremse brakes

methods from the automotive industry

Joining forces to ensure quality

closE collaBoration EnsurEs qualityThe company’s commitment to quality extends to the war-ranty period as well. If a warranty claim arises, Knorr-Bremse immediately launches a comprehensive error analysis proce-dure and takes full corrective measures aimed at minimizing risk using an approach based largely on methods used in the automotive sector. It also ensures that lessons are learned and preventive measures are taken to ensure that similar problems can be avoided in future projects.

Ensuring that both parties benefit fully from this adaptation of quality methods calls for even closer collaboration than in the past. It involves drawing up improved specifications, op-timizing testing, progressing standardization and working closely with the customer to localize the problem swiftly, reproduce it and come up with a permanent solution.

Although production volumes in the rail vehicle industry are not nearly as

high as in the automotive sector, quality assurance methods are increas-

ingly being transferred from the latter to the former. This calls for close col-

laboration between customer and supplier.

It is, of course, not possible to transfer QA methods directly from the automotive sector to the rail vehicle industry, which is more project-oriented and operated with relatively small unit volumes. Nevertheless, there has been an increas-ing trend towards adapting automotive methods for use in the rail sector.

conditions convErgingThere is a good reason why this has been happening: shorter innovation cycles, reduced development and testing times and higher general quality requirements mean that overall conditions have started to converge in both sectors. Knorr-Bremse Rail Vehicle Systems has responded to this develop-ment by taking over a wide range of quality assurance meth-ods from the automotive sector and adapting them for use in the rail vehicle industry.

For example the company is the first in the rail vehicle sector to opt for across-the-board certification according to the IRIS standard - which was derived from the automotive industry. Knorr-Bremse ensures the quality of project development using DFMEA (Design Failure Mode Effects Analysis) and subjects its suppliers to a comprehensive process of training and approval. And in the field of production it uses process FMEAs and its own in-house Knorr Production System (KPS) based on the Toyota Production System.

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A new SAP-based capacity planning tool enables Knorr-Bremse Rail Vehicle

Systems to reliably meet its warranty obligations from day one. Using euroCap

means the right tools and appropriately trained employees are available at

the right time in the right place.

rail-services in Europe

Precise planning

Edition 30 | September 2011

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Precise planning of capacity for warranty periods is a com-plex task: When does the warranty begin? What system does it apply to? How many depots have to be manned? What ex-actly are the provisions of the contract (e.g. reaction times)? And what qualifications do employees need to be able to supply the service to the usual high Knorr-Bremse quality standards?

looking into tHE futurEAnswering questions like these generates a mass of data that the responsible Field Service Manager needs to have constant access to. This is now possible, thanks to the SAP-based Field Service Software Tool euroCap, which is being used to record all European project data. At regular inter-vals, project leaders feed the current data and figures for their projects into the capacity planning database.

The information helps the Field Service Manager to identify possible capacity bottlenecks in advance, enabling him to plan up to 18 months ahead and precisely predict when and where services will be required. This gives him time to order the special tools required for particular service tasks and en-sure that all staff have the necessary training.

prEdicting staff sHortagEsOperational deployment of the tool is based on the uniform worldwide quality standards laid down for Knorr-Bremse service. This is the only way that the Field Service Manager can, for example, transfer employees in advance to a depot where they are going to be required in the future.

As well as being used in Europe, the euroCap tool is also ensuring the reliability of capacity planning in the Chinese market. The tools run independently of each other, with each Field Service Manager only having access to the coun-tries for which he is responsible, but they are not separate: for example if a Chinese vehicle builder delivers to the Mid-dle East, which is served from Europe, the data can can easily be exchanged.

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Knorr-Bremse produces a broad range of hydraulically actuated brake cali-

pers for its braking systems. The compact modules have been developed

for a wide variety of different vehicle platforms and chassis requirements.

Hydraulic brake calipers

Applying the pressure

Nowadays streetcars - especially low-floor vehicles - have an important role to play in the overall mobility mix. Hydraul-ic systems come into their own where a particularly high concentration of pressure and energy is called for and the available installation space is extremely limited. The use of hydraulics makes it possible to build a complex and compact chassis as an integral part of the vehicle. Modern pneumatic systems can also be compact and space-saving in design, but hydraulic systems currently represent the state of the art for low-floor vehicles.

Hydraulic calipers respond rapidly and virtually without de-lay, enabling brake application, for example for short stop-

ping distances, and brake release, for example to avoid wheel flats, to take place within the required time.

concussion-proof Brake calipers have to operate in the harsh environment of the bogies, close to the road surface and the rails, where they are exposed to spray and splashing. They therefore have to be designed to function reliably for years under the most ad-verse weather and operating conditions. If required, most of the brake caliper types can also be attached in non-sprung locations. They can easily absorb the extremely strong accel-eration forces resulting from wheel-rail contact. A combina-tion of innovatory design and construction and many years of operational experience has enabled Knorr-Bremse to create products that are ideally suited to coping with such operating conditions. The primary objective in developing them is to of-fer long service life combined with minimum maintenance requirements.

Despite the extreme forces the calipers have to absorb and transfer, they are designed to be lightweight. Vehicle builders and system suppliers can choose from a wide range of Knorr-Bremse brake actuators with features that can be flexibly varied and combined:

• actuation type - pressure or spring • actuating force• method of installation: fixed, floating or suspended• type of emergency release (spring-actuated calipers)

Knorr-Bremse has a team of experienced specialist engineers available to help with new developments, modifications or special requirements.

Left:HC1P45+spring-activatedlever-typehydraulicbrakecaliperwithremotemechanicalrelease Right:direct-actinghydraulicframe-mountedcaliperwithelasticsuspension

comorancondition monitoringfor railway applications

the new system comoran - condition monitoring for railway applications - from knorr-Bremse is an integral part of

the brake system and identifies critical and safety-relevant conditions, such as damage to wheelset bearings, hot axle

boxes, unstable running or derailment, according to tsi requirements. the system also provides comprehensive data

that enables condition-based maintenance work to be carried out economically. | www.knorr-bremse.com |

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