Suggesting the Driving Forces Behind the Effective Implementation of the Internet of Things in the IRI Railway System with Focus on Improving Safety

摘要

Railway has an important role in the transportation of human passengers and cargo. Providing the desired level of safety is one of the most important jobs of the railway transportation companies. The disruptive damages brought upon Iranian people after the Khayyam accident in 2004 and the tragic Semnan-Damghan train collision in 2016, illustrate the serious safety problems of the Iranian railway transportation system. According to the safety division of IRIR in February 2015, one of the main weaknesses in Iran's railway transportation is the act of disregarding the proper use of new technologies. Internet of things as the new generation of technologies; can emend the current state simply by relying on the new generation of intelligent gadgets and Internet-based networks, the result would be the addition of a new wide variety of services to the railway industry of Iran. In the current research, the researchers have determined the necessary driving forces that are most likely to be the contributing factors on the probable implementation of Internet of things in Iran's railway transportation system with the primary focus on improving its safety. The methodology behind the identification of the driving forces is secondary research in combination with environmental survey methods and then the results were double checked and refined by multiple interviews with the industry's experts. First, desk studies were carried out. Then the environmental scanning method was carried out using the data gathered before. The combination of two series of interviews resulted to the identification of the potential challenges to the implementation of IoT in IRIR and then the potential driving forces. At last with the help of the experts the proposed driving forces behind the effective use of the Internet of things in improving the safety of Iran's railway transportation system were refined and the final results were introduced.