A crystal ball for bus maintenance: predictive monitoring identifies potential failures and breakdowns

摘要

Somewhere between ESP and standard preventive maintenance a new data analysis system allows service technicians to peer into a crystal ball of sorts to foresee equipment failures. This new twist to familiar technology is called predictive monitoring and is available from Accenture Technology Laboratories, Chicago, IL. The company unveiled its predictive monitoring model in January in a pilot program with Metro St. Louis, which serves the greater-St. Louis region with 433 MetroBus vehicles and 125 paratransit vans. An assortment of 20 Metro vehicles was equipped with the special sensors that monitor engine and transmission information. The objective of the pilot project was to cut costs and improve system-wide performance by reducing vehicle failures and streamlining maintenance schedules.