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Automated Rolling Stock Inspection and Maintenance

"Hidden Champion" PSI Technics Creates New Value-Added Network

SME 4.0 Competence Center Provides Support as a Think Tank

Picture: PSI Technics / ©knssr ©putilov_denis Â©serjiob74 Â©sakkmesterke - stock.adobe.com

(SME 4.0 Competence Center, Kaiserslautern, Germany, November 17, 2020) 

The SME 4.0 Competence Center think tank (Mittelstand 4.0-Kompetenzzentrum) with headquarters in Kaiserslautern, Germany, supports PSI Technics GmbH in their mission to revolutionize the inspection and maintenance of trains. PSI Technics GmbH is a medium-sized enterprise based in Germany that started to research and develop image-based automated train inspection and maintenance systems as early as 2014. Now, the company's next step is to create an ecosystem of service partners. PSI Technics' new company building is currently under construction in Winningen, Rhineland-Palatinate. It will house 60 employees and provide additional support for this endeavor.

PSI Technics GmbH is considered a "hidden champion" in the field of industrial image processing and automation technology. The company has been offering products and services for the production, transport and logistics industries on a global level since it was established in 2005. The company's success is based on a consistent customer-centric approach, the expert know-how of its employees and the innovative strength of managing director and founder Karl-Heinz Förderer. As an ambitious ultramarathon runner, Mr. Förderer personifies the passion and determination that are key to achieving aspiring goals and pushes both physical and innovative boundaries. When asked about the motivation behind this ambitious project, Mr. Förderer explains: "It's about permanently questioning and improving the status quo."

His next big goal is to revolutionize the field of rolling stock inspection and maintenance. PSI Technics GmbH developed intelligent camera- and sensor-based image-processing system for the automated visual inspection of the roof, sides and underbody of rolling stock. Trains are inspected during regular operation when they pass a portal or dedicated check points equipped with smart cameras and sensors which record images of the train from all sides. The recorded data is available to the maintenance staff within minutes. The system thus eliminates time- and cost-intensive visual inspections and provides valuable, centrally stored maintenance details throughout the train's life cycle. The data can be analyzed and evaluated using data mining techniques and offers important safety-related insights about the train's technical condition. The system significantly increases operational safety by detecting defects and creeping wear and by calculating the failure probability of individual train components.

Mr. Förderer realized early on that he needed a broad, reliable ecosystem of dedicated service partners to consistently pursue this service approach and set a strategic course for networking and collaboration. In cooperation with strong partners from the robotics industry, PSI Technics' future plans are to record inspection data for difficult-to-access rolling stock components and to leverage cobots (collaborative robots) alongside maintenance personnel to further increase maintenance safety and efficiency. Once the construction of the new company building is complete, Mr. Förderer seeks to bundle the capacities and the know-how that are required to bring his vision to life. "Those who truly want to effect change need to invest upfront", explains Mr. Förderer.

The SME 4.0 Competence Center assembled an interdisciplinary team of experts to support this elaborate project. The team is going to continuously evaluate the project's technological and economic feasibility to create optimum value-added networks and to ensure the development of a holistic solution. In particular, the project will be backed by Professor Gordon Müller-Seitz, owner of the Strategy, Innovation and Cooperation Chair at Kaiserslautern Technical University, who will bring years of application-oriented research expertise to the table. Transferring the latest research insights into entrepreneurial practice enables a scientifically sound approach that positions this highly ambitious endeavor for success.

Contact:
PSI Technics
Karl-Heinz Förderer
President and CEO
Phone: +49 (0) 2630 91590-0
E-Mail: info@psi-technics.com