Denver RTD Boosts Data Accuracy with Object Maintenance Information Tool

The Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD) services a 2,342 square mile service area covering eight counties in the Denver Metro Area. The agency offers bus, light rail and commuter rail services to 2.92 million riders annually. RTD’s focus is outlined in the agency’s Quality of Life (QoL) Study which aims to balance transit needs with regional growth, increase transit mode share, and improve transportation choices.

172

light rail vehicles

49

SD 100s

123

SD 160s

Solving on-board problems

Issues with on-board equipment can significantly impact vehicle performance and increase the life cycle costs of vehicles. Specific malfunctions with APC technology can range from a simple door contact issue to inadequate door coverage, to a floor reflection affecting a sensor’s ability to capture passenger counts.

When system components are malfunctioning, they produce erroneous data. Using a weighted value quality indicator, INIT can provide a synopsis of how equipment is performing relative to the “raw accuracy” of the data. This weighted value places accuracy measures on a comparison scale in order to successfully identify and mitigate APC related inconsistencies and inaccuracies.

Vehicles with larger discrepancies in quality tend to have errors associated with the vehicle. Through OMIS, these errors can be flagged and repaired by notifying the maintenance team via text, e-mail and voice mail. In the event that the maintenance team does not react to an issue within a predetermined time frame, the system can send reminder messages.

Testing

In the simulated model data report, the APC Quality Indicator flags discrepancies aboard vehicles 201 and 203 with respect to passenger boarding’s and alighting’s that are not within the pre-determined accuracy specification. Typically when the APC quality indicator is 10%, this is an indication of installation problems such as faulty door contact or incorrect mounting. Vehicle 201 has a quality indicator which indicates door eight did not report APC data for the date in question. This explains why the vehicle is reporting an APC quality of 10.03%. Since no defects are found on board the vehicle in relation to APC, we can dismiss the possibility that the physical door contact is not functioning correctly. In the same report, vehicle 203 specifically has a poor APC quality indication which likely corresponds to errors/defects noted aboard the vehicle.

Typically when the APC quality indicator is 10%, this is an indication of installation problems such as faulty door contact or incorrect mounting. Vehicle 201 has a quality indicator which indicates door eight did not report APC data for the date in question. This explains why the vehicle is reporting an APC quality of 10.03%.

Since no defects are found on-board the vehicle in relation to APC, we can dismiss the possibility that the physical door contact is not functioning correctly.

With OMIS, RTD can receive detailed documentation of the actions taken which helps facilitate transparency between maintenance crews and system administrators. A picture or video can even be attached to the acceptance sheet for a clear view in retrospect of what was installed and any issues that occurred. This allows vehicle problems to be resolved more efficiently. Vehicles that are regularly maintained will provide quality APC data which adheres to the technical specification.

Better Data from System Maintenance

With the planned retrofit of IRMA 3D sensors and new on-board computers on 106 of RTD’s existing rail fleet, testing is paramount to the success of the project. The goal would be to ensure each new component is functioning properly on each vehicle’s retrofit.

Better ridership data starts with advanced APC technology implemented on the vehicles by the manufacturer. The process is rigorous so that any adjustments in software or equipment can be made prior to in-field testing where actual passenger count data is gathered.

OMIS enhances the quality of maintenance by enabling the flow of standardized work orders. From the online report, faulty devices can be selected out of a list of all APC components. A simple click allows the end user to specify any details of the fault and create a report. A photo or video can be added to the report to provide clarity for the maintenance team.

The maintenance department then receives notification via e-mail, text or voice message. It is possible to send work orders autonomously based on the APC data in INIT’s 172 light rail vehicles statistics program and to create business rules that detect faults using a simple configuration within INIT’s system monitoring tool.

The additional 29 Siemens LRVs were ordered with the new APC technology from INIT to be installed at the Siemens plant. For these vehicles, OMIS will be useful for streamlining the commissioning process by defining customized testing steps and creating transparency with documentation to all parties involved. Because OMIS is cloud-based, it can be used on any mobile device. Technicians in the field can easily share this information with appropriate RTD personnel for further evaluation or repair. The documentation process then provides a paper trail of all testing before vehicles go into service.

Conclusion

Having the technical solution available to be informed of the working status and any possible causes for individual APC units is a great advantage for improving the quality of annual total unlinked passenger trips (UPT) and passenger miles traveled (PMT) from available APC data.

Automated information distribution will allow RTD to reduce not only administrative costs, but also vehicle life cycle costs. With the ability to integrate many suppliers and service providers, RTD can incorporate their vendors for a fully integrated maintenance solution.