Centralized Monitoring for Interlocking Control Systems

Our client, a major rail stakeholder, required substantial effort to maintain the full operability of wayside equipment deployed across rail networks. Their existing maintenance processes did not provide continuous status updates on wayside units, increasing the risk of failures.

Streamline and improve the efficiency of diagnostics and maintenance processes for wayside equipment.

Implement comprehensive, centralized real-time monitoring of widely distributed wayside units.

The PSA team delivered a consolidated system for real-time diagnostics of wayside devices, capable of precise failure identification. The two-component system operates seamlessly with events, alarms, logs, corrective actions, and site-specific information, offering the following functionality:

• Gathering data from wayside devices with adjustable time intervals

• Storing information in a highly available and consistent database

• Visualizing current and historical data with web-based access 

Built on the Icinga monitoring tool and a proprietary protocol for data interchange with field devices, the diagnostics system requires no additional hardware and features a user-friendly web interface for constant remote monitoring.

The PSA team continuously enhanced the system, assisting the client in its implementation across new locations. Key improvements included:

• Increased Monitoring Capacity: Expanded system performance capabilities to accommodate a larger number of monitoring units

• Enhanced Monitoring: Added new log types and extended their representation for more advanced analysis

• Accurate Timekeeping: Ensured consistent time synchronization across all network units

• Comprehensive Documentation: Updated all documentation to ensure full compliance with industry standards

As a result, our client benefits from centralized diagnostic and monitoring data, ensuring high availability for maintainers and decision-makers while minimizing response times in the event of faults. They can also rely on PSA’s expertise for updates and ongoing support.

• Requirements definition
• Architecture design
• Software development
• Reverse engineering
• Functional & performance testing
• Continuous support