Abstract
The South African extensive rail network is faced with an increasing demand to transport commodities reliably. The rail network must be well managed, maintained and upgraded to realize economic growth. It is expected that the rail network will perform its intended function without failure for a specified period of time and under specified conditions. Asset management tools are employed to improve asset effectiveness, reduce operating costs, and increase reliability. This study will focus on the National South African Railway Company traction substations. The lifespan of traction substation is typically 40 years. The expected life can be significantly reduced by overloads and poor maintenance. Therefore, this research will provide the engineering community with the factors that affect the reliability of traction substations and assist maintenance and infrastructure managers in the effective implementation of reliability and asset lifecycle management practices.
This study used the research onion as a guide in the development of the research methodology. In this study, the operational and financial data for the Kimberly North 3 kV DC section of the Hotazel to Port Elizabeth line and a questionnaire were used to collect a mixture of qualitative and quantitative data. The operational, financial and maintenance systems data was obtained from the organizations asset management system. An online Google form questionnaire was sent to participants to get their opinion in the subject under investigation.
Using the Weibull distribution model, the study found that the substation equipment was in the wear-out phase in terms of the bathtub curve. Majority of the failure causes came from protection equipment, circuit breaker and telecontrol. The financial data showed that most of the maintenance cost goes towards corrective maintenance. It is recommended that the organization formalizes a replacement approach based on the equipment technical, operational and economic efficiency evaluation. The organization should investigate the implementation of predictive maintenance and upskill the substation maintenance team. The organization should invest on AI and IoT to better manage their assets and to remain competitive in the fourth industrial revolution.