The Finnish Transport Agency has been using Tamtron’s WILD railway scales for a decade, and Tamtron has also been responsible for the maintenance and service of the weighing equipment together with the customer. Last year, the cooperation deepened as the previous service contract was extended to a maintenance agreement, which covers a wide range of maintenance and repair services.
The first piece of equipment was installed for test use by the Public Transport Agency about ten years ago. Esa Herranen, Project Manager at the Finnish Transport Agency, explains: “The initial test involved several equipment manufacturers and similar products from around the world. Primarily the Finnish Transport Agency was looking for a device to system for detecting wheel defects. The products were compared and tested in Finnish field conditions and the challenges of different seasons were reviewed. After a comprehensive test period, the characteristics, operation and maintenance of the scales and the costs associated with the purchase and maintenance of the equipment were evaluated.
We ended up choosing Tamtron’s services and product, and they took delivery of the first six wheel impact load detector devices. The measurement of unevenness and weighing capabilities are additional features and have been developed through real use of the solution.”
The maintenance agreement was a natural extension of the partnership
At the beginning of 2021, the Finnish Transport Agency and Tamtron signed a maintenance agreement for the service and maintenance of the equipment installed on the railways. The contract is for five years and covers all normal scheduled maintenance, spare parts and a response time for any faults.
“The contract even includes a lifetime promise, where Tamtron guarantees that the equipment will be in the same working condition in five years as when the contract was signed,” says Herranen.
Harri Oittinen, who is responsible for Tamtron’s truck scale verifications and maintenance contracts, says that the maintenance contract was a natural extension of the cooperation with the Finnish Transport Agency:
“We have a decade’s worth of accurate data on the equipment. We know the maintenance sites and can provide high-quality maintenance for the entire lifecycle of the installations. In addition, we already have a nationwide service organisation.
The starting point for the maintenance contract was to clarify the previous service contract so that we make everything as easy as possible for the customer. For example, it was previously our customer’s responsibility to book a licensee for a maintenance visit to a railway site. Now all the arrangements for the work on the equipment are our responsibility. This clarifies the responsibilities of both parties considerably and avoids duplication.”
Data transmission and weighing have improved over the years
Tamtron has been supplying weighing equipment to both international and domestic railways for decades. Today, digitalisation and advanced technology enable, among other things, higher capacities and speeds, better results processing, data transfer, cloud services, remote maintenance and diagnostics.
“In the past, we used to use traditional paper, then local PCs and printers, and nowadays data is transferred to the desired locations via system interfaces. Weighing has also changed. We used to weigh on the spot, one trolley at a time, whereas nowadays the fastest commercial weighing is done at 100 km per hour,” says Oittinen.
