Configuration management: investigating the difficulties of IT/OT converged systems in rolling stock

In a railway company, the maintenance process is one of the most important activities, involving thousands of operators and committing hundreds of millions of euros every year. These resources allow a series of operations such as cleaning, refurbishing, and maintaining rolling stock while also updating and improving the train's IT infrastructure. Therefore, the biggest challenge is to manage all these operations effectively, allowing the company to work smart and passengers to enjoy the best possible service. While the life span of an average rolling stock is 40 years, the life span of software and its hardware is about 5 years. This difference in lifecycles generates a big issue for configuration management, either from a logistical point of view, as more updates need to be performed on the same train at different times, and from a safety point of view, as each change must be matched by a test phase to ensure the absence of potentially dangerous malfunctions for passengers. This research aims to take a closer look at this problem. After introducing the topic of Industry 4.0, the challenges that have emerged from the convergence of the technological and physical worlds are explored. Next, a case study of a train door system failure that occurred in 2019 in a railway company is analysed to try to understand how it could have been avoided. A solution is developed to help with the configuration management of the rolling stock and facilitate the work of the operators. The solution consists of a web application and provides a single comprehensive overview of the configuration of individual trains. IT and OT aspects are brought together to enable better and integrated planning of updates. Furthermore, based on the 2019 door system failure, a verification method is implemented for testing after each update. Finally, this solution is validated by the company's Engineers and Production Engineers through the completion of a questionnaire.