Industrial maintenance

Industrial maintenance (or heavy maintenance) is carried out on rolling stock after 15 to 20 years in service. It can include the renovation and modernisation of rolling stock. These large-scale operations are carried out in 10 Industrial Technicentres, which employ nearly 6,000 people. The Technicentres industriels also carry out overhauls and repairs on parts.

This new life involves a thorough overhaul and renovation, involving dismantling, checking and renovating or replacing all the train's parts.
Depending on requirements, the rolling stock can be modernised or transformed, by modifying the interior fittings, installing WiFi on board or implementing a passenger information system.

During these operations, the rolling stock can be fitted with innovative solutions to enhance safety, comfort and performance on board, with the addition of new technological, IT or design functionalities developed by Rolling Stock Engineering.

Industrial Technicentres also overhaul and repair parts such as

• axles ;
• bogies
• pantographs;
• Electronic components ;
• Couplings
• electric motors;
• air conditioning units.

Repairable parts are refurbished according to their state of wear and tear, their potential and cost-saving criteria.

The Rolling Stock Division has embarked on a process of transforming its industrial facilities in order to propel the 10 Industrial Technicentres to the highest level of Industry 4.0 standards, by strengthening these tools with powerful industrial resources and recognised technical expertise.

The aim of transforming industrial Technicentres is to enhance their industrial performance (cost, quality, lead time) to improve efficiency and competitiveness.

In concrete terms, this involves technical and technological changes relating to :

• hard (redesigning workshops and their facilities) ;
• the soft side (optimising processes, flows and stocks, facilitated by 4.0 technologies).

These changes are also accelerating their digital and managerial transformation, with the emphasis on collaboration, autonomy and responsiveness.

This evolution is also transforming buildings and working methods in depth in order to optimise processes (physical and digital), via a structuring master plan. This is reflected in the implementation of cutting-edge technologies such as additive manufacturing, big data, artificial intelligence, exoskeletons and cobots (collaborative robots) and fablabs in Technicentres.

The Technicentre Industriel Picardie has embarked on a far-reaching technological transformation to become a true Factory of the Future. The objectives are not only technological and digital, but also industrial, human and performance-related.

This transformation project has propelled the site into a new era, with :

• the transformation and modernisation of the rolling stock workshop, which has become a new tool for increasing the MR capacity of IT, first on Corail and soon for OPTER ;
• the design and construction of the new 4.0 axle workshop, a prototype for a new way of maintaining our axles, positioning us as the European benchmark in this field.