The necessity of controlling and monitoring the turnover of wagon brake parts

Denis Korolev discusses the need for a monitoring system for the turnover of wagon brake parts, this is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

Recently, there has been an increase in counterfeiting and counterfeit products of wagon brake equipment.

This creates serious problems for the railway, the budget of Ukraine, and the economy as a whole.

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Counterfeit wagon brake equipment jeopardizes the safety of passengers and cargo, and can also lead to significant financial losses.

The absence of a monitoring system for the turnover of wagon brake equipment only exacerbates this probability.

Without reliable information about the manufacturer, inspection acceptance, condition, and quality of brake equipment, it is impossible to promptly identify and prevent possible malfunctions and defects.

This leads to increased risk of accidents and disasters, as well as unplanned expenses for repair and replacement of damaged components.

One way to address this issue is to create and implement a monitoring system for the turnover of wagon brake equipment based on the electronic information system of the Main Information and Computing Center Branch of Ukrzaliznytsia.

After all, it is the Main Information and Computing Center Branch of Ukrzaliznytsia that provides information services to railway enterprises and clients of Ukrainian railways, as well as supports and develops the Ukrzaliznytsia data transmission network.

Advantages of implementing the “Monitoring System for the Turnover of Wagon Brake Equipment”

The implementation of the system will allow for control and monitoring of the turnover and quality of brake equipment at all stages of its life cycle – from production to operation.

Therefore, railway repair, wagon-building, locomotive repair, and passenger railway enterprises will receive all the necessary information regarding the details.

At the same time, information related to the turnover of goods will be under the control of Ukrzaliznytsia.

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Such a solution will prevent theft of products from warehouses, rolling stock, and further introduction of stolen goods into the market.

The system will also:

* Increase the safety of passengers and cargo, as only quality and certified equipment will be used on the railway.

* Reduce unplanned expenses for repair and replacement of components, as defects and malfunctions will be identified and rectified at early stages.

* Effectively plan maintenance and replacement of equipment, which will reduce downtime and increase the efficiency of railway operation.

* Reduce the disassembly of wagons, as the monitoring system will exclude the inclusion of stolen brake equipment in the GIOZ database, since the entry of identification numbers into the system (into the GIOZ database) will be carried out exclusively by manufacturers.

* Protect the market from counterfeits, counterfeit products, contraband, and theft.

This innovation will also help combat illegal circulation of goods, which not only fails to stimulate conscientious market participants to invest in economic development but also leads to losses in Ukraine’s budget system.

How to implement the “Monitoring System for the Turnover of Wagon Brake Equipment”?

For the system to work, Ukrzaliznytsia must designate a system operator and approve the procedure for its operation, namely:

* characteristics of identification means (conditional number of the manufacturer’s enterprise; product code; mark of acceptance by the inspector of the Ukrzaliznytsia Central Traffic Administration; code of the owning enterprise of the product; code of the installing enterprise; wagon number);

* requirements for technical means of generating the verification code, technical means of verifying the identification code, requirements for participants in the turnover of goods receiving technical means of generating the verification code;

* the amount of the fee for providing services for providing the system with the necessary information for identification and monitoring of goods movement, as well as the procedure for its collection;

* procedure for withdrawal and destruction of withdrawn counterfeit goods.

An example of filling in the information to be mandatory transferred to the system, and the duties of the system operator and participants in the turnover of goods:

How else to combat the theft of wagon brake parts?

One way to address the problem of stolen wagon brake parts is to prohibit the acceptance for repair of used brake equipment items that are not entered into the GIOZ database during the repair of rolling stock.

After all, unreliable owners of rolling stock buy stolen brake equipment items and, under the guise of consignment components, which are used in rolling stock repair, supply them to repair enterprises with accompanying documents and documents confirming the origin of the items issued.

It is also necessary to prohibit the acceptance of elements of brake equipment items for scrap.

The reception of such components should be allowed only from business entities using the specified property in their economic activities.

And only upon presentation of the original or properly certified copy or excerpt from the relevant act on the write-off of such property from the balance sheet and documents confirming its use in economic activities (draft Law of Ukraine reg. №9066 dated February 27, 2023).

Denis Korolev. CEO of DETAL VAGON GROUP Corporation.

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