FEATURE
Automation & AI
Digital maintenance management software from Festo is optimising the maintenance of tunnel boring machines being used to construct the HS2 rail link
DIGITAL MAINTENANCE:
THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL DIGITAL MAINTENANCE:
T
he tunnel boring machines manufactured by German company Herrenknecht, are now equipped with AX Smartenance, the digital maintenance management solution from Festo. “Maintenance is essential for complex equipment like tunnel boring machines. If we do it properly, we have no downtime and our job is much easier,” explained Hugh O’Hagan, maintenance technician at Europe’s largest infrastructure construction site in London.
The High Speed Two (HS2) rail link, which will allow trains to travel at speeds of up to 360km/h, is being built between the West Midlands and London. Seven Herrenknecht tunnel boring machines are being used, whose reliability is based on, among other things, the Festo software, which is integrated into the
Herrenknecht.Connected digital system. With lengths of up to 150m and diameters of up to 17m, the tunnel boring machines consist of a large number of hydraulic and electrical components. They are involved in many infrastructure projects around the world, and Herrenknecht products also perform important tasks outside the tunnel, where, for example, the removed gravel is automatically transported away, crushed in parallel and reintegrated into the tunnel construction as formwork. During the drilling process, tunnel boring machines are exposed to extreme forces and therefore wear. Tunnel boring machines are complex systems, and for them to function without interruption, deep insights into the internal condition of the machines
16 June 2025 | Automation
and seamless maintenance are essential. The maintenance of tunnel boring machines also has another, special dimension: it is necessary for value retention, as tunnel boring machines are often bought back as part of new business models. For example, customers could receive discounts if the machines are properly and continuously maintained (and this maintenance a tunnel boring machine can also be reused in other tunnel boring machines. However, maintenance work often resulted in excessively long and expensive downtimes, and paper documentation was slow, laborious this and therefore looked for digital solutions that would optimally support our customers in maintenance and repair management,” explained Maximilian Vollmer, System Engineer IOT at Herrenknecht. With the digital portal Herrenknecht. Connected, Herrenknecht customers receive insights and data into almost all systems on the construction site – from tunnel boring machines to water treatment plants. Customers can receive digital performance reports and insights into the cockpit monitors of their machine operators through web-based visualisations and analysis tools. The core function of these digital tools is to allow construction site and project management to monitor all data relevant to tunnelling from any location and at any time. This includes a
AX Smartenance reduces downtime, minimises the time required for maintenance and thus costs - increasing
THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL
wide range of automated analysis functions, clear dashboards and detailed sensor data evaluations. The family-owned company also wanted to integrate modern and user-friendly maintenance management into this platform. “We rejected the idea of developing our own CMMS (Computerised Maintenance Management System) software after a few tests,” says Vollmer. During their market research, the IT specialists at Herrenknecht came across AX Smartenance from Festo. This digital maintenance software for production managers and plant operators enables digital, paperless maintenance management. Maintenance tasks and then evaluated.
The intelligent user administration
improves rapid collaboration within the team management. “What we found impressive was the fact that Festo developed the Smartenance software itself for its production processes and also uses it there,” said Vollmer. The software’s simple and intuitive operation
was precisely the reason why Herrenknecht decided to use AX Smartenance. Only minor adjustments to the special features of the tunnel boring machines and the corporate design of the
Herrenknecht.Connected platform were necessary. Thanks to AX Smartenance, transparent monitoring and rapid responses to problems relating to maintenance and servicing are now also possible. For Herrenknecht itself, AX Smartenance provides deep insights into the condition of the tunnel boring machines and facilitates service and remote maintenance, and keeps maintenance tasks up to date.
Festo
www.festo.com/smartenance
automationmagazine.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40
