Identifying rail asset maintenance processes: a human-centric and sensemaking approach

Efficient asset maintenance is key for delivering services such as transport. Current rail maintenance processes have been mostly reactive with a recent shift towards exploring proactive modes. The introduction of new ubiquitous technologies and advanced data analytics facilitates the embedding of a...

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Main Authors: Kefalidou, Genovefa, Golightly, David, Sharples, Sarah
Format: Article
Published: Springer 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/48474/
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author Kefalidou, Genovefa
Golightly, David
Sharples, Sarah
author_facet Kefalidou, Genovefa
Golightly, David
Sharples, Sarah
author_sort Kefalidou, Genovefa
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Efficient asset maintenance is key for delivering services such as transport. Current rail maintenance processes have been mostly reactive with a recent shift towards exploring proactive modes. The introduction of new ubiquitous technologies and advanced data analytics facilitates the embedding of a ‘predict-and-prevent’ approach to managing assets. Successful, user-centred integration of such technology is still, however, a sparsely understood area. This study reports results from a set of interviews, based on Critical Decision Method, with rail asset maintenance and management experts regarding current procedural aspects of asset management and maintenance. We analyse and present the results from a human-centric sensemaking timeline perspective. We found that within a complex sociotechnical environment such as rail transport, asset maintenance processes apply not just at local levels, but also to broader, strategic levels that involve different stakeholders and necessitate different levels of expertise. This is a particularly interesting aspect within maintenance that has not been discussed as of yet within a process-based and timeline-based models of asset maintenance. We argue that it is important to consider asset maintenance activities within both micro (local) and macro (broader) levels to ensure reliability and stability in transport services. We also propose that the traditionally distinct notions of individual, collaborative and artefact-based sensemaking are in fact all in evidence in this sensemaking context, and argue that a more holistic view of sensemaking is therefore appropriate by placing these results within an amended Recogntion Primed Decsion making model.
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spelling nottingham-484742020-05-04T19:27:18Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/48474/ Identifying rail asset maintenance processes: a human-centric and sensemaking approach Kefalidou, Genovefa Golightly, David Sharples, Sarah Efficient asset maintenance is key for delivering services such as transport. Current rail maintenance processes have been mostly reactive with a recent shift towards exploring proactive modes. The introduction of new ubiquitous technologies and advanced data analytics facilitates the embedding of a ‘predict-and-prevent’ approach to managing assets. Successful, user-centred integration of such technology is still, however, a sparsely understood area. This study reports results from a set of interviews, based on Critical Decision Method, with rail asset maintenance and management experts regarding current procedural aspects of asset management and maintenance. We analyse and present the results from a human-centric sensemaking timeline perspective. We found that within a complex sociotechnical environment such as rail transport, asset maintenance processes apply not just at local levels, but also to broader, strategic levels that involve different stakeholders and necessitate different levels of expertise. This is a particularly interesting aspect within maintenance that has not been discussed as of yet within a process-based and timeline-based models of asset maintenance. We argue that it is important to consider asset maintenance activities within both micro (local) and macro (broader) levels to ensure reliability and stability in transport services. We also propose that the traditionally distinct notions of individual, collaborative and artefact-based sensemaking are in fact all in evidence in this sensemaking context, and argue that a more holistic view of sensemaking is therefore appropriate by placing these results within an amended Recogntion Primed Decsion making model. Springer 2018-01-16 Article PeerReviewed Kefalidou, Genovefa, Golightly, David and Sharples, Sarah (2018) Identifying rail asset maintenance processes: a human-centric and sensemaking approach. Cognition, Technology and Work, 20 (1). pp. 73-92. ISSN 1435-5566 Rail asset maintenance Sensemaking Context timelines Processes Human-centric https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10111-017-0452-0 doi:10.1007/s10111-017-0452-0 doi:10.1007/s10111-017-0452-0
spellingShingle Rail asset maintenance
Sensemaking
Context timelines
Processes
Human-centric
Kefalidou, Genovefa
Golightly, David
Sharples, Sarah
Identifying rail asset maintenance processes: a human-centric and sensemaking approach
title Identifying rail asset maintenance processes: a human-centric and sensemaking approach
title_full Identifying rail asset maintenance processes: a human-centric and sensemaking approach
title_fullStr Identifying rail asset maintenance processes: a human-centric and sensemaking approach
title_full_unstemmed Identifying rail asset maintenance processes: a human-centric and sensemaking approach
title_short Identifying rail asset maintenance processes: a human-centric and sensemaking approach
title_sort identifying rail asset maintenance processes: a human-centric and sensemaking approach
topic Rail asset maintenance
Sensemaking
Context timelines
Processes
Human-centric
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/48474/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/48474/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/48474/