Cognitive Principles for Remote Condition Monitoring Applied to a Rail Pantograph System

Abstract

Remote condition monitoring (RCM) aims to ensure the availability of railway assets. Previous work has indicated the importance of a user-centred RCM design approach based on cognitive principles, but there has been no known demonstration of the application of these principles. The following paper takes this theory-based approach and applies it to the design of an RCM system for the rail pantograph/Overhead Line (OHL) system. The paper first presents a high-level conceptual architecture, based on four stages of cognitive decision-making (notification, acceptance, analysis and clearance), linked to the wider monitoring architecture. Second, the paper uses cognitive principles to propose demonstration Human–Machine Interface designs for the OHL system. These HMIs were presented in an evaluation with subject matter experts. The outcomes of the process generated user-centred design recommendations for RCM. Furthermore, the evaluation suggested the importance of multiple paths through the HMI dependent on the type and urgency of fault. Finally, the outcomes of the evaluation also highlighted the importance of considering context when deploying user-centred RCM.