Railinc extends data to wheels

   North Carolina’s Railinc Corp., which provides data services to the rail industry, has finished its first round of tests and implementations for its comprehensive equipment performance monitoring (CEPM) program and CEPM-Wheelsets.
   The CEPM-Wheelsets lets rail carriers, equipment owners, wheel shops and repair shops have a clear look at the health and history of wheelsets through the CEPM’s tracking options to help plan repairs and manage both the wheels and related equipment.
   “CEPM-Wheelsets represents the collective effort of the freight-rail industry to develop tools and processes to support the tracking and recall of wheelsets,” said Allen West, Railinc chief executive officer and president.
   Rail industry guidelines will require all original equipment manufacturers to provide wheel, axle and bearing data to wheel shops beginning in April. For wheel shops themselves, there are staggered reporting dates through 2012 and 2013, allowing them time to integrate various wheel tracking platforms into existing operations.
   Railinc is trying to position itself as the key company to address this problem by offering education about how participants can meet requirements associated with CEPM-Wheelsets.