Transportation

Key needs for Transportation Industry

Often operating in harsh environments, the transportation industry covers many sectors including Rail, Automotive and Aerospace, but generally have common maintenance requirements for your facilities to keep your transport on the move.

• Managing costs and efficiencies in inventory – maintaining your infrastructure across multiple sites, with a wide variety of machinery can be expensive. RS can help improve your efficiency and inventory costs through our vast stocked range and fast delivery services.

• Energy management – knowing how much energy is being consumed by different parts of your processes will enable efficiency to be implemented. At RS we can provide both the products to monitor the consumption from power meters and data loggers, to comprehensive energy efficient solutions such as IE3 motors, variable speed drives and low energy lighting.

• Reducing downtime – unplanned downtime due to equipment failure can be very costly in terms of both lost time and meeting service levels. To ensure reliable services it’s essential that preventative maintenance is carried out at the optimum time.

Latest products to support the Transportation Industry

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Rail Industry

The rail industry operates in harsh and demanding environments, so not only do the products need to be highly reliable and to a high quality standard, but safety is also a priority for both the products, as often they are installed in confined spaces (which therefore means they may need to adhere to specific regulations), but also personal safety due to the hazardous nature of the industry. A few considerations in product selection include:

• Low Fire Hazard (LFH): specific products / areas within the rail industry call for stringent safety to prevent the spread of fire or creation of toxic fumes, therefore products are required to be LFH. At RS we have a range of LFH products, including conduit, connectors and cables - for products to be LFH they must display all of the following properties, highly flame retardant, low smoke emissions, low toxic fumes and be halogen free – care must be taken in choosing these products as some claiming to be low smoke and fume (LSF) may not cover toxicity.
• Harsh Environments: products need to survive all weathers and be highly reliable in all conditions, so RS can offer thousands of products from across our range with IP ratings of up to IP69k
• Health & Safety: From high-visibility workwear, to respirators and fall arrest, we can provide the complete solutions from our broad range of leading brands.

Feature: Harting complete connectivity solution for the rail industry

For decades Harting has been working with the rail industry to develop their product range to provide reliability and the highest quality products for this demanding environment, with their range covering power, signal and data connectivity, whether it be on-board trains or trackside providing connectivity to the infrastructure. Key ranges include:

HPR Modular – specifically designed for the rail industry, ideal for harsh environments with IP68 and IP69k protection and using the Han series inserts for power and data.

Industrial Ethernet – Including the M12 and RJ 45 connectors – Ideal for industrial Ethernet applications

Feature Products for the Rail Industry:

Automotive Industry

Today’s automotive production industry is highly automated and very complex, with each vehicle leaving the production line having thousands of customised possibilities, so no two vehicles are the same. It is essential the production is kept running and operating smoothly at all times, as any hold-up or unexpected down-time would cause a high financial impact. This is not just down to the supply of vehicle components arriving at the facility, at just the right time, but it is also essential that the performance of the automated production line facility itself is kept running, so monitoring all systems and carrying out planned and predictive maintenance is essential for keeping the production line running at peak efficiencies. At RS we stock a huge range of high quality and reliable products from leading brands that can help maintain your facilities from automation products including, sensors, controllers, safety switches and pneumatics to a comprehensive service range including tools, greases, fasteners, personal safety and Test & Measurement.

Featured: FESTO – Pneumatic solutions for your production line

Whatever part of the automotive production process you are focused on, then the Festo range can surely support your business. Through their detailed design, each product provides increased reliability and greater efficiency, so reducing your overall business costs. RS now stocks over 1300 lines and are continuing to add to the range, which includes cylinders, valves, FRL’s, tubes and fittings.

Feature Products for the Automotive Industry:

Aerospace Industry

From the design and manufacture, through to supporting and maintaining aircraft, ground services and infrastructure, RS can help provide the products and solutions from our broad range of leading brands to help improve productivity whilst keeping the costs down and facilities running efficiently.

Along with our wide range of electrical and mechanical products to support the maintenance needs, RS also provide a wide range of safety products from high-visibility workwear and personal protective equipment through to spill control and ATEX approved equipment for use within hazardous area environments.

Feature: Spill Control

Across all industries, there is a high risk of spills, whether it be from oil, fuel or chemicals. This is even more so within the transportation industry, where there is a likelihood of spills from vehicles and within the infrastructure, when maintenance is being carried out. Apart from legislation covering the control of chemicals and safety in the workplace, risk assessments should be carried out to provide adequate spill control in the workplace and at RS we have a wide range of absorbents and spill control kits for most general maintenances incidents and also have a guide to spill control essentials and the following introduction to our range:

Feature Products for the Aerospace Industry:

RS Pro Related Products for Transportation

RS Pro gives you an ever-expanding choice of around 40,000 quality-tested products engineered for demanding manufacturing and industrial environments. Below are just some highlights from our range that we have selected for our Transportation customers.
Choose quality, performance and value without compromise.

Click here for more information on RS Pro 

Connected Thinking

Connected Thinking has been created by RS to provide valuable insight and procurement expertise to both businesses and individuals involved in the sectors we support. RS doesn’t simply supply customers with products; we collaborate with organisations to help identify better working practices that will help them to achieve sustainable efficiencies.

In the industry pages on this website, you will find articles featuring sector experts sharing advice and best practice, along with thought leadership, to help provide you with both inspiration and practical insight to help your organisation.

For more information about Connected Thinking then follow this link


Related articles in Connected Thinking:

Rail - Keeping MRO on track
Automotive - Uncertain wheels of fortune
Aerospace - Upgrading to first class MRO