HomeBusinessFinnish EKE Group acquires Humaware
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Humaware, the Southampton-based company that develops and markets a range of data-driven predictive analytics tools to enhance the predict and prevent capability of the railway network, has been acquired by EKE-Electronics of Espoo, Finland.

A division of the EKE Group, a privately held Finnish company with diversified international operations, EKE-Electronics is a leading global supplier of intelligent train automation and management systems. The company has been active in the rail industry for more than 30 years, developing applications and onboard electronics for train automation and condition monitoring.

[L-R, top] Karl Lönngren (director, digital services, EKE-Electronics), Marko Mäkinen (CEO, EKE-Electronics), Antti Tikkanen (CFO, EKE Group). [Below] Kenneth Pipe (Managing Director, Humaware) and Riitta Ekengren (CEO, EKE Group).

This acquisition means that EKE-Electronics will be able to provide a complete solution for rolling stock remote condition monitoring and predictive maintenance. The company’s range of services will now extend to the analysis of signals and sensor data collected from trains by means of the extremely accurate and reliable predictive analytics algorithms developed by Humaware.

Unforeseen failures in rail traffic result in additional maintenance costs, delays and reduced passenger satisfaction. Humaware’s advanced data-driven algorithms and anomaly detection techniques provide an improved approach to obtain remote condition monitoring benefits. Fixed thresholds are replaced with an adaptive threshold to detect changes in remote condition monitoring data earlier than fixed threshold methods.

This earlier detection provides the opportunity to switch from costly schedule-based maintenance to a dynamic maintenance programme based on the actual condition of the trains. The pooling of expertise from EKE-Electronics and Humaware will provide a predictive maintenance capability that will improve reliability, cost-efficiency and passenger comfort.

Intelligent maintenance solutions are currently in great demand in the railway industry because of the substantial benefits they offer.

Karl Lönngren, who is responsible for EKE-Electronics’ condition monitoring business, said: “With Humaware’s unique software, we’re able to offer a comprehensive solution for data collection and analytics, as well as for planning a dynamic maintenance programme that is of interest to rail operators all over the world.”

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