RSM: coach overhaul planning, made digital and accountable.
We built RSM, a Rolling Stock Management System, for a carriage workshop of Indian Railways. It takes the Periodic Overhaul lifecycle (rake to category to coach to sub-system to activity to the daily plan on the floor) and turns it into one governed digital system, with planning, execution and accountability built into every step.
- Industry
- Railways, rolling stock POH / MRO
- Deployment
- Carriage & wagon workshop, Indian Railways
- Access model
- Role-based access, dual identity
- Platform
- Web and installable Android tablet
What a paper overhaul operation really costs.
Overhaul plans lived on whiteboards
A coach overhaul spans dozens of sub-systems, each with its own schedule and in-charge. When that plan sits on a whiteboard and a spreadsheet, no two people share the same timeline and slippage is only noticed once it has already happened.
Daily gang allocation ran on paper
Who works on which coach, at which stage, on which shift was decided verbally and written on a slip. There was no dependable record of what was planned for the day versus what actually got done.
Parts lists were scattered per activity
The materials and tasks for each activity lived in separate registers and personal files. Standardizing a bill of materials across coaches, or capturing a part someone found missing on the floor, was slow and inconsistent.
No shop-scoped view or audit trail
Supervisors saw everything or nothing, and there was no reliable record of who planned or executed what. Reconstructing a coach's overhaul history for a review meant chasing paper across sections.
One governed system, from rake intake to the daily plan on the floor.
RSM turns a paper process into a controlled digital one. Every coach's overhaul is planned on a Gantt, every day's work is allocated stage by stage, and every action is recorded.
One clear overhaul flow
A single flow carries a coach from rake intake and setup through system planning, activities, the daily plan and testing.
Planning on a Gantt
Every sub-system sits on a timeline with its own in-charge and shift, so slippage is visible before it hurts.
Governed daily execution
Stage-wise daily plans capture planned versus done, and a locked day cannot be quietly changed.
BOM & BOT control
Standardized bills of materials and tasks, with a field-add path so the floor keeps the list honest.
Shop-scoped and role-aware
Permission codes and dual identity mean each supervisor works from their own shop's clear picture.
Runs on the floor
The same platform installs on an Android tablet, so planning and execution happen at the coach.
How a coach moves through the overhaul.
Nine controlled steps. Each one is planned, scoped and recorded.
- 01
Add rolling stock
A rake enters for overhaul and is logged with its type (Vande Bharat, LHB, ICF) and POH type (SS-I, SS-II, SS-III, IOH, POH).
- 02
Coach setup
Coaches are set up under the rake by category (EBU / MBU) and coach type (DTC, NDTC, MC, TC), giving each its own overhaul workspace.
- 03
Coach system planning
Sub-systems for the coach are laid out on a Gantt, each with its SSE-in-charge and shift, so the whole overhaul timeline is visible at a glance.
- 04
Activity master & sub-activities
Each sub-system breaks down into activities and sub-activities, up to three levels deep, forming the work breakdown for the coach.
- 05
Daily activity plan
Work is planned day by day and stage by stage (Receipt, Dismantling, Cleaning, Inspection, Machining, Assembly, Testing), with a gang allocated to each stage.
- 06
Execute & mark done
On the floor, the gang records progress against the plan, capturing planned versus done quantity for the day.
- 07
Lock the plan
The SSE-in-charge moves the plan through its states (Draft, In Progress, Locked), so a finalized day cannot be quietly edited.
- 08
Testing evidence
Pre-testing and final-testing evidence is captured per sub-system, tying quality sign-off to the exact work done.
- 09
Reports & analytics
Progress, gang utilization and completion are rolled up for supervisors and management, built on the data already captured.
The capabilities that matter most.
Rolling stock & coach lifecycle
- Rakes captured by type and POH category (SS-I/II/III, IOH, POH)
- Coaches organized by EBU / MBU category and coach type
- Master data for shops, sections, systems and sub-systems
- A structured workspace per coach, from intake to completion
- Soft deletes and history so nothing is lost from the record
Planning & daily execution
- A system-level Gantt for every sub-system of a coach
- SSE-in-charge and shift assigned per sub-system
- Stage-wise daily plans across the full overhaul sequence
- Gang pools scoped to the logged-in supervisor
- Planned versus done quantity captured day by day
BOM & Bill of Tasks
- Bills of Materials in MBOM, EBOM and PBOM types
- Hierarchical items with revisions and versioning
- Field-add: SSE or JE can add a missing item to the shared BOM
- A Bill of Tasks that mirrors the work breakdown
- Excel export for offline review and records
Access, org & governance
- Role-based access enforced by granular permission codes
- Dual identity (staff PF numbers and supervisors) kept in sync
- Shop-scoped visibility so each supervisor sees their own work
- An in-charge hierarchy consolidated onto a single source
- An append-only, CERT-In-aligned audit log of every action
One platform, one operating picture.
Dashboard
The control room
A live picture of rakes and coaches in overhaul, plan status and progress, with actions scoped to each role.
Rake POH Planning
Intake & setup
Add rolling stock, set POH type and organize coaches by category and type, ready for planning.
Coach System Planning
The Gantt
Every sub-system of a coach on a timeline, each with its SSE-in-charge and shift, so slippage is visible early.
Activity Master & Daily Plan
The work breakdown
Activities and sub-activities up to three levels, planned day by day and stage by stage with gang allocation.
BOM
Bill of Materials
MBOM, EBOM and PBOM with hierarchical, revisable items and a field-add path for missing parts.
BOT (Bill of Tasks)
Task standardization
A structured catalog of tasks that mirrors the activity breakdown and keeps work consistent across coaches.
Supervisors & Staff
Gangs & assignment
Map staff to supervisors, build gang pools and assign the right people to each stage of the daily plan.
Reports & Analytics
For the officers
Progress, gang utilization and completion rolled up read-only from the planning and execution data.
Selected from a broader platform of 26 backend modules and 30 frontend pages (including Testing Reports, Masters and User Management), this is the operating core of the system.
What the workshop gains.
Real outcomes tied to what the platform does. The exact numbers are best measured on each deployment.
A digital overhaul plan
Every coach's sub-systems sit on one shared Gantt, so the whole workshop works from the same timeline.
An enforced execution trail
Daily plans record what was planned and what was done, and a locked day cannot be quietly edited.
Shop-scoped clarity
Each supervisor sees their own shop's work, so responsibility is clear and screens stay focused.
Standardized materials
BOMs are consistent across coaches, and a part found missing on the floor is captured, not lost.
Faster gang allocation
Gang pools and stage-wise planning take the place of verbal hand-offs and paper slips.
Audit-ready history
An append-only log keeps the full record of who planned and executed what, whenever a review needs it.
Live management visibility
Reports give officers the current picture of progress and utilization without a phone call.
Works on the floor
The same system runs on an Android tablet, so planning and execution happen where the coach is.
Enterprise grade under the hood.
Backend
A NestJS and TypeORM modular monolith on PostgreSQL, with a versioned REST API, raw-SQL migrations and a consistent domain-exception error envelope.
Frontend
React, Vite and TypeScript with Tailwind and shadcn / Radix, using React Query and lazy-loaded, code-split routes for a fast, focused app.
Mobile
Wrapped with Capacitor into an installable Android tablet app with a restricted field router built for shop-floor use.
Security
Dual-identity JWT sign in, RBAC permission codes checked on every action, bcrypt-hashed credentials, Helmet headers and an append-only, CERT-In-aligned audit log.
Data & integrity
Soft deletes, an audit trail, CHECK constraints and partial unique indexes push correctness down into the database itself.
Operations
Atomic release deploys with rollback, a pre-deploy database backup, idempotent migrations and health checks keep production safe to ship.
Where this platform fits.
Any operation that overhauls physical assets on a planned, staged maintenance regime.
An architecture built to grow.
Recommended directions that build on the data and REST API the platform already has.
Predictive maintenance analytics
Turning the captured overhaul data into forecasts of effort, slippage and workload balance.
IoT and condition monitoring
Sensor and RFID input to tie sub-system condition to the overhaul plan.
Offline-first field app
A tablet experience that keeps working in low-signal shop areas and syncs when it can.
Deeper analytics
Cycle time, stage bottlenecks and utilization trends built on data already being collected.
ERP / CMMS integration
Connecting to enterprise material and maintenance systems through the existing REST API.
Real-time notifications
Live alerts on plan changes, locks and completion for every role that needs them.
Planning, accountability, and a system that fits the floor.
Have a rolling stock overhaul or planning problem?
Talk to the team that built RSM for a live railway carriage workshop. No slide deck, just answers.