23 September 2026 · 10:00–11:30 CEST · Online
How can multi-vendor railway projects ensure that system-level RAM compliance translates into actual operational performance?
About the webinar
Modern complex system projects are mostly multi-vendor projects. For instance, a turnkey Railway System consists of signaling, rolling stock, civil infrastructure, platform screen doors, power supply, telecommunications — no single contractor masters all of those subsystems. The result is a contractual structure where technical knowledge, operational data and RAM (Reliability-Availability-Maintainability)-analyses are distributed across organizations that do not always speak the same language and do not necessarily share the same standards.
The traditional approach to RAM — cascading allocation of MTBF, MTTR and availability targets down the contractual chain — is the industry practice, and it brings about real structural advantages: it is normatively grounded in EN 50126, it makes RAM manageable across complex supply chains, and it gives every party a defined scope and measurable targets. But it also may lead to a “silo mentality” which carries structural limits. Subsystem analyses are performed independently, on assumptions that are rarely fully aligned. Interfaces between subsystems — where failure in one component propagates into operational consequences in another — are systematically underrepresented. The result is that system-level RAM theoretical compliance, even when formally demonstrated, often rests on foundations that have never been explicitly verified.
This is where RAM integration becomes critical. Without an active integration layer that connects subsystem analyses, aligns assumptions, and maps cross-system dependencies, compliance at design stage does not guarantee compliance in operation. The same applies to Safety: in a multi-vendor environment, the fragmentation that weakens RAM coordination equally weakens the interface between RAM and Safety analyses — an interface that EN 50126 requires to be explicitly managed.
In this webinar, EUMETRY and NIER draw on direct experience with real multi-vendor railway projects to explore how RAM works in practice at every level of the contractual chain — from component sub-supplier to subsystem supplier to system integrator. We show where the traditional approach delivers, and where on the contrary its structural limits emerge, and what can be done to improve the situation. The conclusions are concrete and applicable to all stakeholders; regardless of where they sit in the project structure: operator, engineering firm, contractor, or supplier.
Why attend?
- Understand where the traditional RAM approach works—and where its limitations emerge.
- Identify the risks created by fragmented analyses and misaligned assumptions.
- See why RAM compliance at the design stage may not translate into operational performance.
- Learn how RAM integration can improve complex multi-vendor projects.
- Take away practical insights from real railway projects.
Who should attend?
This webinar is intended for:
- Railway operators and infrastructure managers.
- System integrators, engineering companies and contractors.
- Rolling-stock, signalling and subsystem suppliers.
- RAMS, Safety and Systems Engineering professionals.
- Asset management and maintenance specialists.
- Researchers and consultants working with complex systems.
Although the railway sector provides the central case study, the conclusions will also be relevant to other safety-critical, multi-vendor industries.
Programme
10:00–10:05 · Welcome and introduction by ESReDA
10:05–11:10 · Limitations of traditional RAM approaches in multi-vendor projects
11:10–11:30 · Questions and discussion
Speakers
Prof. Dr Pierre Dersin
Founder, EUMETRY sas · Adjunct Professor, Luleå University of Technology
Dr Stefano La Rovere
Head of Systems Engineering Area, NIER Ingegneria S.p.A.
Dr Matteo Vallucci
Senior Consultant, Reliability and Maintenance Division, NIER Ingegneria S.p.A.
Practical information
- Date: Wednesday, 23 September 2026
- Time: 10:00–11:30 CEST
- Format: Online webinar
- Language: English