The partner had to be able to provide a complete service of developing safety-critical software for the purpose of railroad traffic. Due to the scale and level of innovation of the project, the support was to extend beyond just technical or procedural competences, but most importantly, finalizing the process by certifying the product and complementing it with thorough documentation.
The software was to be produced for already existing hardware.
The system’s purpose was to control the occupancy of rail sections by detecting the passing trains and it was required to follow the CENELEC SIL-3 and SIL-4 standards.
We accepted this challenge. We used the client’s team’s extensive knowledge of the railroad industry and the potential for product development. We proved to be a reliable partner by delivering high-quality programming services based on modern hardware solutions.
Due to the lack of a precise specification, we started off by setting expectations concerning the software to be created. Eventually, the project was divided into two stages with a well- defined scope to be delivered. We commenced with analytical workshops that were aimed at preparing product cards for each of the application components. They were utilized both at the development stage as well as during the approval of individual work phases. In parallel to the development process, application tests were also carried out.
The team scaled throughout the project to optimize the speed of delivery. At all times the team involved a project manager, a business analyst, and a tester. The custom software development team consisted of 4 programmers and 1 architect.
Sprint Business Reviews were held every week. On top of that, the client was granted access to the project’s JIRA, so they were fully up-to-date with the progress of the works.
The project objectives:
What we delivered:
The effect of the project:
The project objectives:
What we delivered:
The effect of the project:
When our engineers relieved the client’s team of some of its workload it was able to focus on its other tasks. Our proposed solution: complementing the team with scalable resources provided on-demand, resulted in optimizing the cost of software development.
Solwit S.A. was responsible for the implementation of part of the embedded software for the system, in accordance with the rigors of the industry railway standards, and for ensuring the quality of the software in an automated test environment. Today, the UniAC (2) system is implemented by railway line operators all over the world, ensuring rail traffic safety in line with standards. Currently Solwit, as a permanent partner of Voestalpine SIGNALING, participates in the processes of further maintenance and development of the system, at the same time providing support in adapting the solution to the requirements of individual target markets.
Przemysław Wołoszyk, Development Director, Voestalpine SIGNALING Sopot Sp. z o.o.
The system contains the following functional modules:Six months after launching the cooperation in creating the embedded system the client offered us to expand the project by three additional engineers to include software development and testing for an application for configuring the system. It was also crucial to provide support in certification – we represented the client in the TÜV SÜD certification for the testing process. We have continued to support the engineering team of Voestalpine since 2015.
During this cooperation, the software has passed certification and the system has been successfully introduced to the market. Voestalpine has operated with high-quality software aligned with the CENELEC SIL-3 and SIL-4 standards, meeting the highest functionality and security requirements for systems controlling railroad section occupancy.
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