background

Aiming to become a symbol of Shimane Prefecture as an essential lifestyle and sightseeing route for the local community

Ichibata Light Railway (now Ichibata Electric Railway Co., Ltd.) started operation in 1914 and inherited the railway business operated by the Ichibata Group, which has developed a wide range of businesses such as tourism, leisure, department stores, construction, and real estate. Ichibata Electric Railway Co., Ltd. was born in 2006 after a spin-off type incorporation-type company split.
We operate two lines, the Kita-Matsue Line, which connects Izumoshi Station on the eastern part of Shimane Prefecture to Matsue Shinjiko Onsen Station, and the Taisha Line, which connects Kawaato Station to Izumotaisha-mae Station. Many people use it as a route and as a pilgrimage railway to Izumo Taisha and Ichibata Yakushi.

In 2019, 1.45 million people were transported, and before the corona crisis, inbound demand was expanding, mainly for visiting Izumo Taisha Shrine, making it one of the routes visited by many tourists from all over the world.
Currently, we are receiving support from the Ichibata Electric Railway Line Area Council, which is composed of Shimane Prefecture, Matsue City, and Izumo City, and we are providing safe, secure, and stable transportation services, while contributing to tourism resources in Shimane Prefecture. We are operating a railway business to become one of the symbols of Shimane Prefecture so that we can help tourism businesses as a mail route.

Task

I want to secure the illumination of the inspection site necessary for safety measures to prevent railway operation accidents.

As a company that runs a railway business, it places top priority on safety measures to prevent railway accidents, and has set up an internal countermeasures headquarters to strengthen checking functions and foster a safety-first awareness among all employees. We are actively working to create an environment for

“We hold a committee dedicated to safety that meets once a month to identify issues and carry out activities aimed at making improvements. We carry out our daily work with safety as our top priority, such as by raising awareness of

This is explained by Daisuke Inoue of the Vehicle Section of the Engineering Department.
In particular, the Vehicle Section conducts risk assessments while exchanging opinions among employees in a group work format, and shares issues that could be signs of danger.

In vehicle inspection and maintenance, which greatly contributes to safety measures, inspections are carried out based on various viewpoints such as sight, hearing, hammering, and measurement. It's a visual approach to inspecting everything.

“The structure of a train, including the bogie brake device under the car, is a very important part. Visual inspection is necessary to visually confirm the above, but the brightness of the lighting is an important point.”

explains Inoue.

selection

Ideal for conversion to LED with good cost performance while considering the environment

In fact, after 1998, cracks in bogies were discovered by multiple operators. Formulated by the Ministry.
After that, in 2017, a serious incident that could lead to an accident occurred, such as the discovery of a large crack in the bogie frame of the Shinkansen.

"In this revised manual, the method of visual inspection is indicated, 'The brightness of the test surface shall be at least 350 lux. However, 500 lux is desirable.”

said Mr. Inoue.
Therefore, it was decided to switch to new lighting in order to secure the illuminance necessary for visual inspection.

On the other hand, we are actively working on environmental conservation activities such as reducing carbon dioxide emissions generated in the course of promoting the railway business, so we decided to consider introducing new environmentally friendly lighting equipment.
We focused on the LED lighting that had already been used for the interior lighting in the cabin.

"While participating in initiatives such as park-and-ride, which encourages the use of buses and trains to curb the use of automobiles, we are also promoting activities that lead to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, such as the introduction of regenerative braking that utilizes once-used electricity for braking. As part of that activity, we used LED lighting for the interior lighting, so we decided to switch to LED lighting for the inspection area as well.”

explains Inoue.

That's when Macnica 's high-efficiency industrial LED lighting, "ShinyU," came into play.

``It was my first experience with lighting that uses a heat dissipation plate called a thermal conduction plate, and I became interested in the technology.When I heard about it, I learned that it is inexpensive, highly efficient, and has a long lifespan. Because of this, we found that there were significant benefits in terms of running costs."

said Mr. Inoue.
The company highly praised ShinyU, which contributes to the creation of an essential environment for a company that places safety as its top priority, while also greatly contributing to energy savings.
Because it uses a borosilicate glass optical lens that is especially resistant to thermal shock, it not only minimizes the effects of chemicals and the adhesion of dust, but also has minimal performance degradation even in harsh environments. Since it is a standard product and has top-level IP68, it is considered easy to maintain.
In the end, Macnica 's ShinyU was selected as the lighting to be installed at the company's inspection site.

Current operation

Contributing to fostering awareness of saving electricity and creating an environment for safety inspections

The lighting equipment for the entire vehicle inspection space, which had previously been ensured by mercury lamps, has been switched to ShinyU, which is useful in creating an environment for daily safety inspections that is suitable for the bogie frame inspection manual.

"Compared to before, the inspection site is brighter, and inspection work can be performed efficiently and reliably even on days with bad weather or in the evening. Personally, my eyes are less tired than before. Impression."

Mr. Inoue evaluates.
Another important point that cannot be overlooked is the fact that it is now possible to turn the power on and off frequently, which was not possible in the days of mercury lamps, which took a long time to light up.

Macnica, which provided this solution, is aware that it plays a part in the system of maintaining railways, which are important infrastructure related to people's lives. We are conducting repeated simulations and deploying them to the field so that we can create a situation where we can maintain the same conditions.

"We've heard from people in the field that it's helping to improve the environment much more than before."

evaluates Mr. Inoue.

from now on

I would like to use it to improve the safety environment, such as ensuring the illumination in the pit

This time, the lighting equipment in the vehicle inspection area and vehicle inspection and maintenance area has been renewed, but in the future, in the process of improving the structure of the pit itself, where inspections are performed under the vehicle, the illumination in the pit will be secured. I want to keep doing it.

"If the structure of the pit changes and we can ensure brightness, the accuracy of inspections will increase. Naturally, this will greatly contribute to the safety of railway operations, so we would like to work on it."

said Mr. Inoue.
In addition, while considering safety, efficiency of operations and reduction of running costs are always required.

“We will continue to reduce costs, but by introducing equipment that will improve the working environment, we will also reduce occupational accidents. If you have equipment that can contribute to creating such an environment, please make a proposal. sea bream"

and talked about the future.

Related product

ShinyU LED High Efficiency Industrial LED Lighting