ALWAYS SEE THINGS FROM THE CUSTOMER’S VIEWPOINT.

So in the course of a comprehensive naming project, Knorr-Bremse has changed the names of the main brake components in its Rail portfolio. The basic assumption was that the names should be logical, intuitive and customer-oriented, and they should clearly reflect and signpost the “everything-from-one-source” approach that is so crucial for Knorr-Bremse. With this new underlying logic, we are making it far easier to navigate through our portfolio, because the new naming concept is based on the core ‘systems approach’ adopted by Knorr-Bremse, as well as on the intuitive perception of the functions of the individual products. Naming is far more than a formality. To enable the new names to leverage their full added value, they have to be lived and used. Please help us to make this happen!

Focus on Functions

In the first step, we adopted the customer’s viewpoint and divided the braking system into functional segments: “Supply”, “Actuation”, “Interaction”, “Control”, “Adhesion”, “Friction”, “Coupling Systems” and “Comfort”. Then we selected around 120 products that are central to their respective systems and assigned them to these segments
“Supply” includes those products that supply the brake pressure, such as compressors. “Actuation” includes the mechanical brake force actuators, such as the calipers, while “Interaction” comprises the products at the human-machine interface, such as the Motion Controller Family 'MotionLead' for the driver’s cab. The “Control” segment covers brake control and management products. “Adhesion” encompasses products related to wheel/rail contact, such as sanding systems 'SandGrip' and wheel slide protection 'WheelGrip', “Friction” includes the brake disc and friction material, “Coupling Systems” stands for the couplings between trainsets and between the cars within a train, while “Comfort” comprises functions such as leveling control.
This rigid allocation process has not been introduced for its own sake. It forms the basis for a coherent naming structure that can also be applied to future products. The product name itself can comprise up to four component parts: First there is the product family name (e.g. “Axle”) plus a description of the funtion (e.g. “Act”). This is followed by any differentiation within the product family – e.g. “Classic”. So “AxleAct Classic” designates the conventional axle-mounted brake caliper, while “AxleAct Compact”, for example, designates the compact axle-mounted brake caliper. Our high-value brands, such as KE or DB60, will retain their product names on account of their historical significance.