Asset Notes began as an exploratory idea, one of those “what if” concepts that emerged from an initiative inside KONUX. But unlike most experimental features, this one did not simply survive the innovation lab; it thrived. It proved too useful, too necessary, and too timely to stay in the background.

Instead of waiting for the perfect solution, we deployed a lean, functional version of the feature, Asset Notes, and committed to improving it hand-in-hand with our users. What started as a lightweight internal tool quickly evolved into one of the most widely adopted and impactful features of KONUX Switch.

Closing the Context Gap

Asset Notes began as a bold experiment, a prototype developed not in response to a clear market demand, but from an internal realisation: there was too much valuable knowledge being captured outside the system. Across operations and maintenance teams, crucial field insights were often stored in emails, chats, spreadsheets, or simply lost after conversations. There was no shared record, no structured view, and no way to connect these insights with the digital tools used for decision-making.

This lack of context presented a real challenge. Intelligent alerts and predictive analytics are powerful, but without the ground truth, what’s actually observed and confirmed in the field, those signals can feel incomplete. Asset Notes was developed to bridge that gap.

Initially created to support internal teams, the feature quickly proved its broader value. Maintenance teams needed a way to log inspection outcomes. Analysts wanted to validate system alarms with what actually occurred on-site. Asset managers needed to trace historical work – not only when an alert was triggered, but what happened next. Over time, it became clear that all stakeholders had a similar need: to understand the full story of an asset, in one place.

Making Asset History Actionable

Asset Notes provides a way to capture and share those stories. Users can now log structured notes directly in the user interface, complete with images, PDFs, and links to related documentation. These notes live alongside our IoT device data and AI-generated insights, providing context that would otherwise be missing. Whether it’s a visual inspection, a fault confirmation, or simply a remark from a technician in the field, that information becomes part of the asset’s digital record.

Importantly, Asset Notes is not limited to manual input. Integrations with systems like SmapOne and other in-field applications enable the automatic import of inspection data, further reducing the effort needed to centralise and access relevant information.

The result is a shared, chronological timeline of what has happened to each asset – what was detected, what was done, and what was observed. Every note is stored and visible across teams. This improves coordination, eliminates duplication of effort, and ultimately enables better, faster decision-making.

As infrastructure managers continue to navigate complexity, having a shared view of asset health and history becomes a strategic advantage. Asset Notes delivers that visibility, helping teams make sense of data, align their actions, and respond with confidence. It brings structure to what was once scattered, and clarity to what was once opaque.

Future Feature Vision

Asset Notes is more than a comments section – it’s the foundation for a holistic, contextual decision-making tool. It will transform into Asset Observations, a centralised view of ground truth from in-field inspections, observed defects, and inspection reports.

Our vision is to:

• Display this information on both time-based timelines and data graphs,
• Help users contextualise alerts and health indicators,
• Build a complete asset lifecycle timeline to improve decisions around maintenance and reliability.

What Our Customers Are Saying

Asset Notes is more than a feature, it’s a value multiplier for how rail teams communicate, assess, and optimise.

A Channel for Collaboration

“This is a straightforward way to ensure knowledge transfer between teams involved in the S&C maintenance cycle. The operations team might carry out maintenance, but decisions are often made later by technical staff. With Asset Notes, everyone sees the same context.”

Asset Notes acts as a single source of truth, allowing teams across disciplines – operations, engineering, planning – to stay aligned without relying on fragmented communication channels.

Sharing Experience Across Regions

“Sometimes, maintenance effectiveness depends on subjective field assessments. Asset Notes lets us capture and share those best practices between regions.”

Subjective insights are often the missing link in structured reporting. Asset Notes makes space for this nuance, enabling qualitative observations to inform system-wide learning and continuous improvement.

A Flexible Reporting Format

“Traditional maintenance reports are rigid. Technicians often lack the freedom to share the full context. With Asset Notes, they can.”

By supporting images, PDFs, and free-text entries, Asset Notes offers a flexible format for documenting work in a way that’s natural, complete, and accessible.

Powering Smart Infrastructure with the Cloud

Behind the scenes, Asset Notes leverages AWS Cloud Services to stay fast, scalable, and reliable. This allows us to focus on what matters: seamless integrations with additional tools, responsive UI design, and ensuring the data captured in the field adds immediate value on the asset page.

Unlocking Ground Truth for Intelligent Railways

Asset Notes is the missing piece between automated system intelligence and human field expertise. It empowers teams to capture the truth on the ground, layer it with AI-driven insights, and take better-informed actions – together. It’s more than a feature, it’s the foundation of asset-centric collaboration.