Apparatus and method for performance and fault data analysis

A method for generating a service recommendation for a locomotive, comprising:

• receiving sets of recent locomotive performance data at a remote diagnostic site;
• assigning a priority to each set of recent performance data for the order in which the sets of performance data are to be analyzed;
• analyzing the sets of recent performance data, according to the assigned priorities, and sets of historical performance data from a look back period, by one or more of a plurality of data analysis tools;
• and
• generating a service recommendation for the locomotive in response to the step of analyzing the sets of recent performance data and the sets of performance from the look back period.

An apparatus for analyzing performance data of a plurality of locomotives to determine the need for remedial action to one or more of the plurality of locomotives, comprising:

• a download module for receiving sets of performance data;
• a storage device for storing the sets of performance data;
• a controller for assigning a priority to each set of performance data;
• a plurality of data analysis tools for analyzing the sets of performance data, according to the assigned priorities and a respective analysis capability limit of each one of the plurality of data analysis tools when a volume of performance data to be analyzed exceeds the analysis capacity of the one of the plurality of data analysis tools, wherein the analysis capability limit determines a volume of performance data that a tool can simultaneously analyze;
• and
• a recommendation creator for creating a service recommendation in response to the plurality of data analysis tools.